How to Take Your Candidate for a Test Drive

How to Take Your Candidate for a Test DriveHow to Take Your Candidate for a Test DriveOne of the greatest fears of a hiring manager is to spend hours reviewing resumes and conducting interviews only to hire someone who oversold zu sich skills and isnt qualified for the job she was hired to do. Interviews can be misleadingeven if interviewers ask behavioral questions and seek examples from past experiencebecause many candidates have practiced the right answers that dont necessarily reflect their actual skills.The best way to evaluate skills is to see a candidate actually perform those skills, but many hiring processes arent set up to do this in a way that is useful to the interviewer or fair to the candidate. Although engineering and sales interviews almost always include a skills demonstration, most otzu sich departments still hire candidates based on first impressions and guesswork. If the hiring managers at your company are looking for a more concrete way to evaluate candidate skil ls, here are four considerations to help them implement a demo component to their interviews.platzset BoundariesAlthough it might be nice to think that your top candidate is thinking about notlagehing else but the delightful prospect of working for your company and that she wants to work for you so badly that shed be happy to do it for free, thats probably not the case. Top candidates are likely juggling multiple interviewssometimes while they still have a day job. Keep an eye on the scope of any exercise that you create for a candidate. If there is a take-home component, it shouldnt require more than an hour or two to complete from a qualified candidate. If youre creating an in-office exercise, make sure it doesnt greatly lengthen the time a candidate would need to spend interviewing with you.Determine GoalsAre you hoping to see how a candidate thinks? Ask her to talk through the steps she would take to solve a hypothetical situation thats similar to one she might encounter on the job. (Incidentally, this is a much better way to see how someone thinks than asking her how many grains of sand are on the beach or whether shed rather be a hedgehog or an aardvark.)Do you want to assess a candidates data and reporting skills? Give her some sample data to review and ask for her hypotheses.Do you need a candidate who can work quickly under pressure? Make sure the activity is conducted on site during the interview and set a time limit.Keep it EthicalAsking a candidate to complete an exercise that mimics the actual work she would be doing in the role is essential. But asking a candidate to do actual work for your business without compensation is unethical. Fabricating a completely hypothetical exercise might be too lofty of an expectation for a busy hiring manager, though. Here are two suggestions to quickly create a data-analysis exercise.Take your existing real data but swap the numbers and categories. For example, Simply Hired found that job growth overall vastly ou tpaced the growth of jobs described as fast-pacedover the past two years. A useful candidate exercise would flip these numbers and ask the candidate to explain why employers are describing their jobs as fast-paced so much more this year compared to previous years.Use real data from six months ago. Pull the type of data you would actually like a candidate to reviewbut only after you have already provided your own analysis. This will allow the candidate to see the exact work she would be doing in a way that doesnt tempt you to pass her work off as your ownBe ExplicitSet expectations with your candidates about the purpose of the exercise, what factors youre evaluating (creativity? grammar? accuracy? speed?) and how long the assignment should take. If you are providing a take-home assignment, explicitly state that they should spend no more than an hour or two on it. Otherwise, they may spend many hours trying to make their submission perfect. Responses From the FieldWhile its aspiration al to want to provide real world testing to candidates before hiring them, staffing departments and hiring managers need to balance what is helpful to the company with the overall candidate experience.I have routinely asked my top candidates to complete an exercise before hiring them. These exercises have ranged from a 15-minute QA around sample data to a two-paragraph writing assignment. Over the past couple of weeks I circled back with my past hires and asked them for their feedback to those exercises.One candidate, who was ultimately hired to manage marketing content and reporting, reviewed a content report from the previous year during her interview for about 15 minutes. I then came back into the room, and she verbally presented her findings and hypotheses. Because she didnt know some of the nuances of our business, she was totally wrong on most of her findings. But her thought process was logical, her findings made sense for the amount of data she was given, and she rose to the challenge approaching the exercise with curiosity and enthusiasm. I hired her shortly after. Reflecting on that exercise, she said, As the interviewee I felt the activity gave me more insight into what the job entailed, and it helped me with my decision to accept the offer. I was not quite prepared for it, and it caught me off guard a bit, but analyzing data is something I have a knack for and probably what made the job such a good fit.Another candidate was hired into a sales role. Since part of his job would be to review company data and present findings to potential clients, his exercise included a small hypothetical data sample and a series of written questions about the data. This exercise also took about 15 minutes to complete. Regarding the exercise, he said, I think these kinds of activities are good. I was surprised by it, but not intimidated. It was nice to have a chance to showcase my skills, and it felt constructive. It was presented well because you explicitly said what you were looking for. And reviewing the results together was also helpful.If conducted right, a candidate exercise can be a valuable tool for both the employer and prospective employee.

Know What Youre Worth Before the Salary Negotiation

Know What Youre Worth Before the Salary NegotiationKnow What Youre Worth Before the Salary NegotiationResearch is a big part of interview preparation. You need to understand the companyand review the questions the interviewer might ask. While that might seem like a long enough to do list, you also need to be up to date on the salary range you can expect were you to receive an offer. When youre researching your benchmark market value before an interview, you shouldnt just work with what you know. You need to get perspective on ansicht numbers to make aya you go into the interview with appropriate expectations and a realistic understanding of what youre worth. Here are three ways you can find out what youre worth for a smooth negotiation processGet the Timing RightDont wait to think about your salary until you have the offer in hand. Start researching before you meet for the first phone screening interview. Not only will this allow you to confidently embrace the money discussion at any point in the interview process, but you will also be able to confidently review and ask questions about the requirements and responsibilities of the position from a critical perspective. For example, if your research shows that you can expect a salary between $35,000 and $38,000, and yet the job is described as a high level management position, that discrepancy will give you an opportunity to ask more insightful questions that clarify the role.Use the Right ResourcesYour brothers girlfriends cousins starting salary with a similar job title is elend a reliable source of information. You need to do your research using resources you can trust. Use an online salary estimator like Simply Hireds Simply Salary. Ask close friends, colleagues, and recruiters what they think an acceptable or normal starting salary range would be for a certain position. Tip Dont specifically ask someones starting salary in the job instead, give a range and ask if it sounds normal.Use information interviews wi th a company to get an understanding of their expected range for a given position.The more varied and trustworthy your research sources, the more confident you can be when you negotiate the salary youre worth.Negotiate Like a ProfessionalSalary negotiation is not an exact science. Its a math equation that takes into account your skills and experience, the companys culture, and the budget they have available for the position. Each one of these factors can be nudged up or down in a way that makes you a viable candidate or a non-competitor. When you have a salary offer on the table, dont accept it right away. It is often just the first step in the conversation about your value and the payoff youll get working at the company. Engage in a salary negotiation techniquethat gives you confidence and plays to your strengths. What are your tried and true methods for figuring out what youre worth to a company?

How to (Politely) Say No to Work Social Events - The Muse

How to (Politely) Say No to Work Social Events - The MuseHow to (Politely) Say No to Work Social EventsThe first year or so I worked at The Muse, I came to the office, sat at my desk, and went home- save for the occasional coffee date and mandatory team get-togethers. It wasnt that I didnt like the people I worked with. In fact, theyre the reason I took this job I just had a lot of other stuff outside of work that took precedence (including a new city to adjust to, friends to stay in touch with, family to visit, hobbies to maintain, and chores to complete).The point is, I just didnt consider bonding with my co-workers outside of the office a top priority. Of course, as I settled into my new surroundings, my personal life did eventually calm down- and I started hanging out with my co-workers way more.But even now, there are times when work activities have to take a back seat. The Muse is an especially outgoing and active group, and falling behind the crowd can sometimes make me feel g uilty- as if Im bedrngnis being a good team member if Im not participating in every little thing. In many cases this feeling is totally self-imposed- nobodys really holding it against me. But, working at a company that places a lot of value on socializing can inspire a hefty sense of shame in those moments when youd rather forego more team bonding and do your own thing. Why Its OK to Ditch Work Social EventsMaybe this is the case at your company. Or, maybe youre looking to make friends in a new role and, every time you miss an event, youre convinced that youre losing a prime opportunity to lock those relationships down.But as Muse writer Stacey Lastoe has argued, you shouldnt ever feel like you have to make friends at the office or attend work social events at any cost. Sure, you could keep dragging yourself to events that you have no real interest in, but keeping this charade up is exhausting and not always productive. As long as youre happy with the rest of your job, she says- you feel respected, your ideas are heard, you enjoy the work youre doing- its OK to let this one thing go. Whether youre three months or three years in, introverted or extroverted, looking to make friends or not, socializing with your co-workers should be something you choose to do. Having a good relationship with the people you work with is important for clear communication, productivity, and overall job satisfaction, but that relationship can simply be an in-the-office, professional kind. Yes, there are times when activities will be heavily encouraged, if not mandatory, like offsites, retreats, or networking events. And in these moments, youre maybe sacrificing more than just social status by not participating- youre missing out on a chance to get to know your colleagues, build a stronger team, or even do your job well. But most companies ultimately wont force you to do something you truly dont feel comfortable doing.More importantly, the best bosses and co-workers (and work friends) understand that certain things come first, whether its family or hobbies or personal preferences. Chances are, there have also been plenty of instances when theyve had to miss out on a team activity because something else was more important. How to Get Out of Your Next Work Social EventHeres the thing Im all too familiar with the difference between knowing youre allowed to say no to work social events and actually having to break the news to your co-workers that youre going to skip one. Sometimes peer pressure sets in and guilts you into attending, and youre stuck doing something you really dont want to do. While I cant guarantee that wont happen- some people might just continue to pester you or nag you about being a recluse- know that you can dodge their invites respectfully while still keeping the relationships intact.The key in any rejection is to not make it personal. Instead, focus on your decision and why you cant or wont join this time. For example, you can say, Sounds like fun Unfortunately, somethings come up family emergency or conflict. Pencil me in for the next one? or You know I love hanging with you all, but if Im being completely honest, activity isnt my thing. I hope you have a blast, thoughOr, you can just skip the specifics, thank them, and politely decline Thanks for inviting me I cant make it, but have a great time or Appreciate you including me, but I already have plans. In most cases, theyll accept your rejection and move on.Moral of the story? No one should be holding it against you that youre not always showing up to social events as long as youre doing your job well. After all, thats what youre really being paid to do.