As I write this post, I have a group of candidates taking an assessment for an open sales position in my company. This assessment is part of a larger process that I call the “opt-out” interview process. I didn’t come up with this idea. A colleague of mine explained it to me and I’m sold on this method. Opt-out is not the right method for every position in every company, but for certain positions at certain times, it works pretty well.
Why Use This Method?
The thrust of the Opt-Out method is that you give candidates applying for a job 2 different opportunities to “opt-out” – essentially, they say “no” to you, the employer, before you ever interview them. Why? First, it’s a huge time saver. Secondly, it honors them by giving them a chance to have a say in the process early on. Thirdly, you interview only those who have demonstrated that they are serious about working in your company.
Here’s the Process
The process works like this – at least this is how I do it:
- First, post a job opening
- Then gather resumes – don’t read them.
- Then invite them to an informational meeting about the job and the company. You’ll find that at most, 20% will come to the informational meeting. If you receive 50 resumes, that’s 40 resumes you don’t need to read. This is their first opportunity to opt-out by not showing up for a meeting in which they can learn all about your company and the opportunity. If there are genuine schedule conflicts – which there will be (they will likely call you and explain), then offer a second meeting time. If you ask them to RSVP, do so to a voicemail box so you can get an idea as to how they sound and behave when they are leaving a message.
- Next, do a presentation on your company. I recommend:
- Company history
- Company values
- Your leadership philosophy
- Company purpose and vision
- Details about the position and the opportunity for professional growth
- Then take a break – let them know they can slip away if this isn’t for them. That’s the 2nd chance to “opt-out”. Plan on some leaving, for reasons unknown to you.
- In the second hour, give them a written assessment. Make sure there are situational questions about ethics and some about the job functions. No more than 10 questions. From this, you can learn:
- Their level of writing skills
- If they are willing to invest time in the interview process
- Afterwards, be sure to greet each person directly afterwards and invite post-evening questions. Some will stay and talk with you, some will try to sell you, some will slip you their resume (you already have it) and some will make astoundingly honest comments, like one person who took the Controller assessment: “It’s been a long time since I’ve done this kind of work. I didn’t realize how much I had forgotten”. Obviously, we didn’t hire that individual.
- With your personal interactions in mind, read through the assessments and resumes. Select from zero to four to interview.
- In our process, we hire a third-party consulting firm to do the technical interviews. For example, we hired a sales consulting firm to interview our sales candidates.
- Then send them to a corporate psychologist for an evaluation. You’ll be glad you did.
- Assuming good recommendations from the consulting firm and the psychologist, bring them in for staff interviews.
- Finally, make a decision.
This is much less expensive than using a recruiting firm and it’s more thorough too. Receiving the various opinions of other professionals adds perspective that you can’t get from a recruiter or your own staff. Total cost is roughly $3K – $4K/candidate.
Bill English, Publisher
Bible and Business
