I read more and more about the 4 stages of an interview, etc. I was also previously skeptical about the principle of fast hire, fast fire.
At the moment, I have two opinions on this matter.
Opinion number 1
A good interview could consist of 3 parts.
Ideally, could be reduced to one interview:
The first part (30 minutes) is HRM pre-screening, which is essentially done to save time and superficially assess the candidate / match the position and the company as a whole (soft skills). The candidate asks questions about the company. This can be done simply as a short informal acquaintance. This part is best done separately from the interview.
The second part (1.5 hours) is carried out by a similar Expert Advisor, which is one level higher. It is important to have a quick test task (30 minutes). This part will help you understand the suitability of the position (hard skills)
The third part (30 minutes) is a direct acquaintance with the future manager. This will help to understand alignment with the future objectives / values of the leadership. For an employee – to get specific work. Unfortunately, this important part is often skipped because the manager is busy or even uknown. Anyway this part gives necessary specifics and can solve a lot of questions and risks in future.
In total, the optimal duration of an interview with a separate prescreening / acquaintance is 2 hours.
Anything that longer seems to me more redundant and can be minimized to this timing. Of course there are exceptions: you build rockets or is has a non-trivial position.
Anything shorther – carries certain risks and benefits.
Opinion number 2
After all the interviews I have done and the bugs caught, my slogan is:
The best test for a person is directly the work that he has to do.
I made sure that:
- There are candidates who can go through all the stages, any tricky interviews and tests, but show their inadequacy to the work / team,
- There are also candidates who do not disclose at the interview, but demonstrate excellent results at a specific job.
There is another important reason why employees can leave their work after an excelent interview and great manager:
Work and external factors affecting the employee are also quite dynamic things.
If a person came to the same tasks, there is a possibility that over time (and usually unexpectedly soon) they will change, like the manager, the team. Even candidates don’t know if they can cope with such changes. Only time and specific work in a specific team will tell.
As a result, I think it doesn’t make sense to scare away candidates with complex interview: you will never find all hidden stones or gold. Real work will make it clean and clear.
In fact, I think fast hire, fast fire still makes sense, no matter how brutal it sounds.
SB's 