Tim Chen [Archive.org URL]

Because you may have a long list of candidates, you should batch calls as often as possible. For example, set aside 15 minute segments in a 3 hour block daily. In a first-pass, I always ask: 1) “Walk me through your resume”, to understand if the candidate is actually interested in a startup via a clear story, or just shotgunning their resume; 2) “If you left a year from now, what would be the main reason why?”, to indirectly gauge what the candidate is optimizing for and what they care about; 3) “Given your experience at X, what skill could you bring to the table in an analyst role? What do you want to improve most?” to assess strengths and weaknesses; 4) “What are your life values?” to quickly figure out their personalities and how they react to an unconventional question. You should have a gut feel after asking these questions if the candidate is a “no,” “soft yes,” or “strong yes.” Pro tip: don’t move candidates to the next step until you’ve gone through a couple of days worth of interviews; you don’t want to lower your bar as a result of initial poor applicant quality.

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