How to Identify and Hire the Best Candidates Interviewing This Way

When it comes to recruiting and hiring, most companies generally go through the same process of creating a job description, reviewing resumes of potential candidates, interviewing and , in some cases, contact with references.

Although this is the standard approach, it is not efficient. Dr. Brad Smart, recognized as the world's leading expert on hiring and author of the bestselling book Topgrading, says that only 25% of our hires are the Crème de la Crème or A-players, when hired from traditional way. But the remaining 75%? They become B and C players, those whose performance is just good enough or poor. Each entry-level hire that fails to meet expectations costs approximately 1x the annual salary for that position. However, at the executive level, the role's impactful decisions and strategies mean that hiring mistakes can cost 24 times the position's annual salary. Another problem is the time wasted correcting mistakes and convincing your other A players not to leave, multiplied by the time that person spent in the role.

I always recommend Brad Smart's Topgrading as a must-read for the CEOs I coach. Since I started using his method of hiring in my company, I have found my employees to be very engaged and engaged, delivering results, and maintaining a good vibe among their peers. Based on my own experience and several of my coaching clients, the Topgrading approach will improve your hiring success rate. They will work like a compass to have the best fit for each position, with A players, saving time and money.

The first step is to identify the right candidates. Take the time to outline job responsibilities and key performance indicators or KPIs to be achieved by defining a job scorecard. When you're done, find the A players that match the job requirements. In other words, those who are considered “excellent” or “very good” by former supervisors. Make sure you have an accurate history of your candidates on their past experiences.

A good tip is to start the conversation by asking the candidate about their experience from the past to the present. This is a chronologically structured interview that will be a good memory exercise and will reveal patterns of behavior over many years.

Once you've found your candidates most likely to be A players, follow the seven key techniques during the interview process.

Ask the right questions about past positions, making sure to ask about accomplishments for each role.

Connect with the candidate on a human level. Be true to yourself and show your personality to get closer to your candidate, so they don't act like a robot, focusing only on the correct answer.

Stay in control of the interview by keeping track of topics and timing. Don't be afraid to interrupt them to get the information you need from them, and most importantly, don't be afraid to ask difficult questions, such as mistakes made or poor decisions. Insist if you don't get an answer.

Avoid tricky questions, or those that come with a bias, while waiting for specific answers. Sometimes a simple answer is enough, and we can accept it. Make your candidate feel in a safe and comfortable zone with you, where they can be open and honest with key details that will help you understand their behavior and decision-making process.

Take detailed notes during the interview. You think you'll remember, but the reality is you probably won't. These notes will help you make your final choice and let you know if the process still has momentum or if you are losing it.

Ask follow-up questions to dig deeper and fully understand your candidate. When a candidate expresses that they have the "area of ​​improvement" of being a better...