BY ANNA LEITHER – DIRECTOR OF CLIENT SERVICES
I recently had the opportunity to participate in an interview about hiring practices with the University of St. Thomas Graduate Business Career Services team. This was a great opportunity for me to reflect on all of my experiences since I left St. Thomas, my alma mater, and think about the qualities that are most important to me when evaluating candidates, as well as the evaluation methods that have been most effective for me. After completing that interview, I decided to collect other perspectives on hiring practices from some of my colleagues at Elicit. Here’s what stood out most in my mind from my personal reflection and the insight of my colleagues.
THE “IS THIS EVEN POTENTIALLY GOING TO WORK?” SCREEN
In the consulting world, time is money, and it’s critical that every conversation with a job candidate is a good use of time. So it’s important to cover the “deal breaker” topics first. Does the person have the relevant experience/skills required? Does their salary expectation match the range you’re willing to offer? Is the commute/travel required going to contribute to a healthy work/life balance for the candidate? Start with the table stakes!
THE CONSULTING 101 SCREEN
Critical consulting skills include the ability to explain complicated concepts clearly and simply; to assemble and process new information quickly; and to react with composure when asked challenging questions. One way to test a candidate in these areas is to ask them to respond on the spot to a riddle or logic question. For example, when meeting with a candidate in a hotel lobby, you might ask, “How many people are in this building right now?” Of course, there is no way for them to actually know the correct answer, but hearing the candidate’s thought process will give you a sense for their critical thinking skills and their maturity in client handling.
Even something as simple as asking questions about the candidate’s resume can go a long way in assessing consulting skills: if the candidate is able to explain what they’ve done in a way that leaves you with a clear understanding that you could easily restate on your own, that shows that they know how to boil things down to the most important parts and communicate them effectively. To avoid getting rehearsed answers, study the resume a bit before the interview and come prepared with a few questions that the candidate may not be used to receiving.
THE SKILLS SCREEN
You want a team member who can walk the walk as well as they talk the talk, right? That can be hard to assess in conversation. If a candidate is really excited about an opportunity, they’ll typically be willing to do some work as part of the application process. We’ve designed a set of candidate assignments for Elicit job candidates, and use them to evaluate knowledge and skills related to specific job functions. In addition to helping us assess qualifications, this exercise also lets us see the candidate’s writing skills and presentation skills in action.
THE ROLE FIT SCREEN
To get a feel for whether a specific role will be a good fit for a candidate, it’s important to ask questions about their likes and dislikes from past roles, and what excites them most and scares them most about the position they’re applying for. Also, dig into their progression within past companies. Can they describe ways in which they grew professionally with past employers in terms of increasing responsibilities or exposure to new subject areas? Someone who has a consistent track record of professional growth is likely to continue to look for opportunities to establish themselves as an increasingly valuable team member, whereas someone who seemed to be stagnant in their past roles may be less self-motivated.
At Elicit, we’re looking for candidates who are not only smart, driven, and experienced, but also excited about working with a small, entrepreneurial organization. Some people have great work ethic but their mindset is “my job pays the bills.” We’re looking for people who want their job to be a more fulfilling aspect of their life, who view their work as an opportunity to build something great, and who will stick with us for the long haul. So, we spend a lot of time talking with candidates about their professional development goals. It has to be a mutually beneficial fit, and there has to be enough room for growth within Elicit that we can reasonably expect the fit to last for a while.
THE CULTURE FIT SCREEN
There’s also an element of cultural fit that’s hard to put a finger on, but is really important to the hiring process. Elicit is like a second family. There are people from all walks of life, but there are certain common values that help us gel, such as intellectual curiosity, strong work ethic, appreciation for humor, passion for life, and a genuine interest in the lives of others. An interview setting can be a difficult time to get to know someone, but you may see more of their personal side over a meal, a drink, or even just by chatting with them on a walk to their car.
Once a new team member has joined the organization, it’s a good sign if they are asking plenty of good questions, seem enthusiastic, and no longer need the hiring manager around them to feel comfortable with their new teammates.
I hope this insight proves to be beneficial for those of you out there doing the hiring. As for those of you on the other end of the interview, take a look at our career openings and maybe you can experience our hiring process first-hand.
Thanks to my colleagues Alex Soria and Lauren Drexler for their contributions to this post!
Hiring for the Long Haul
BY ANNA LEITHER – DIRECTOR OF CLIENT SERVICES
I recently had the opportunity to participate in an interview about hiring practices with the University of St. Thomas Graduate Business Career Services team. This was a great opportunity for me to reflect on all of my experiences since I left St. Thomas, my alma mater, and think about the qualities that are most important to me when evaluating candidates, as well as the evaluation methods that have been most effective for me. After completing that interview, I decided to collect other perspectives on hiring practices from some of my colleagues at Elicit. Here’s what stood out most in my mind from my personal reflection and the insight of my colleagues.
THE “IS THIS EVEN POTENTIALLY GOING TO WORK?” SCREEN
In the consulting world, time is money, and it’s critical that every conversation with a job candidate is a good use of time. So it’s important to cover the “deal breaker” topics first. Does the person have the relevant experience/skills required? Does their salary expectation match the range you’re willing to offer? Is the commute/travel required going to contribute to a healthy work/life balance for the candidate? Start with the table stakes!
THE CONSULTING 101 SCREEN
Critical consulting skills include the ability to explain complicated concepts clearly and simply; to assemble and process new information quickly; and to react with composure when asked challenging questions. One way to test a candidate in these areas is to ask them to respond on the spot to a riddle or logic question. For example, when meeting with a candidate in a hotel lobby, you might ask, “How many people are in this building right now?” Of course, there is no way for them to actually know the correct answer, but hearing the candidate’s thought process will give you a sense for their critical thinking skills and their maturity in client handling.
Even something as simple as asking questions about the candidate’s resume can go a long way in assessing consulting skills: if the candidate is able to explain what they’ve done in a way that leaves you with a clear understanding that you could easily restate on your own, that shows that they know how to boil things down to the most important parts and communicate them effectively. To avoid getting rehearsed answers, study the resume a bit before the interview and come prepared with a few questions that the candidate may not be used to receiving.
THE SKILLS SCREEN
You want a team member who can walk the walk as well as they talk the talk, right? That can be hard to assess in conversation. If a candidate is really excited about an opportunity, they’ll typically be willing to do some work as part of the application process. We’ve designed a set of candidate assignments for Elicit job candidates, and use them to evaluate knowledge and skills related to specific job functions. In addition to helping us assess qualifications, this exercise also lets us see the candidate’s writing skills and presentation skills in action.
THE ROLE FIT SCREEN
To get a feel for whether a specific role will be a good fit for a candidate, it’s important to ask questions about their likes and dislikes from past roles, and what excites them most and scares them most about the position they’re applying for. Also, dig into their progression within past companies. Can they describe ways in which they grew professionally with past employers in terms of increasing responsibilities or exposure to new subject areas? Someone who has a consistent track record of professional growth is likely to continue to look for opportunities to establish themselves as an increasingly valuable team member, whereas someone who seemed to be stagnant in their past roles may be less self-motivated.
At Elicit, we’re looking for candidates who are not only smart, driven, and experienced, but also excited about working with a small, entrepreneurial organization. Some people have great work ethic but their mindset is “my job pays the bills.” We’re looking for people who want their job to be a more fulfilling aspect of their life, who view their work as an opportunity to build something great, and who will stick with us for the long haul. So, we spend a lot of time talking with candidates about their professional development goals. It has to be a mutually beneficial fit, and there has to be enough room for growth within Elicit that we can reasonably expect the fit to last for a while.
THE CULTURE FIT SCREEN
There’s also an element of cultural fit that’s hard to put a finger on, but is really important to the hiring process. Elicit is like a second family. There are people from all walks of life, but there are certain common values that help us gel, such as intellectual curiosity, strong work ethic, appreciation for humor, passion for life, and a genuine interest in the lives of others. An interview setting can be a difficult time to get to know someone, but you may see more of their personal side over a meal, a drink, or even just by chatting with them on a walk to their car.
Once a new team member has joined the organization, it’s a good sign if they are asking plenty of good questions, seem enthusiastic, and no longer need the hiring manager around them to feel comfortable with their new teammates.
I hope this insight proves to be beneficial for those of you out there doing the hiring. As for those of you on the other end of the interview, take a look at our career openings and maybe you can experience our hiring process first-hand.
Thanks to my colleagues Alex Soria and Lauren Drexler for their contributions to this post!
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