Technology is an ever-evolving sector, and one of the most discussed topics in the space is the selection criteria for hiring employees. Do you hire someone with a college degree or without one? With an MBA or without one? Do someone's personality profile and culture fit matter more than the skills they bring to the table? Do you hire for hard skills or soft ones? Are your employment decisions made subjectively on how team members feel about a person, or objectively by a criterion? And if we're accounting for all of these things, does that mean we're hiring on a matrix or by percentage from a list of traits? These are all important KPIs, but how do you put all of them together to make a great hire?

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Last year, I had the privilege of working for a groundbreaking startup. Just before we closed our seed round the CEO asked everyone to take The Predictive Index. He'd been at an event where a CEO who'd built several successful companies recommended the tool and said he based the majority of his hiring decisions on PI results alone. So, we decided to give it a try.

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Everyone took the test and as a group, we realized that out of a 20-person team, we'd only hired 4 personality types. We ended up with a great team, but in terms of diversity, data, and, most of all, creativity, there was a huge gap.

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We were all innovators, early adopters, and risk takers - the business developers, software engineers, and marketers of the world, but we lacked backend fulfillment (like customer success) and foundational roles (like FP&A) to make our geometric sales growth stick. We started by looking at our strengths and weaknesses from an objective point of view and realized that our selection criteria for hiring new people needed to change.

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We created new employee scorecards that measured candidates on the core cultural beliefs of our team - humble, hungry, and curious. Then defined each role by the milestones that each new hire would need to hit to prove successful in the role. For AEs (account executives) we used metrics like brevity (clear communication), competitiveness, preparation, past performance, adaptability, and work ethic. For software engineers, we assessed industry fascination (keeping up with trends and innovation), passion, experience, knowledge base, problem-solving skills, and technical acumen. And, everyone had to prove competence in several categories to get past a panel interview into the final rounds.

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Interview intelligence software has now automated much of this process. Platforms like Pillar use Ai (artificial intelligence) algorithms to streamline selection methods in HRM and measure how well someone will perform in a role, based on their skills plus the standard traits that make a great teammate - empathy, enthusiasm, and collaboration, etc., and provide you with the necessary insights to make better hires.

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Recruitment Selection Criteria Examples

So what are the criteria for selecting the right candidate? The internet is full of recruitment selection criteria examples, and each role will have slightly different criteria. However, there are some “must-haves” that you should use for every job. Here is a list of recruitment criteria examples:

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1. Capability to perform the role successfully.

This may mean specific education or certification, it may mean proven competence in a technical field or job, or it could mean a combination of skills, knowledge, and experience. But a candidate should never make it past screening if they don't show competence in at least one KPI.

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2. Personality traits and behaviors.

Look for candidates that are motivated, organized, detail-oriented, and able to work independently. They should also be good team players who can collaborate effectively with their colleagues. These people will be far more likely to succeed on your team.

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3. Cultural fit & values alignment.

This is the most important criterion of all. Does the candidate have similar beliefs, values, and interests as the team? Are they a good fit for your company culture? Do they seem to be genuinely interested in working at your organization? If a person doesn't share your core values or understand what you stand for, it's unlikely that they will be successful.

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4. Hard skills.

These are the technical skills and knowledge that are required for a position. This could include computer programming, accounting, software development, or a host of other related areas. Make sure the candidate has the necessary qualifications to perform the job well.

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5. Soft skills.

Soft skills refer to interpersonal abilities like communication, problem-solving, and time management. These are essential qualities for a successful team member and can be difficult to evaluate during the hiring process, but can be assessed by speaking with former managers, teammates, and direct reports.

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If the person is going to be managing others:

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6. Leadership skills & decision-making ability.

It's important to look for candidates who can take initiative, manage projects, and think critically. They should also be able to make sound decisions under pressure and have a track record of leading successful teams.

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These are just some of the criteria for selecting the right candidate. Depending on the role, you may want to add additional selection criteria. It's important to craft an effective selection system that accurately evaluates candidates and helps you choose the best person

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Having strong recruitment selection criteria you can compare candidates to can help you find the right person for your team quickly and easily. As you create your candidate criteria and scorecard, take your time to define the criteria that make sense for each role, and use intelligent solutions like AI-driven video interview software to extract candidate insights to streamline the process even further.

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Hiring Criteria Checklist

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As we've discusses in previous sections, finding the right candidate for your team starts with creating an effective hiring criteria checklist. We've found that the easiest way to create hiring criteria examples, is to create a checklist from the person who's most successfully performing the role you're hiring for, right now. For instance, if you're hiring an AE, do you have one currently who's above quota consistently each quarter? Use their criteria as your benchmark.

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Are they a self-starter? Do they have familiarity with certain software or suite of tools? Are they team players? What kind of communication style do they have? Do they work remotely, in the office, or a hybrid of both? Do they generally lead or follow? These characteristics can all turn into questions you'll want to include in your checklist when screening candidates! If you'd like to see an example, check out "How to Hire the Best Salespeople," to learn more.

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Once again, this will change slightly if you're hiring managers. Managers can either make or break a team. Micromanaging and lack of trust can destroy self-starters, and no management can lead to missed deadlines and unhappy customers. A good manager should know how to delegate tasks fairly, understand the strengths and limitations of each team member, and be able to hold everyone accountable while providing them with the support they need when they need it.

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Creating these tools and actually using them in your hiring process will make all the difference in the hiring decisions that you make. If you're hiring process isn't getting the results that you want it to and you feel stuck, we'd love to help you make better hires. Pillar created a suite of tools, powered by Ai, that helps you assess candidates for each role objectively. With a library of questions to use as prompts in interviews, candidate scorecards, and checklists, you'll have the tools you need to make great hiring decisions.

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Selection Process in Recruitment

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In, "The Ultimate Interview Checklist for Hiring Teams," we break down an effective selection process into 6-steps. Starting with the job posting and ending with the offer. Recruitment and selection processes in HRM have changed drastically in the last few years and it's important to have a process that evolves as well.

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The six-step selection process in recruitment looks like this:

1. Job Posting  — create an effective job posting, using clear inclusive language, and outlining the tasks required for the role you're trying to fill;

2. Candidate Screening — decide who to interview and create criteria for screening;

3. Interview Structure — define the structure of your interviews, if you're going to have multiple rounds or one, and how long each round will be;

4. Candidate Evaluation — use one-on-one and panel interviews, scorecards, or checklists to compare candidates objectively.

5. Reference Checks — call references to ask for feedback about the candidate

6. Offer Letter — create an offer letter with clear terms, and a timeline of when the offer will be accepted or denied.

This is just one example of what an effective selection process in hrm looks like. It's important to remember that this should be tailored to your unique needs and evolve as you grow. This process should act like a job funnel qualifying candidates from one stage to the next until they either leave the funnel or are offered a role on your team.

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Selection criteria for hiring employees should also take diversity and inclusion goals into consideration. As I mentioned in the first section, to create a great team, it's important to ensure that you're not just hiring people who look and think like you, but also creating an opportunity for a diverse group of candidates to join your team.

If you're currently assessing your hiring process and have come to the conclusion that it's not delivering the results you desire, schedule a demo to chat with someone on our team. Pillar was founded on one primary mission, to help you make better hires, and our suite of tools can help you do just that. We understand how hard it can be to find the right candidate for a role, but with the right tools, structure, and process in place, you'll make better hires in no time!