How do you evaluate candidates for your team?

1 Define your team's needs

Before you start looking for candidates, you need to have a clear idea of what your team's needs are. What are the skills, competencies, and behaviors that you are looking for? How do they align with your team's vision, mission, and values? How do they support your strategic objectives and priorities? Write down a list of criteria that you can use to screen and evaluate candidates.

2 Use multiple methods

Relying on one method to evaluate candidates can lead to bias, inconsistency, and missed opportunities. Therefore, it is important to use a combination of methods to get a more comprehensive and objective picture of each candidate. For instance, resume review can help you filter out candidates who do not meet your minimum qualifications and identify those who have relevant experience and achievements. A phone or video interview can be used to verify the information on the resume, gauge the candidate's communication skills and personality, and ask some preliminary questions. An in-person or online assessment can measure the candidate's skills, knowledge, and abilities in a more structured and standardized way. Tests, simulations, case studies, or projects can assess how the candidate performs in realistic scenarios. Additionally, a behavioral interview can explore the candidate's past behavior and actions in specific situations that are relevant to your team. The STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) can be used to ask behavioral questions and evaluate the candidate's responses. Lastly, reference check can confirm the candidate's work history, performance, and reputation by asking their previous managers, colleagues, or clients about their strengths, weaknesses, areas of improvement, and fit for your team.

3 Involve your team

Your team members are the ones who will work closely with the new hire, so their input and feedback are valuable. Therefore, you should involve your team in the evaluation process. This could include asking them to review resumes and shortlist candidates, inviting them to join interviews and assessments, or asking them to prepare questions or scenarios for the candidates. You should also solicit their opinions and impressions after the interviews and assessments. Involving your team can help you assess the candidate's fit for your team culture, dynamics, and expectations. It can also help build trust and engagement among your team members, as well as demonstrating that you value their opinions.

4 Compare and contrast

After you have evaluated all the candidates, you need to compare and contrast them to make a final decision. You can use a scoring system or a matrix to rank the candidates based on your criteria. You can also review the notes and feedback from your team and yourself. You should look for the candidates who have demonstrated the most skills, competencies, and behaviors that match your team's needs. You should also consider the candidates who have shown the most potential, enthusiasm, and fit for your team.

Evaluating candidates for your team is not an easy task, but it can be rewarding if you find the right people who can help you achieve your goals. By following these tips, you can improve your evaluation process and make better hiring decisions.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?