When qualifying candidates, it is important to go beyond the ‘yes / no’ credentials to get to the heart of the candidate’s abilities.
For example, for a sales position at a software company, it’s a great start to know if a candidate sold software before, but it is much more important to know what type of software have they sold most successfully and why, what approaches worked for them, how they treat their prospects, and so forth.
There are many methods for diving deeper than ‘yes/no’ – from written questions to structured assessments, to recorded video responses. The trick is knowing which one to use.
The best method for evaluating candidates… depends
Like with so many other things, ‘one size’ rarely fits all. The best methods for assessing candidates depends on what you want to ask and what type of response you want to receive. Here are three common methods to qualify candidates and tips for when to use each:
1. Tests (assessments):
There are a variety of assessments to objectively measure traits such as hard skills, soft skills, and knowledge. This is a good option if you need to know 1) if a candidate has a trait, 2) how much someone has of a trait or skill, or 3) how their level of a treat compares to other candidates. Just be sure that you are using assessments that actually measure what you intend, it is being measured accurately, and it matters for success on the job.
Assessments provide answers for: do they have, do they know, do they know how...
Examples: Where are you on the scale of integrity? How well do you know the basics of Java?
2. Written responses:
Written format responses (emails, word documents, spreadsheets, pictures, CAD drawings, etc.) are fantastic for evaluating logic, reasoning, approach, and applied knowledge and skills. Creating these documents allows candidates to take the time to formulate and organize a thoughtful response while providing the hiring team the ability to easily review and evaluate the response.
Written responses provide answers for: how do they accomplish…
Examples: What steps do you take to validate a new market message? What do you do when the message doesn’t work?
3. Verbal/video responses:
While written formats are great for the logical, verbal/video responses are great for the emotional. Conversation (real time or recorded) have tone, inflection, and attitude. These techniques expose the emotional responses toward the topic(s) being discussed.
Verbal responses provide answers for: what do they think, how do they feel…
Example: What do you love most about supporting customers? What is the worst part about being a customer support rep?
Add a predefined process with anonymity and make a powerful unbiased candidate evaluation hiring solution
Using the right method to evaluate candidates makes the difference in collecting data and getting real insight. Asking the questions the same way for every candidate while keeping those candidates anonymous so all candidates are evaluated equally and without bias turns that insight into a powerful hiring process.
Within our anonymous candidate evaluation process, Career.Place offers assessments, quizzes, written questions and audio/video interviews so no matter the question, you can gain the most valuable insight.