Hiring Lessons From Google
Hiring Lessons from Google
According to Google, hiring is the most important part of a starting or running a business successfully. Below are some key values that Google stand behind from the interview process to the actual hiring of a new member of staff.
Be very clear what want
Fairly obvious but you would be surprised the amount of companies that might not be completely clear on what they want for the role and to be part of the team. Get it all down and discuss it with your partners or other members of your company. What are the two or three things that you really want the right person to have?
General Cognitive Ability
One of the key metrics that Google look for in a candidate is their General Cognitive Ability or problem solving. How does your candidate break down a problem? Ask open-ended questions to see how the candidate approach and solve problems. There are no right or wrong answers here you are looking at their thought process and how they use data to inform decisions.
Leadership
Are their occasions when your candidate helped a team succeed when they weren’t officially the leader or even in the team. How much does your candidate take ownership, do they have an entrepreneurial nature?
Role Fit
An obvious one and related to be clear on what you want. If it is a technical candidate make sure that they meet the language knowledge requirements that you have identified for the role, if in doubt it is probably time to move on. NO PANIC HIRING!
Hiring by consensus
The team involved in hiring and the interview process should have consensus on the right candidate, and be able to verbalise why or why not.
No more than 4 interviewers
Too many interviewers can damage the quality of the interview and put candidates under too much pressure where they don’t perform. According to the data Google have collected and analysed 4 people on the interview panel is the ideal number. If you have a small team and don’t have 4 people able to interview, bring in trusted advisors. It falls into the next point.
Add an outsider into the interview process
Being a start-up that grew at an astonishing pace a big potential issue that Google wanted to avoid would be that there were no (or at least a minimum) panic hires. When a manager or a team are under pressure to deliver a project on a tight time schedule they could all to easily take on someone that meets part of their requirements. This is why Google would ensure that an outsider, someone not involved in the team and aware of the pressure or problems that the team has are involved in the interview process.
Brain Teaser Interview Questions
How many golf balls can you fit in a Range Rover? What do you think this kind of question would achieve? Jack Shit, Brain Teasers don’t really show much about the candidates. That is why Google binned such questions and moved on with what actually works.
Lastly, Take your time
You might feel like you are in a rush to deliver but it takes a lot more effort to work with someone that doesn’t meet your requirements and potentially get rid of them and start the whole process again. NO PANIC HIRES, take your time and find the right person.