Hiring Frustration #6: Useless Candidate Evaluation
Barry Deutsch
Master Executive Search Recruiter. Award Winning Author and Speaker on Recruiting, Hiring, and Job Search.
What are we measuring when we sit in an interview? Most hiring managers NEVER penetrate the actor/actress mask. Most hiring managers spend the bulk of their time in the interview measuring how good a job did the candidate do in presenting information or answering my questions. This represents the MASK. This acting or performance ability in the interview has ZERO correlation to on-the-job success. Did I just infer that the vast majority of interviews are useless in judging a candidate?
Typical interview feedback session: The interview has ended and the candidate has left the building. Bob, the Vice President and Sue, the Director/Hiring Executive, come out of their offices and meet up at the proverbial water cooler. Let’s assume they both liked the candidate. Here’s what their conversation might sound like after Bob says to Sue “So, what did you think of the candidate?â€
He seemed bright.
Had a lot of energy
Sure seemed enthusiastic
Maybe he could do the job
Might fit in here
Appeared to be smart and confident
I liked him
I got along well with him
No obvious issues or problems
Came across in my interview very well
Presents himself very nicely
What Just Got Measured in the Interview?
What just happened? Worthless Crap!
This was nothing more than a “meet-n-greetâ€. It was not an insightful, probing, analytical, in-depth assessment and interview of whether the candidate could deliver the desired results (probably since the desired results were never defined in the first place – it would be very hard to measure in the interview).
What are we really measuring? Bob and Sue are not measuring the candidate’s ability to do the job – they’re measuring the candidate’s ability to interview for the job. This is not only a major frustration among hiring managers – it’s one of the top ten reasons hiring fails more than 50% of the time in most companies.
The 8-Point Success Matrix for Assessing Candidates
We’ve developed a one-page scorecard for assessing candidate responses in the interview. We call the scorecard – the 8-Point Success Matrix. (We offered a free download of this scorecard in a previous blog post). It takes about 3-5 minutes to complete at the end of an interview and zeros right in on whether the candidate can deliver your desired results – and whether they’ll do it with a style that fits with your culture and values.
Visualize this scenario: Bob and Sue are not standing at the water cooler. This time Bob doesn't ask Sue, so what did you think of candidate? Instead, Bob starts moving through this one-page scorecard. Line 2 - Initiative and Self-Motivation. I gave him a 2, and you gave him a 1. What did you hear that I didn't? All of sudden the conversation shifts from platitudes, generalities, and ambiguities to facts, details, examples, illustrations, and precise stories of accomplishment.
Everyone knows Bob is going to go around the table asking for a score in each major category. Perhaps, more importantly, he's going to ask for the examples Sue used to come to her scoring conclusion. The REAL VALUE of this tool is not the scoring, it's the fierce conversation the tool forces between hiring managers. It gives them a communication vehicle to compare examples, interview questions, what's important, and whether there is agreement on success.
Our clients like this tool more than any other in our toolkit since it brings the entire process together on one simple page that only takes 3 minutes to complete. Now you have a great audit tool to manage hiring manager feedback, and a comparison matrix to line up candidates side-by-side.
Let me know what you think of the 8 Point Success Matrix as you start to use it in your hiring process. Does the quality and depth of the feedback increase significantly when you have an interview feedback tool or structure?
National Manager Personnel Support Programs (PSP) Operations at Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services
7yExcellent points are made in this article. I completely agree that hiring committees must look past the facade that a candidate presents. In our organization we typically post our positions internally with a view to promoting internal upward movement. In the event that we cannot find a suitable internal candidate, as we sometimes do at our smaller locations, we will post externally. In these cases we pay particular attention to suitability and whether the candidate will fit into our culture, be able to actually do the job and whether they possess the leadership and management skills required of the job. Our organization provides morale and welfare programs and services to the Canadian Armed forces so we focus on folks who we feel will fit into the culture. A good way to test candidates is to give them an assignment related to the job for which they are applying. The analysis of a business problem and the presentation of a business solution tells you whether the candidate can actually pay attention to detail, understand a business problem, develop and present a solution and whether they can write. Communications is such a critical component of leadership that it must be tested. This testing component usually whittles the candidate list significantly. At the end of the day, there is nothing much more important than the selection of candidates for new positions. When one considers the cost involved in selecting and training new managers, you just have to get it right the first time. The beauty of hiring internal candidates is that they typically have been with us for several years so we know their strengths and weaknesses and we can identify folks with high potential early in their careers and provide them with additional training to get them ready for the future. People who want to move up in a company have to realize that every day they come to work they are applying for their next job.
The XP3 Talent System: A Scientifically Validated Methodology that Dramatically Improves Your Organization’s Ability to Hire, Train, and Retain Top Talent
7yGreat post Barry