53 Recruitment you need to cover and there will be areas where the candidate has gaps . What specific challenges will they face in the role ? Create two or three questions to explore these challenges with them . If you are going to ask three different people , three different sets of questions , how are you going to judge their answers so you can compare them ? What are you asking and what relevance are the questions ? Remember that there ’ s a reason why you are recruiting . It ’ s because you don ’ t have anyone in your team who can do the job and you have the budget . Establish the reasons why you ’ re recruiting , drill down and make the questions around those reasons . Use a scoring matrix . Write some linear questions to ask everybody and then give them a score ( use a scoring of one to four , never go up to five because people will gravitate to the midpoint of three ). Personal preferences of who likes which candidate is subjective and not based on fact so having the scores to look over will help you to make an impartial decision . The questions and scoring matrix should be linked to the job description – for example , if the job description states that leadership is 70 % of the role , then the questions ( and scoring ) should reflect this . Always interview with two people . You need one person to listen while the other talks because you can ’ t do both . Then you ’ ll need three people for the final stage interview – just in case you can ’ t make a unanimous decision . The MD may say yes , whilst the department head says no , so establishing who is the ultimate decision maker is important .
Don ’ t follow your gut ( unless it says no ). This is the biggest single mistake that hiring managers and hiring teams make . If your gut says no , then you should listen to it . But if your gut says yes , you need to sense check the decision . Be clear about each stage of the interview process . The first interview will probably be an informal chemistry meeting . I say ‘ informal ’ but lots of judgments and decisions ( by both parties ) are made at this point . Personally , I think these should be done face to face and not over video ( except if a company is a ‘ remote first ’ business or the candidate is overseas ). Stage two is then more competency based ; by this stage the job seeker has decided that they would like to work for you , and you have decided they would be a good employee . This is the time to assess their skills and experience and compare it to the role ’ s needs . Salary expectations and negotiations will also take place during this interview . Having a third interview isn ’ t always necessary but it may be where the candidate meets the wider team or the senior management team . Take your time , but stick to your timings . People rush to recruit and make mistakes . Your time to hire metric is key here , this is measured from when an applicant applies for your vacancy , to when you offer . This should be two to four weeks depending on seniority , diaries etc . as everyone involved needs time to prepare and reflect on what is a very important decision in their life , their next career step .
Every agency website states that it ’ s their people that set them apart ; invest the time , care and consideration to choose them wisely . CN www . conference-news . co . uk