We have very standardized process at Pex (https://pex.com). It's not perfect and we are always trying to improve it, but it works quite well at this point.
First couple of rules:
- quick turnaround. We want to give an answer to a candidate within a week they engage us. If we make an offer, we give them plenty time to sign the offer, even shop around, before they make the decision
- no step can be repeated or returned to. If a candidate progressed from step 2 to 3, our hiring managers are not allowed to go back to the previous step
- we disclose as much information as possible early so there are no surprises
Here is the process:
1) Initial 30 min call with one of our recruiters. We cover mostly the company, the compensation package for the role (usually range based on the level they fit in) and our expectations. We also cover the culture and share as much as we can so the candidate can make informed decision if this is a right fit. We ask some high level questions, but usually focus on the company itself.
2) Take home challenge. We have one for every type of position, from engineering to marketing. They are usually simple and fairly arbitrary problems that illustrate candidate's thinking about problem, how they analyze it, what tools they choose to solve it, etc. When we design the challenges, we are aiming for it to take around 30 minutes. We are not trying to get the person to any significant work for us, rather just figure out how would they solve problem if it was given to them at their position.
3) The candidate meets 4 people:
- their manager where they cover the role, the expectations, the growth at the company and anything related to their job
- random colleague. Essentially someone they will not work directly with. We use this person to help us to focus on the candidate themselves rather than their skills
- our COO, who covers with them more high level topics like what they did/didn't like about previous employments, what they care about in working environment and such
- our CEO (me). I usually focus on their individualities, especially passions and hobbies. I want to see that they care about something, anything. I also answer any unanswered questions from vision, company's cash position, customers, how we generally work, etc
As I mentioned, we try to get an offer to candidate's hands within a week. With this process we get around 95% offer acceptance rate.
First couple of rules:
- quick turnaround. We want to give an answer to a candidate within a week they engage us. If we make an offer, we give them plenty time to sign the offer, even shop around, before they make the decision
- no step can be repeated or returned to. If a candidate progressed from step 2 to 3, our hiring managers are not allowed to go back to the previous step
- we disclose as much information as possible early so there are no surprises
Here is the process:
1) Initial 30 min call with one of our recruiters. We cover mostly the company, the compensation package for the role (usually range based on the level they fit in) and our expectations. We also cover the culture and share as much as we can so the candidate can make informed decision if this is a right fit. We ask some high level questions, but usually focus on the company itself.
2) Take home challenge. We have one for every type of position, from engineering to marketing. They are usually simple and fairly arbitrary problems that illustrate candidate's thinking about problem, how they analyze it, what tools they choose to solve it, etc. When we design the challenges, we are aiming for it to take around 30 minutes. We are not trying to get the person to any significant work for us, rather just figure out how would they solve problem if it was given to them at their position.
3) The candidate meets 4 people:
- their manager where they cover the role, the expectations, the growth at the company and anything related to their job
- random colleague. Essentially someone they will not work directly with. We use this person to help us to focus on the candidate themselves rather than their skills
- our COO, who covers with them more high level topics like what they did/didn't like about previous employments, what they care about in working environment and such
- our CEO (me). I usually focus on their individualities, especially passions and hobbies. I want to see that they care about something, anything. I also answer any unanswered questions from vision, company's cash position, customers, how we generally work, etc
As I mentioned, we try to get an offer to candidate's hands within a week. With this process we get around 95% offer acceptance rate.