Having a well-articulated interview process is good, but if people aren't educated as to how to interview, the results from the process will be poor.
Furthermore, in addition to finding a "fit" with a candidate, there are fairness and justice issues about which interviewers need to be aware. More information on these issues can be found in the section below titled "Ensuring a Fair and Just Process".
When interviewing for "fit", we're trying to get a sense of how someone will (a) fit into the culture, and (b) perform in their role. Keeping this in mind, there are some basic guidelines that tend to lead toward better outcomes:
- For culture fit, probing about someone's "interpersonal" skills and "motivational" skills is key.
- For performance, probing about someone's actual skills is key.
- Past success is a better predictor of future success than hypotheticals. As such, in general, backward-looking questions ("Give me an example of an accomplishment you're proud of from your current job.") are better than forward-looking questions ("What do you hope to accomplish here?")
- Likewise, in general, specific questions ("Give me an example of an interpersonal interaction from your current job where you wish you could have a do-over.") are superior to abstract questions ("What are your weaknesses from an interpersonal perspective?")
And, of course, it's always a good idea to review some Sample Interview Questions
See also: Sourcing Candidates
We strive to be extremely thoughtful about who we bring on board in the early stages of our company and want every partner to be a yes to each new hire. We also want all prospective new hires to meet every partner on the team and be a yes to all of us. For this reason, our process will be longer and more thorough than candidates may find at other companies. To accomplish these goals, while still balancing efficiency, our hiring process is as follows:
###Stage 1: Initial Screen
Applications are submitted via Workable. Promising candidates are invited to complete an initial phone screen with someone from our recruiting partner, Team Theory.
After passing the initial phone screen, candidates are interviewed with a focus on how they will perform in the role to which they’ve applied. This stage may involve a technical interview (e.g. pair programming exercise or other demonstration of relevant skills) and will include speaking with 1-3 partners who will work most closely with the person in that role and/or have the most relevant knowledge to assess a candidate’s skill set for it.
After a candidate’s role fit has been established, they will interview with all remaining partners with a focus on company and culture fit. These conversations consist of a series of paired videoconference interviews over the course of 5 days. Partners will communicate with each other in between conversations; if at any point Learners Guild decides not to move forward with a candidate, all remaining interviews will be canceled, but candidates will know the entire interview timeline up front.
We strive for a two-week turnaround from the time a candidate submits their application in Workable to the time they’ve met all of our partners. Once a candidate passes the Role Fit stage (Stage 2), all remaining partner interviews (Stage 3) will be calendared within 5 days. Partners will be proactive in asking candidates if they have a competing offer timeline and will make every effort to adjust our process to stay competitive for promising candidates.
Resumes is reviewed without including identifying information for the candidate. Information indicating name, age, race, and gender is excluded from resumes before they are reviewed by the official reviewer.
The purpose of anonymized resumes is twofold. One, we want to ensure that the qualities for which we evaluate candidates are solely the ones which correspond to and indicate their fitness for the position. Two, we hold the world view that systematic bias and oppression are alive and well; we are not immune to these realities. We design with this perspective in mind.
The process of sourcing and hiring candidates adheres to a modified version of the Rooney Rule. Under our Rooney Rule, the candidate pool for any position by the beginning of Stage 2 must meet the following criteria:
- At least 1 candidate identifies as women.
- At least 1 candidate identifies as belonging to a minority ethnicity.
The hiring process for any candidate does not move beyond Stage 3 until these criteria have been satisfied for the position in question.
Our intent in establishing this rule is to place constraints which direct us towards equality for all partners. We acknowledge that these aims must be sought actively, because passivity only serves to perpetuate existing inequalities and injustices.
When interviewing, one must be careful to ensure a fair and just process for all candidates. As such, if you will be interviewing any candidate, it's important to familiarize yourself with the following: