The "Perfect" hiring process

In Christopher Faust's article on ere.net, "The 3 Most Important Questions in the Hiring Process", he describes a some initial questions a hiring manager should think about before starting a new hire task. 

1) Can the candidate do the job?

2) Will the candidate do the job?

3) How will the candidate do the job?

Christopher is on the money making the manager think more about what they want from the new hire instead of just jumping on the phone getting a lot of recruiters fired up about a job that really isn't scrubbed out yet.  But, these questions can be answer positively and still not get the best candidate on board.  A structured process DOES need to be in place, you do need to look internally, a REAL job description does need to be written up, the interviewer MUST be trained how to interview, but I'm not too big on behavioral interviewing questions. 

I've seen too many instances that behavioral questions have been used without a true base line match being in place.  What personality traits best fit the job verses what base line traits the manager "thinks" would be best. 

More times then not, I strongly believe getting a seasoned recruiter involved early setting up this process and then being engaged to find that person, mixes the best of both worlds.  They understand what the job really should be, then can navigate the candidates through the hiring process.

Comments

[Christopher Faust]

Excellent post Mike. In speaking with customers, it's always interesting to hear what they view as their primary issue that needs to be solved within their hiring process. Is hiring a sourcing problem or a selection problem? Of course the answer is both, however, so many leave out the “job requirements” problem. How do you know this person is the right hire? Will they succeed at this job, in this culture, with these team members. The bottom line is to get hiring managers (yes, it’s the hiring manager’s responsibility) to start thinking about those job requirements. Not job descriptions, but more requirements-focused that will not only “help” sourcing and final selection, but also lay the foundation for on the job performance metrics.
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