If you are a hiring manager, you are probably sitting on a stack of promising resumes why looking to fill your open position. Even using a staffing company to prescreen, it is still hard to prioritize the people you want to speak with. Why? Because most resumes are a horrible representation of how the person will perform. Yes, a list of skills and positions does give some indication, but how do you know if they are a fit for your team and company culture? Even in a down economy, I find that less than half (usually 25%) of candidates complete the questionnaire. Is that the kind of person you want on your team. someone who won’t take an extra 10 minutes to complete a survey for a job they want? What happens when you give them a hard assignment!
Larger companies may use online skills profiles, which are great if you are hiring commodity resources. I’m looking for leaders and problem solvers who are self-driven for my teams. So to help me pull gems out of rock piles, I recommend using a screening survey as part of your application process. The survey should be part of your online application process, but can also be emailed out to each candidate. I’ve provided sample copies at the end that you are welcome to leverage for your own use and needs. The survey has several sections, each with a distinct focus. The order of the sections does not matter.
Role Proficiency: This section tries to quantify background skills and experience directly related to the BA or PM role. My first priority is determining a candidate’s role expertise over domain knowledge. Fill this section with the skills, tools and certifications you are looking for or use to determine the job grade.
Domain Expertise: In some cases or companies, domain experience is as important as someone’s ability to perform a role. Most of the time I feel that a strong person will be successful in any domain, but there are times where knowledge will improve productivity and value. (For the teams I’ve assembled and worked with, I’ve found it to be true when you want linchpins.)
Cultural Fit: This section uses antonyms to help determine a cultural fit for your team and organization. Some companies operate better with innovative free spirits, while other places need people who will follow policy and procedures to the letter.
Multiple Choice: This section is a trap to gauge maturity level. The idea is to create a series of questions which have mostly right answers, with certain answers being tied to the person’s level of maturity, experience and accountability.
Scenarios: Scenarios are one of the best interview approaches to learn not what someone did, but how they solve problems and apply their knowledge. If you use these questions in your interviews, you may want to skip or limit this section. Try to keep the questions focused, especially around opportunities or challenges you’ve seen similar people encounter on your team.
Sample surveys:
