You have a solid position description, you’ve posted your ads, and you’re starting to receive applications. You’re excited to review the applications, hire, and move your business forward.
But the applications keep coming. The feeling of excitement has turned to exhaustion as the daunting task of sifting through resumes to find the right candidate now begins. How, in this sea of applications, do you find the right hire?
You are not alone feeling overwhelmed and pressured to hire the right person. On average, companies receive 250 resumes for each job opening. While there is no foolproof method for hiring the perfect candidate, implementing a scorecard can help you make the right hire.
Narrowing Resumes
Without clear criteria, leaders end up arbitrarily scanning applications. Most try to review resumes, thinking they know what they are looking for. After a while, hiring managers tend to get fatigued, and subjective judgments creep in. Thoughts like “Maybe,” They have X” or “This resume looks well-formatted” can lead to wasted interviews with unqualified candidates.
Instead, take a more pragmatic approach: candidates either meet the essential criteria or don’t. A structured Hiring Criteria Scorecard can help eliminate guesswork.
Creating a Hiring Criteria Scorecard
Whether you are manually reviewing cover letters and resumes, using recruiting software, or other AI tools, you must set the parameters for the scan. These parameters are keywords you’re looking for in the ideal candidate for the job. These keywords are criteria found in the position description and are used to populate your scorecard.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Review the list of essential duties and responsibilities associated with the position. These are the core contributions and deliverables that define success in the role. Identify the top five essential skills or abilities a candidate must possess to succeed in the role. Put these skills or abilities on the scorecard.
Soft Skills
In the qualifications sections of the position description are soft skill competencies. These typically involve personal talents, motivators, and behaviors. Consider personal attributes such as attention to detail, analytical thinking, or adaptability. Identify the top five competencies that are non-negotiable for success in this position and include them on the scorecard.
Cultural Fit
The position description should also contain the core company values and behaviors expected of all employees. The right hire should align with and enhance your workplace culture. Most companies have five to seven core values that frame their culture. These can be added to the scorecard.
If your company has further defined its core values in terms of actions and behaviors, identify the top five behaviors critical to success in the role and add those to your scorecard.
Scoring System
The scorecard has now been populated with your top five skills or abilities, competencies, and fundamental behaviors. Next, develop a simple scoring system.
Consider a rating scale system of 1 to 5, with 1 indicating that the candidate doesn’t demonstrate the criteria and 5 meaning that the candidate exceeds expectations. Or consider a plus and minus system. A plus means that you believe the candidate meets the criteria, a plus/minus indicates that they mostly meet the criteria, and a minus indicates that they do not meet the criteria.
Next to the scoring system for each criterion, leave a space for comments justifying the score. This will help you and others understand why you rated the candidate as you have. Be specific with examples, as these can be used for initial interview questions or follow-up questions.
Hiring Scorecard in Action
The first use of the scorecard is for reviewing resumes and cover letters. When reviewing resumes, consider focusing on skills, abilities, and competencies, as cultural fit is more challenging to determine solely from a resume.
Scan the submission for the selected criteria. Using the scorecard and scoring system, score the candidate to the level they have demonstrated the criteria. If a candidate lacks more than one critical skill or competency, move on to the next application. Remember the scorecard is complied with your hiring must-haves, and the candidate either meets the essential criteria or doesn’t. This level of clarity in hiring will ensure you interview qualified candidates.
Interview Process
Interviewing can be complex, and hiring managers often rely on unstructured, organic conversations. This approach leads to inconsistencies and missed red flags. Use the same scorecard from the resume review in both the telephone screen and in-person interview. Develop questions that assess the top abilities, competencies, and values you selected for the scorecard.
Ask candidates questions that require them to describe specific past experiences related to the required skills and that demonstrate the competencies and cultural behaviors. Then, listen for responses that outline a problem, define the actions taken, and report the results. If a response is vague and does not specifically address the criteria, probe deeper with clarifying questions.
Immediately following the interview, each interviewer should complete their scorecard. The hiring team then reviews the ratings collectively. If the consensus is that the candidate has scored below average on more than one key criterion per section, they are not the right fit.
If they seem to be the right fit, use the score and comments to develop questions for the first or second round of interviews. Any criteria with a score of 1 to 3 or a range of – to +/- require further clarification.
Use a Scorecard to Stay Focused for Better Hires
Scanning resumes and evaluating past performance is challenging. Using the scorecard tool provides a structured approach, ensuring that everyone involved stays focused on what truly matters. By using a scorecard, you’ll make more informed hiring decisions, find the right candidate for the job, and reduce turnover.
If you need help developing your position descriptions or setting up your scorecards, please reach out. Let me help make your hiring process less daunting and find you the right candidate.
