Bill Stauffer is a Managing Partner of Flatiron Search Partners. FSP is a boutique executive-search and growth-advisory firm.
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At Flatiron Search Partners, we deeply believe in the power of a comprehensive candidate evaluation process. More and more, we're working with partners to effectively leverage projects or working sessions during the final stages of hiring. This is likely a result of roles becoming more technical and specialized across many industries.
In order for this to be an effective and fair evaluation, it’s important to ensure that the candidate is set up for success. Here are some approaches to help optimize your approach.
1. Design An Effective Process
Design the presentation meeting carefully, and leverage the same process across all interviews to create a level playing field. Aim to have the least number of stakeholders involved—about three to four, including the candidate—and the maximum amount of discussion time. Think of it as a working session as opposed to a report-out or panel interview.
2. Create Clear Deliverables
Be very clear about the deliverable and what success looks like. The more ambiguity, the more likely the result won't meet expectations. Provide data, a specific business goal or challenge and supporting information as needed. Keep the preparation required to a minimum; two to three hours is appropriate. The goal is for the candidate to demonstrate their thinking and ability, not create the functional plan for the year.
Create some ground rules, such as saving questions or comments until the end of a section. To keep the meeting on track, don’t deviate from the agreed deliverables. Veering off track or introducing additional topics adds confusion and distraction. This can cause the candidate to lose focus, leading interviewers to believe the candidate didn't sufficiently cover the mandate.
3. Leverage Real Or Hypothetical Scenarios
If you want to have the candidate look at a real-world business problem, have them sign an NDA so you are comfortable sharing the appropriate level of detail of a business-related prompt.
As an alternative, use hypothetical data and scenarios. This keeps the playing field level since the candidate doesn't live and breathe the realities of the business like you do. It also avoids the impression that you're requesting free work.
4. Expect And Embrace Hypothesis Or Guesswork
During a project evaluation session, embrace candidates' outside-the-box thinking and suggestions. Don’t expect them to understand the nuances or politics of suggestions. This ambiguity has pushed more clients to focus on hypotheticals rather than an actual business case. Receiving this perspective from a candidate provides clarity around the types of business challenges they've faced—and how relevant these situations are—as everyone draws on their experience first and foremost. It will also show how creatively they digest information, think and solve problems. You don't have to agree with the action plan. What matter is that the candidate used sound logic and a relevant toolkit to create it.
5. Create A Positive Environment
Provide positive reinforcement throughout the meeting. Actively listen, engage with visual cues and demonstrate receptivity and agreement when aligned. If you don’t agree with something, ask questions to see their side of things. Avoid creating a "Gotcha!" atmosphere by strongly contesting or pushing back against ideas presented.
6. Provide Timely Feedback
Provide feedback to the candidate at the close of the meeting in an informal format, and ensure you thank them for the time and session. Typically, candidates invest a tremendous amount of work in the mental and physical presentation of a case study. Whether it goes well or not, scheduling a formal feedback session after the interviewers have digested the evaluation and compiled their thoughts is a good practice. At FSP, we always recommend delivering this feedback in person, rather than an email. It's more personal and shows candidates that you're invested in their success, even if it's ultimately not with your company.
When executed well, candidate projects can be a vital part of a comprehensive interview process. As with anything else, it's all in the execution. By developing a consistent strategy, you can find the talent you're looking for.
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