How to avoid hiring mistakes by testing for skills

Hiring managers screw this up all the time. They interview candidates based on gut feel...and wonder why they keep making the wrong hire. I've done this myself. It sucks for everyone. The employee. Your team. The company. If there's one thing that 10+ years of startup recruitment has taught me...it's that you shouldn't start interviewing people if you don't know exactly what you're testing for. Here's what we do with every client before they hire: 1. Define a few non-negotiable for someone to be successful in this role 2. Design behavior questions and exercises that only test these skills. 3. Cut the rest We don't ask for life stories or for someone to walk us through the resume. Every question is intentional. Every exercise is meant to test how they would perform in the actual role. You are testing: - Can they do the work - The way your team needs it done - At the level your bar is set If you can do this, I promise you'll make better hires.