This document provides guidance on how to hire technical resources. It discusses defining evaluation criteria, writing an effective job description, screening resumes, preparing for and conducting different types of interviews, including behavioral, case study, and structured interviews. Key steps include identifying the necessary competencies for the role, asking candidates questions about past relevant experiences, focusing the evaluation on competencies rather than assumptions, taking detailed notes, and assessing candidates shortly after the interview while memories are fresh. The goal is to hire candidates who can demonstrate through examples that they possess the required qualifications and abilities to succeed in the position.

1. How To Hire A Technical
Resource?
By: Devendra Singh
2/3/2018 1

2. Agenda
• Candidate evaluation criteria definition
• Job description
• Resume screening
• Interview
• Interview types
• Interview preparation
• Before you begin
• Good interview practices
• Evaluation
• Summary
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3. Candidate Evaluation Criteria Definition
• What academic qualifications needed?
• What work experience?
• What competencies?
• How work experience and competencies would be assessed?
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4. Job Description (JD)
• What is the job?
• Role title
• Job summary
• Responsibilities
• Technical and behavioral competencies requirements
• Compulsory
• Preferred
• What competencies candidate will learn to perform job
• Company and team overview
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5. Resume Screening
• Resume types
• Chronological
• Functional
• Combination
• Targeted
• A tool to narrow down search
• Academic performance
• Required qualification
• Grades
• Relevant past experience
• Experience in term of time
• Experience in term of technologies/areas of interest
• Look out for
• Sloppy/confusing resume
• Short tenure
• Too much personal information like hobbies/special activities
• Gaps, inconsistencies
• Break in work continuity
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6. Interview
• Why?
• Interview types
• Prepare for interview
• Conducting Interview
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7. Why?
• To assess candidate’s technical competencies and behavior against
the job requirements
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8. Interview Types
• Based on interview location
• Based on interview methodology
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9. Location Based Interview Types
• Telephonic interview
• Face to face interview
• Virtual interview
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10. Based On Interview Methodology
• Biographical/Unstructured interview
• Problem solving or case interview
• Stress Interview
• Structured interview
• Behavioral interviews
• Situational/Hypothetical interviews
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11. Biographical/Unstructured Interviews
• Based on CV
• Good for technical interviews
• Impact of bias & first impressions often higher
• Process
• Mostly open ended questions are asked
• Very informal in nature
• Keeps the candidate in very relaxed state
• Casual discussion type interview
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12. Problem Solving / Case Interviews
• Test candidate’s analytical ability and communication skills
• Real or simulated problem is given
• Right answer is not necessary
• Thought process being employed is what interviewer should be
looking for
• Used to assess technical as well as non technical skills
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13. Stress Interviews
• Mostly used when position has high level of stress
• Candidate is put under heavy stress
• Interviewer doesn’t show any empathy
• Strange question like “how many ping pong ball can fit in a plan”
• Idea is to gauge candidates approach
• Candidate should convert big problem into small manageable
problems
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14. Structured Interviews
• Types
• Behavioral
• Hypothetical
• Gathers only job-relevant information
• Ask questions only about the candidates ability to do the job.
• Does not allow distractions of the interesting but irrelevant
• Consistent information across all candidates.
• Asking all candidates the same question allows benchmarking.
• Objective rules and standards are used to evaluate all candidates.
• Candidates are judged only on ability to do the job.
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15. Structured Interviews
• Structured questions
• Evaluates the factual evidence of what a candidate did or said (not open to
our interpretations).
• Reduces misunderstanding of evidence.
• Increased Reliability and Validity
• Research shows that preparation pays.
• Better impression to the external market.
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16. Behavioral Interview
• Past performance indicates future performance
• Questions would be of type:
• Describe a time where you had to make a critical decision.
• Describe a time you disagreed with a supervisor.
• Describe your biggest professional mistake.
• Answers would tell:
• How well candidate is prepared for the question (rambling is bad).
• Candidate’s thought process (what do he consider a mistake?).
• Candidate’s past behaviors (which are believed to indicate future behaviors).
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17. Situational/Hypothetical Interview
• Future looking
• How candidate will handle a situation in future
• Questions would like of “What would you do if…”
• It tests following:
• Ability to solve the problems
• Intelligence and knowledge
• Expertise in the field
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18. Interview Preparation
• Understand JD
• Go through CV
• Prepare questions list
• Prepare with team
• Consider STAR (Situations, Tasks, Actions, and Results) technique
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19. Interview Question Types
• Open Questions
• Invite lots of information
• Behavioral/Hypothetical Questions
• Invite answer to past/imaginary situation
• Probe Questions
• Delving deeper to ensure all information is gained
• Closed Questions
• Invite a yes or no answer
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20. Interview Questions
• Leading Questions
• Tries to get desired answer
• Multiple Questions
• Asking more than one question at once
• Tricky Questions
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21. Before you begin
• Be comfortable with room layout
• Welcome / Introductions
• Set the candidate at ease
• Explain the interview process (particularly with structured
interviewing).
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22. How To Get Better Performance?
• Remain relaxed, open, friendly, and showing good listening skills by
often summarizing. It will:
• Be a pleasant interview experience
• Encourage the candidate to talk
• Reduce stress and hence will improve performance
• Create a favorable impression of your company
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23. Listening skills Do’s
• Notice non-verbal signals
• Gather information rather than evaluate
• Use re-statement to clarify
• Reflect
• Take notes
• Use neutral expressions
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24. Listening skills Don’ts
• Make assumptions
• Interrupt
• Listen for “the right answer”
• Don’t get distracted - Doodle, fidget etc
• Praise- it will raise candidate expectations
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25. Note Taking
• Notes should be clear and specific
• Try to write down actual words rather than own.
• Avoid evaluation at this stage
• Use short-cuts where possible
• Note throughout interview
• Be discreet
• Only note that which you would wish a candidate to see!
• Always write up notes after interview
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26. Evaluations
• Sooner the better
• Based on what the candidate did or said
• Evaluate against each individual competency
• Ignore areas unrelated to target competencies
• Avoid assumptions
• Beware the “Halo”
• Ignore irrelevant information
• Use an evaluation form
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27. Legal Implications
• Discriminatory questions:
• Race
• Ancestry
• National Origin
• Marital status, number of children
• Childcare provision
• Political party membership
• Arrests or Convictions
• Financial Status
• Religion
• Nature of military discharge
• Keep good notes !
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28. Summary
• Create a great job description, a key performer profile is a good place to
start.
• Identify the key competencies required to do the job.
• Identify questions about past behaviors to assess whether or not an
individual can show evidence of the required competencies.
• Use Open and Probe questions to discover the situations, actions, and
results of candidates being assessed.
• Get evidence by listening to the
• Situation
• Task
• Actions
• Results
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29. Thank You!
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