FREAK IN THE SHEETS

AI and machine learning have been all the rage for enhancing hiring decisions, and for good reasons, but you shouldn’t forget that all you can do with a simple spreadsheet,

For those of you who don’t have an AI-based interview platform like ours, but are still interested in conducting a more accurate, fair, and efficient interview process, we highly recommend that interviewers record a candidate’s score for each evaluated skill on a spreadsheet. At the end of the interview, you can average all the skills’ scores for a candidate’s overall score.

Research has proven time and again that a simple average of scores out predicts our intuitive evaluation. You can definitely take a data-driven approach to hiring even if you don’t have AI at your disposal.

#informedecisions #microsoftexcel #machinelearning #artificialintelligence #googlesheets #hiring

INTERVIEWING CANDIDATES IN A ROW? BEWARE OF THE CONTRAST EFFECT

Which of the circles in the center is bigger?
They are actually the same size.

If the inner circles look different to you, you have fallen prey to contrast bias, which occurs when we judge two things comparatively instead of separately.

Contrast bias can creep into an interview when candidates are compared to each other and not the job requirements. For instance, after interviewing a “star” candidate, later candidates might seem less qualified because you compare them to the “star” candidate — a sure way to miss out on qualified candidates!

What can you do about it?

Have a list of well-defined skills you are looking to assess in the interview and make sure you provide scores based on these skills rather than comparing candidates.

#informedecisions #interviews #bias #recruiting

BOMB IRAN AND YOU GET THE JOB

Interview horror story #4

"I was asked, "how will you bomb the Iranian nuclear reactor with a cyber attack"(From social media)
Which horrible interview questions were you asked?

#informedecisions #recruiting #hiring #interviews

The Interviewer Fell Asleep, So You’re Hired

Interview horror story #3

"My interviewer fell asleep during my answer. I got hired." (From social media)

What’s your strangest interview moment?

 

#informedecisions #recruiting #hiring #interviews

Who cares about candidate experience when you can have an invalid test

A close friend of mine recently went to an assessment center for a data analyst position. They told me they were given a picture and had to write a story about it, to which I replied stunned, “seriously?!” This picture is taken from a test called TAT (Thematic Appreciation Test) that was developed in the 1930s and was used in the clinical context to learn about patients' personalities. Research has shown that this tool's validity is close to zero. Even if it was predictive, can you imagine the candidate’s experience?

When you use an external vendor for your candidates' assessment, ask them for the data about their tools’ predictive capabilities and make sure they are tracking candidate experience. I have no doubt this vendor didn't check.

 

#informedecisions

LinkedIn vs. Reality

#informedecisions #recruiting #hiring #assessment

Has your assessment tech been tested?

When considering a new assessment technology, check if and how it was tested or validated. This means the assessment was scientifically evaluated and proven to make accurate assessments, not discriminate against different demographics, and, at least potentially, predict job performance.

These are great questions to ask the vendor's team of IO psychologists and if the vendor doesn’t have any - be suspicious!

*Picture from I-O Psych Memes.

#recruiting #hiring #assessment

 

A strong weakness or a weak strength?

Interview horror story #1:

"I was once asked what is your biggest weakness within your biggest strength? I asked the interviewer what they meant and they responded, "something you are weak in, but also strong in"(From social media)

Which horrible interview questions were you asked?

#recruiting #hiring #interviews

Hello Halo Effect

A well-known interview bias is the "Halo Effect," which is the tendency for an impression created in one area to influence opinion in other areas". One of the things that create the Halo Effect in interviews is candidate's confidence.

Don't confuse confidence with competence, they’re not the same thing and there are a lot of incompetent leaders out there to prove it.

*Picture from I-O Psych Memes.

#recruiting #hiring #interviews #bias

"Please don’t “tell me about yourself”

3 reasons why asking “tell me about yourself?” is bad interviewing practice:

1. Broad and unfocused: As an interviewer, you’re racing against the clock to collect the information that will enable you to decide if the candidate fits the position. “Tell me about yourself” can take the interview anywhere, including places that aren’t necessarily related to the job’s relevant skills.
2. Candidate experience: ”Tell me about yourself” is a stressful question for many candidates. “What does the interviewer want to hear? about my experience? hobbies? relevant skills? etc.?” A vague, open-ended question like this needlessly adds stress to the interview process.
3. Interviewer bias: This is a great place for bias to creep in. Candidates that have done their homework about the interviewer can impress them with irrelevant facts like "we went to the same school" that automatically generate biases like "similar to me" bias.

#recruiting #hiring #interviews #candidate_experience