Clearly defined rubrics - An interesting interviewing approach of this Twitter manager
As per tips mentioned by Mallika Rao (Software Engineering Manager at Twitter), recruiters should have a set of rubrics to conduct efficient interviews. She mentions that a well-thought-out strategy can enable companies to hire the right set of professionals. Without a proper set of rubrics, recruiters often rely on their own understanding and traditional pointers to assess applicants.
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Clear rubrics allows improving efficiency of recruitment processes
The software engineering manager at Twitter believes that modern hiring strategies can be managed by well-defined rubrics to improve their consistency. Rao mentions “If you have the rubrics and the call structure in place, and you know how you’re going to sell the vision, goals, or inflection points in the product, you’ll be able to get a lot more out of that call”. She also adds that applicants should have a clear idea about their duties and about their team before going on-site. She also suggests that hiring managers should provide applying professionals with key information about the opening that should help them to gain some excitement.?
Managers must be fully aware of the recruitment task at hand
A software engineering department is made up of various categories of talent like - software engineer 1, senior software engineer, and so on. Recruiters tasked to find professionals for such posts should be aware of the specifics related to them. The hiring team should try to fine-tune and customize questions in a way that addresses the requirements of the concerned position. So before conducting an interview, recruiters should invest time to evaluate whether they have enough questions for each role or not. They should also spend time understanding how to utilize these questions to identify the best applicants applying for the role.
While hiring tech professionals, having a clear idea about expectations and intelligently selecting a panel can help to evaluate developers with a higher level of efficiency. She also adds if companies are in a position, they should think about using the Topgrading approach; it is a 12-step-recruitment process often used for identifying the best from a pool of applicants for a particular position even without evaluating their skills in person. Contrary to traditional approaches, Topgrading allows companies to make informed decisions and conduct evidence-based recruitment rather than just relying on job applications.
The recruitment team/department needs to devise an interview process that provides strong signals about applicants’ technical skills. Using these cues, recruiters can make better decisions using the rubrics.
It is okay to override decisions
In an effort not to upset teammates or not to question authority, recruiters often avoid taking tough decisions. But such approaches can cause more harm than good and end up creating more problems. For which, Rao suggests that it's perfectly alright for managers to overrule hiring decisions.
Even if entire teams unanimously agree on a notion, a manager might possess some knowledge that is urging them to overrule the unanimous decision. Managers should not refrain from making the right call. However, managers need to handle such situations mindfully as opposing others’ perspectives too often can diminish morale and team spirit in the long run.
Managers also need to keep in mind that recruitment is not a general process. Based on the industry, company structure, and vertical hiring, hiring processes need to be fine-tuned to meet requirements. In addition to being flexible and mindful about the process, managers must possess a clear idea about what skills the team requires. Moreover, policymakers should also possess a deep understanding of the expectations of both - company and applicants before hiring a professional.
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