Shawna Armstrong

When you have several strong applicants but only 1 opening, the reality is often that others didn't fall short in any way. There may not be any helpful constructive feedback to give. That is a perfectly safe response, and it is important to respond if you want your talent database to remain viable for future needs.

Your process is where you control: 📈 The volume coming in ⭐️ The quality coming out For higher volumes: Write better JDs. Make sure the process is quick, easy, mobile-friendly, and communicative. Use automation wisely and only for efficiency. The goal is to screen people IN. Don't use tech to screen people OUT (with the exception of absolute must-haves). For quality: Don't make assumptions. Don't use tech to make assumptions for you. Give the benefit of the doubt. Use structured values and attributes-based behavioral interviews.

Clean your house before you send out invitations to the party. If you have internal issues causing lack of engagement and turnover, fix those first before you work on Hiring. It doesn't make sense to bring in more people who will ultimately leave because they are not supported, recognized, rewarded, and developed.

To chop down a tree, it's better to use 2 sharp axes than 10 dull ones. A good digital prescreen and behavioral interview will get the job done better and faster.

It is not intuitive for candidates to answer behavioral questions with specific examples in STAR format, and this poses the greatest risk for failure. In my experience, the typical first response is, "Oh, that happens all the time..." or, "I do that all the time." After prompting again for a specific example, I often get, "I always (do this)..." or, "I would (do this)..." And sometimes they'll list multiple situations with no supporting details. An interviewer who does not understand how to redirect may give up and fail the candidate on the question. Be sure to give the benefit of the doubt, and guide them to a single specific situation, and persist to pull out all the details. This is where the magic happens ✨️

Create pathways, remove obstacles, remove friction, remove bias and assumptions, remove unnecessary steps, remove unnecessary or premature information gathering, mobile optimize, follow up quickly, and use software automation to speed up the process, improve communication, and scale efforts.