Don’t rely too much on one tool, method, or piece of information to make a hiring decision – all tools have limitations. Instead, look for consistency across multiple data points to make your assessment
When making a hiring decision, it is important to use a variety of tools and methods to gather information about the candidate. No single tool or method is perfect and relying too heavily on one can lead to making a bad decision.
Tips for Gathering Information
Some of the tools and methods that can be used to gather information about a candidate include:
- Interviews: Interviews are a great way to get to know a candidate and learn about their skills, experience, and personality. However, it is important to remember that interviews can be subjective, and it is possible for a candidate to present themselves in a way that is not entirely accurate.
- Reference checks: Reference checks can provide valuable information about a candidate’s work ethic, skills, and behavior. However, it is important to remember that references may be biased, and it is always best to get multiple references.
- Skills and personality assessments: Skills assessments can help to assess a candidate’s skills and abilities. However, it is important to remember that skills assessments can be gamed, and it is always best to use them in conjunction with other tools and methods.
Once you have gathered information from a variety of sources, it is important to look for consistency across the data points.
If you see a pattern of positive or negative information, it is more likely to be accurate. If you see conflicting information, it is important to dig deeper and try to get more information.
By using a variety of tools and methods and looking for consistency across the data points, you can make a more informed hiring decision. This will help you to avoid making a bad hire, which can be costly for your business.
Decision-Making Tips
Here are some additional tips for making a good hiring decision:
- Be clear about the job requirements and what you are looking for in a candidate. It’s surprising how often we find different stakeholders are looking for different things! This makes a consensus decision impossible.
- Write a clear job description that accurately reflects the job’s daily activities and the true must-have requirements. Use this to make sure all stakeholders are indeed on the same page, and to help candidates truly understand the job scope in order to avoid wasted time on anyone’s part.
- Use a variety of tools and methods to gather information about candidates.
- Interview multiple candidates; but recognize that, for specialized roles, “multiple” may be only a few!
- Get references for all candidates. Even when you think that’s a formality – there’s a lot you can learn from good reference-taking!
- Ask some interview questions that bring out their personality and character, not just the job-related skills: do you actually want this person on your team?
