Recruitment 101

Understanding Bias

  • We've all got it...if we talk about it, we can learn about it.

    Types of Bias:

    Affinity bias - the tendency to 'warm up' to people who are like yourself

    Halo effect - the tendency to think that everything about a person is good simply because you like them

    Perception bias - the tendency to believe one thing about a group of people based on stereotypes and assumptions, making it impossible to be objective about individuals

    Confirmation bias - the tendency to seek to confirm your pre-existing ideas and assumptions about a group of people

    Group think - the tendency to try too hard to fit into an existing culture, mimicking others and holding back thoughts or opinions, resulting in the loss of identity and lost creativity and innovation

  • Recognize your unconscious biases

    Recognize your unconscious biases - make talking about it during the interview process, before and after a thing. Shaming doesn’t work, if someone feels safe enough to express their bias aloud, they are looking for a supportive ear to help guide them to a different way of thinking. Diverse teams help these conversations because they bring different outlooks to the table that you would never have thought of based on your life experiences.

    Example: maybe you believe that men and women are equally capable of leading, but you think that men lack the ability to show empathy the way that women do so you chose a woman for a role that you knew would require empathy. While this might not sound like a negative, decisions should be based on who is the right person for the role, not who is the gender you perceive to be most capable.

  • Focus on People

    Focus on the evidence you see in front of you, rather than what you're expecting based on your own biases.

    Example: a strong python dev is a strong python dev. Python in India is no different than Python in Canada, look at the code, listen to the candidate, build your opinions based on the requirements of the role not on your opinions about how the candidates got those requirements.

  • Increase exposure to biases

    Seek out examples that challenge your biases.

    This is where being open and non judgemental helps as a team. If you are in a safe space where you feel you can address some of your biases, your team can bring you examples of people/situations that counter your belief. The more you’re exposed, the higher the likelihood you will be able to overcome them.

    Example: If you have all of one gender on a team you could be missing valuable insight from having another gender on the team. If everyone on your team is a Waterloo Engineering grad, perhaps it’s time to bring in some self-taught engineers who will bring a different outlook to your code base. Giving into a bias to help an organization be better doesn’t mean lowering the bar, it means changing the outlook.

Sourcing 101

Sourcing is the best way to find talent. It's also the most time consuming and requires structure and attention. If you don't have time to source, you definitely don't have time to build a business.

Fact: a sourced candidate is 4-5x more likely to be hired than an organic applicant (based on data collected in 2021).

There are loads of places to source from, the most popular are LinkedIn, AngelList and GitHub. Below we will walk through some recruitment strategies on these platforms.

LinkedIn

  • Boolean search is key, start tight and then expand as you need more profiles

  • The more contacts you have the more people will show up in your search, ensure that everyone in the company is sharing roles to their network not just liking your posts.

  • A recruiter light or sales navigator account will give you some free in-mails a month which will allow you to reach out to candidates

  • Outreach should be personalized and share helpful and insightful information on the team and the role. Keep them short and sweet

AngelList

  • Select Source from the top toolbar

  • Keep searches open ended - being too specific will not get you better results on this platform

  • If you request to chat with a candidate be responsive when they reply (24 hours).

GitHub

  • GitHub can be a good source of hidden candidates, running a script based on what you're looking for and then cross referencing the profile on LinkedIn or another platform to determine location (if important).

  • If a profile has an email you're always better off emailing the candidate, it's a much more personalized approach

Data & Analytics in Recruitment

The following benchmark data comes from Gem's 2021 Recruiting Benchmarks report. Benchmarks are not perfect, but are a good input to use in conjunction with other inputs as you evaluate yourself against the market.

Average Open Rate: 83%

Average Reply Rates:

1-249 FTE: 29%

250-999 FTE: 34%

Male-identified talented is 7% more likely to respond to recruiting email outreach thanfemale-identified talent (Average reply rates are 37% and 30% respectively)

Sourced candidates are 4–5x more likely to be hired than inbound candidates. Yet recruiters often struggle to surface this talent and engage with them. This makes logical sense. Passive talent was vetted by your team before they even entered your hiring funnel. You reached out to them because their experience and skill set aligned with exactly what your hiring manager was looking for; and you suspected they would share your values and add to your culture. From a strategic perspective, this means that any solid talent acquisition strategy should include an element of passive talent sourcing - no matter how strong inbound is.

Interviewing 101

  • The keys to good interview questions are:

    There cannot be a right or wrong answer - logic, thoughtfulness and articulation is key, but the candidate only knows so much about your business that expecting the same answer you’d give after being there for 3 years is unfair.

    Don’t be afraid to push for more information or details. Use probing questions like;

    Tell me more

    How? Why? Where?

    What did YOU do?

    What was the outcome?

    What would you do differently next time?

    Be transparent with the candidate - if you aren’t getting what you need from the answer tell them.

    If you leave an interview making assumptions because you didn’t dig deeper you’re risking missing a great hire or even worse making the wrong hire. As awkward as it may feel in the moment, probe deeper.

    It’s not what you say, it's how you say it. This saying goes in both directions, interviewer and interviewee. When a candidate feels like they have their back up you will get far less from them, when they feel like it’s a safe place they will open up much more (even if sometimes they shouldn’t). When you put on a show they put on a show, so be warm, engaging, and kind. Phrase questions in a way that appear to be non-judgemental and the walls will come down and you will get a much more authentic view of the candidate.

  • Key Traits to look for:

    Ego. Does the candidate have low ego? Will they be too protective of their code? Do they have to be right? Does that change how they listen to input or consider other ideas?

    Adaptability. Do they know that the goal of a business is to grow and change? Have they been a part of a team that has grown where process has had to change or team has had to be restructured? If so, how have they reacted to those changes? Do they seek opportunities for their growth in that change?

    Technical communication. Do they know the technical skill needed for the role? Have they demonstrated the ability to apply that skill? Finally, can they communicate technical complexities well? Do they recognize that knowledge, application and communication of technical know-how are separate skills to master?

    Cross-functional collaboration. Can they share multiple examples of close collaboration among individuals across functions, such as Engineering, Product, Design, Customer support and more. Do they have an example of when that collaboration went well? When it didn’t, how did they respond and resolve or bring closure to the situation? Have they proactively identified silos in an organization — and what have they done about them?

  • Emotional Intelligence (EQ)

    Emotionally intelligent people have four distinguishing characteristics:

    ✔️ They were good at understanding their own emotions (self-awareness)

    ✔️ They were good at managing their emotions (self-management)

    ✔️ They were empathetic to the emotional drives of other people (social awareness)

    ✔️They were good at handling other people’s emotions (social skills)

    All four of these characteristics are put to the test in conflicts situations. Emotionally intelligent people will be able to explain a conflict situation clearly and objectively, giving a specific run down of how they felt at the time, how they managed those feelings, and how they used social cues from those around them to inform their decisions.

    As they explain the conflict situation, consider the following four areas:

    ❓ Can they clearly articulate the emotions they experienced during the conflict? (self-awareness)

    ❓ Were they able to move past any negative emotions and work towards a resolution? (self-management)

    ❓ Do they seem aware of the other person’s motivations and challenges? (social awareness)

    ❓ Were they able to mend the relationship and move past the conflict? (social skills)

  • Behavioural Interviews

    Rules of Engagement

    Before even getting to the interview steps need to be taken, understandings need to be made and realistic expectations need to be set.

    If I had to put money on it I would say the most repeated line to a recruiter from a hiring manager is “You’re not listening to me” and I’d also put money on it that in every recruiters head their response is “You’re not listening to the market”.

    Setting realistic expectations does not mean lowering the bar, it means adjusting the bar to the right level. If you’re the CMO and you’re hiring a Marketing Coordinator, they don’t need to be a “mini you” we have you, and likely 3-5 people between you and this person. Setting the bar at a “mini me” level is unrealistic to someone who would be at a coordinator level.

    Define the types of things we are looking for to make THEM successful - NOT the types of things that made you successful.

    Keep in mind - 100% Hires...don’t want your job. You really want to aim for a 75%-80% fit. This ensures there is opportunity for growth and development, something every employee wants.

    But how do I make that work with my business?

    Great question! Every human is 100% so just because they are 75% of a fit for the role doesn’t make the other 25% they bring to the table useless, often times that 25% is more beneficial than than the 75%. This leads us to Fit vs. Add.

    We don’t just want role or culture fit, we also NEED role and culture ADD. If you only hire for fit (whether cultural or role checklist) you will end up with a team that can likely only think and behave in one way, and unless you’re only looking to get that exact person as a user you aren’t doing your business any favors.

    The importance of Consistency across all interviews

    ❌ Stops you from making emotional decisions

    ❌ Stops you from judging the wrong things

    ✔️ Shows maturity and organization especially to more senior candidates

  • References

    The HR world is very split on the value of references, since they come directly from the candidate how valuable are they?

    If the right questions are asked, they can be very useful.

    Would you work with this person again? this response is very telling, if it’s a no, why not? if it’s a yes, why? have they tried to work with this person again? That’s a pretty good sign if so.

    How can I help make this person as successful as possible in this role? This is real information that will help you once this person comes onboard, it will also give you insight into what this person needs and you need to be honest with yourself if you can offer them that.

    What is the one thing I can help this person get better at? Rather than focusing on “weaknesses” and getting the googles response, phrasing this as a positive around helping them grow you’ll get truthful insight.

    Remember:

    It is illegal to give a negative reference. You can give be truthful (ie: They missed 75% of their deliverables) but you cannot give subjective feedback (ie: this person is so annoying). Negative references not based on facts and data that result in a person not getting a job can get you sued.

    It is illegal to get off the record references. References can only be called with the explicit permission of the candidate. Off the record references (or back door references) that result in someone not getting a role can bring major legal issues.

    References should not be conducted until the end of the interview when you want to make someone an offer. References done before create blinders and biases.

  • Final Thoughts

    If I can only leave you with a few things…

    Hire people you trust

    Hire people that can teach your team something

    Be self reflective - What do you find people can misunderstand or misinterpret about you?

    Be realistic - nothing and no one is perfect

    Be decisive - move quickly and make decisions post interview, the market is tight and good candidates will move on.

    Worry less about compensation and more about the right person

    Don’t ask any questions if you don’t know what you’re looking for in the answer

    Be structured

Scorecards

When used properly and consistently, interview scorecards help remove potential interview bias, create a quantitative standard for candidate evaluation, and help your organization to make better hiring decisions. Scorecards are proven to help build stronger, smarter, more resilient and much more deeply diverse teams.

  • Why are scorecards great?

    • Scorecards allow for unbiased hiring across the entire organization by creating a standardized, objective process that is consistent across all candidates

    • Scorecards are proven to help identify the strongest candidates and traditionally lead to more skilled and more diverse teams

    • Scorecards save time - your time

    • Scorecards keep the interview cycle moving quickly which makes a better candidate experience and helps us stay competitive in a fast moving market

  • Scorecard "Rules of Engagement"

    • Scorecards should be completed & submitted within 24 hours of an interview

    • You should not discuss the candidate/interview with others until after your scorecard is completed

    • If you are interviewing multiple candidates, they should be evaluated independently against the scorecard, not against each other

  • Building A Great Scorecard

    • Identify the key skills you’re looking for in this new hire

      1. Remember, we’re not looking to clone our other team members, we’re looking to ADD to our team. In order to add to a team you must bring some similar, some complimentary and some entirely different skills to the table.

        1. Write down the list of skills that are heavily represented on your team and look to then identify other skills that aren’t but could bring value

  • Focus in on 4-5 Questions that will help identify these skills in the interviewee

    • Ideally you should be creating questions that are not Yes/No questions but rather situational and behavioral questions that allow you to

      • Dive deeper into a conversation

      • Give a candidate an opportunity to showcase how they think

        1. You can get a question “wrong” but their thought process was excellent, their knowledge in the space was lacking. You can teach the latter, it’s much harder to teach the former.

    • Examples:

      • Tell me about a time when?

        1. How would you manage X situation?

  • Identify what you’re looking for in their responses

  • Example:

    • Context

    • Ownership

    • Strategic Thinking

    • Curiosity

    • Data/Metrics

    • Solution Driven

    • Bias for Action

  • Stay away from generic questions, you’re learning much less than you think. Rather engage in questions that help you learn more about where they want to grow and what kinds of challenges they are looking for.

    • Example:

      • What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?

        • Everyone says the same thing and it’s truthfully not helpful in making a strong hiring decision.

      • Instead Try: At this stage in your career what are some of the challenges/accomplishments/skills you’d like to add to your toolbelt?

        • Typically a solution driven person will have a list of things they want to do/try/accomplish/build etc.

You can use the below questions to get started in building your scorecards. We've sorted some of our preferred questions based on the competency/trait/value you're looking to understand:

Team Player / Leadership

  • Tell me about a time you successfully influenced change in your organization

  • In a remote environment, what are some steps you would like to take to build meaningful relationships with stakeholders and peers?

  • Describe your most creative solution to an organizational problem. Tell me about the situation, the actions you took, and what the outcome was.

High-Performance Mindset

  • What do you need to be successful in this role?

  • Tell us about a time when you had to analyze information and make a recommendation. What kind of thought process did you go through? What was your reasoning behind the decision?

Flexibility / Adaptive to Change

  • Tell us about a time where you were working on a project that shifted priorities once you had already started?

  • Can you give me a specific example of a recent group project that was far from your ideal set up? What was missing and what did you do about it?

Accountability / Ownership

  • Tell me about a time you really messed something up. How did you handle it and how did you address the mistake? What would you do differently now?

  • What do you think the greatest misperception people have about you is? Why?

Growth Mindset

  • How do you continue to grow your X skills? Focus on the skills they are pitching for this role - ex: What does a designer do to keep up with the latest trends?

  • What do you do when a client/peer/manager asks you a question that you do not immediately have the answer to?

Candidate Experience

Candidate Experience can make or break a company.

A great experience can lead to a great hire and great referrals. A bad experience can lead to negative glassdoor reviews, poor word of mouth between candidates and most importantly the loss of a great potential hire.

Here are some tips on how to provide an amazing candidate experience without a massive network of HR & Recruitment Professionals.

  • Do what you say you're going to do. If you tell a candidate that you will get back to them by a certain day, get back to them, even if it's to tell them you don't have an update yet.

  • Set expectations early - let candidates know the process from day one.

  • Rejections

    • If they have only had a phone screen, send them an email within 48-72 hours letting them know you won't be moving forward with them (there's a template in Breezy for that and you can schedule it!)

    • If they have gone past the phone screen they should receive a phone call and feedback. Not everyone is comfortable with making these calls, you should get comfortable with the uncomfortable, but if you won't then you must send an email. within 48hours. Feedback should be helpful and technical.

      • Good Feedback - we really enjoyed meeting with you however your skills in python are not as strong as we would need for this role right now and we don't feel confident that we could support your learning curve at our size right now. I have found that XYZ offers a great course on Python if you want to continue growing.

      • Bad Feedback - We didn't think you'd be a fit for the team with your answers but thanks for your time. If the issue really was fit/attitude just tell them there was a lot of competition for the one opening and another candidate had more relevant experience.

      • Feedback helps people grow and become better and they will always remember who gave them helpful feedback to get better and move ahead in their career. They will tell their friends.

    • Find the Time - Yes our schedules are very packed but hiring is the only way to grow your business without burning everyone out. A candidate should be able to start the process and be at offer or rejection within 10-14 business days. Remember if you like a candidate chances are other companies do as well.

    • Offer more time - Employers create the interview plan but expect candidates to decide whether or not to move their career to our company. When you get to the offer stage with a candidate be sure to let them know that should they want to speak to more people or meet with other teams all they have to do is ask and we can arrange it for them.

    • Be Responsive - If candidates reach out during the process get back to them.

    • Offers - Offers should be made first on the phone and include a lot of excitement around the candidate joining and some specifics on why you think they will thrive at your company, you should then walk through offer components and then email it to them.

Easy & Actionable ways to Improve Candidate Experience

  1. Set clear expectations on when candidates can expect to hear back from you, and then follow through. It's completely okay to say "We're still early in the process, so I'll have to circle back with you towards the middle of next week." Just be clear and stick to your word!

  2. Interview with good manners — ensure you are pronouncing the candidate's name properly (if you aren't sure, ask and then note the pronunciation in the ATS notes), make sure you're making eye contact with the camera, show the candidate you're listening to their answers

  3. Provide Feedback (see above).

Why Hiring Manager Involvement Matters

At the end of the day the candidate (hopefully new employee) will have to work with the hiring manager far more often than the recruiter so building that relationship early and throughout the interview process is a key opportunity to get your top candidate in a competitive market as well as create an opportunity to have a much more successful and long term relationship with that team member.

This does not mean going around your recruiter to the candidate without a plan in place. It means working with the professional (recruiter) to create an even better candidate experience.

Things you can do to increase a positive experience for a top candidate

  • If they send you a thank you note after the meeting, respond.

  • Let your recruiter know you'd like to be copied on the next step email to the candidate and then you can reply all letting the candidate know how excited the rest of the team is to meet them, and if they have any questions beforehand they can reach out.

  • As soon as an offer is extended reach out the candidate one on one, let them know that you're so excited at the prospect of them joining and reiterate to them why you felt they were right for the role and what you and your organization can provide to them (think back to things they mentioned in their interview around why they were exploring new opportunities). Let them know that you understand this is a big life decision and if there's anyone else they'd like to meet before making it you're happy to help that happen.

If the hiring team leaves the entire process up to the talent acquisition team these new hires come in with zero bond to the leader of their group and that's not a great start.

Job Postings

A public job posting is an advertisement, it is NOT a role overview for an employee. Have two separate documents, the public one should showcase what this person is going to be expected to deliver on in this role, a few (think 2-4) REQUIRED skills and a few desired skills. Keep it short and sweet and CLEAR.

Make sure you’re not using generic terms. A “Project Coordinator” is too generic - call it a IT Project Coordinator - Azure. Instead of Marketing Manager try Marketing Manager - D2C Luxury Goods. 

A good framework to think about is:

👩‍🏫 About Us - this should be standard across all postings and focus on what the company DOES not the culture. Information about your company here. 1-2 paragraphs max. Ensure it's written in a way that is exciting and clear/concise. 

🏋️ About the Opportunity - what will this person own and need to deliver/accomplish. Bullet points to break down what this person will deliver/accomplish/achieve.  Focus on the highest-impact and biggest parts of their role (3-5 bullets)

💁 About You - a few points about what kinds of backgrounds you’re looking for (this is a great place to check for internal biases!)

What to expect - Break down what the interview process looks like

🎉 Why Join Us - this is your standard pitch around what’s great about your company, the team, culture, perks

Attracting the right candidates is hard work, but if you cannot afford someone to be out there sourcing for you, you need to spend the time to make sure your job postings are a true marketing vessel for your organization.

Remember - a Job Posting and a Job Overview are not the same thing.  The posting is an external marketing tool, the Overview is a detailed overview of role, responsibility and deliverables an employee will work with starting on day one.  The overview should be shared during the interview process but should not be the public posting for marketing purposes.

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