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How to prepare for the debrief final round discussion

Jonathan Kidder

One of the toughest stages in the entire recruitment process is persuading the interview team during the debrief to consider offering the job to a candidate. Assembling an interview team can be a daunting task, and biases may emerge during the discussions. To address this issue, I have written a post on how to proactively prepare for the debrief discussion and influence your interview team towards a hiring decision.

 

 

What is a final round debrief?

A final round debrief is a meeting that takes place after a final interview round in the hiring process. It typically involves the interviewers who have met with the candidate and any other stakeholders who have been involved in the hiring process. During the debrief, the interview team members discuss the candidate’s qualifications, strengths, weaknesses, and overall fit for the role. They also share their opinions and thoughts about the candidate’s potential for success in the position. Based on this discussion, the team may come to a decision about whether or not to extend a job offer to the candidate. The final round debrief is an important step in ensuring that the hiring process is fair and transparent, and that the best candidate is selected for the job.

 

 

First, start at the intake meeting:

Starting at the intake meeting with the hiring manager is crucial because it helps you understand the requirements of the job, the qualifications needed for the position, and the characteristics of the ideal candidate. By gathering this information upfront, you can ensure that you are looking for the right skills and qualifications during the recruiting process.

 

During the debrief discussion, the information gathered from the intake meeting with the hiring manager can be used to assess the candidate’s qualifications and suitability for the position. This information can serve as a baseline for evaluating the candidate’s skills, experience, and other qualities. It can also be used to ask specific questions during the interview process, and to guide the team’s evaluation of the candidate’s responses.

 

Overall, starting with an intake meeting with the hiring manager is important for ensuring that the recruiting process is focused on finding the best candidate for the job, and that the debrief discussion is based on an objective assessment of the candidate’s qualifications and fit for the role.

 

Key topics to cover:

 

How will the intake discuss influence a debrief?

1. Understand the role and business:

Understanding the business and the role is critical when influencing a debrief because it allows you to make informed decisions and provide relevant insights during the discussion.

 

Firstly, understanding the business gives you a broader perspective on the goals, challenges, and priorities of the organization. This knowledge enables you to align your hiring decisions with the company’s strategic objectives and vision. It also helps you to identify the skills and qualities that are most critical for success in the position, as well as any challenges or potential roadblocks that the new hire may face.

 

Secondly, understanding the role allows you to evaluate the candidate’s fit with the position’s requirements and responsibilities. By having a clear understanding of the role’s key responsibilities, required skills and experience, and performance expectations, you can provide specific feedback during the debrief discussion on how well the candidate meets these requirements.

 

Overall, having a deep understanding of the business and the role is essential when influencing a debrief because it allows you to provide valuable insights and make informed decisions that are aligned with the company’s goals and objectives. This can help ensure that the right candidate is selected for the position and that the organization is well-positioned for success.

 

2. Ask yourself: what are the important factors that you might want to know about (business/role) that could help influence discussions in the debrief?

 

3. Questions to cover during the intake:

During the intake meeting with the hiring manager, there are several questions that can be asked to help guide the final round debrief discussion. Some potential questions include:

 

1. What are the key responsibilities and objectives of the position?

2. What are the required qualifications and experience needed for the role?

3. What specific skills or competencies are needed for success in the position?

4. What are the biggest challenges that the new hire will face in this role?

5. What kind of work environment or company culture would the candidate be joining?

6. Are there any specific red flags or concerns that the interview team should be aware of during the interview process?

7. What kind of candidate profile are you looking for?

8. How will the success of this hire be measured?

9. How does this role fit into the overall structure of the organization and the department?

10. Are there any specific personality traits or characteristics that are particularly important for success in this position?

 

Bonus: Here’s some more tips on persuading a hiring managers interviewing decisions. 

 

Understanding your candidate:

1. Keep gathering information: It’s important to gather as much information about the candidate and their goals for the future. Data includes: location preferences, compensation, or other reasons for why they are looking for a new opportunity. 

 

2. Call out gaps with the candidate: What are they missing and how can they improve?

 

Bonus: Make sure to mentally prepare the candidate for the final round interview. 

 

Final round debrief discussions:

1. Understanding bias

Bias is your brain using shortcuts to come to a rational decision.

 

To mitigate the impact of bias during the interviewing process, it is important to establish clear evaluation criteria and to train interviewers on how to recognize and avoid bias. It is also important to have a diverse interview team and to structure the interview process in a way that ensures that candidates are evaluated fairly and objectively.

 

Bias can play a significant role in the interviewing process, often leading to unfair and discriminatory practices that negatively impact the candidate experience and the quality of the hiring decision. Some ways that bias can manifest during the interviewing process include:

 

Unconscious bias: This is bias that is not intentional, but rather arises from unconscious attitudes, stereotypes, and assumptions that people hold about certain groups of people. For example, a hiring manager may unconsciously assume that a female candidate is less competent than a male candidate, even if there is no evidence to support this belief.

 

Confirmation bias: This is the tendency to seek out information that confirms our pre-existing beliefs or opinions, while ignoring information that contradicts them. In an interviewing context, this can lead to interviewers asking questions that only support their initial impressions of the candidate, and ignoring evidence that suggests the candidate is a good fit for the position.

 

Similarity bias: This is the tendency to favor candidates who are similar to ourselves or who share our background or experiences. For example, a hiring manager who went to the same university as a candidate may be more likely to hire that candidate, even if there are other candidates who are more qualified for the position.

 

Halo effect: This is the tendency to form an overall positive impression of a candidate based on one positive trait or characteristic, even if other aspects of their performance or experience are not strong. For example, an interviewer may give a candidate a high rating based on their impressive educational credentials, even if their work experience is less impressive.

 

 

How to challenge bias:

Challenging bias during the final round interview is an important step to ensure that the hiring decision is fair and objective. Here are some strategies that can be used to challenge bias during the final round interview:

 

Use structured interview questions: Using structured interview questions that are based on the requirements of the job and the candidate’s qualifications can help reduce bias by ensuring that all candidates are evaluated on the same criteria.

 

Encourage diversity on the interview team: Including interviewers with diverse backgrounds and experiences can help to reduce the impact of bias by bringing different perspectives to the evaluation process.

 

Provide interviewer training: Providing training to interviewers on how to recognize and avoid bias can help them to be more aware of their own biases and to make more objective evaluations of candidates.

 

Use data-driven decision-making: Using data and analytics to evaluate candidates can help to reduce bias by providing an objective measure of candidate performance and qualifications.

 

Challenge assumptions: Encouraging interviewers to challenge their assumptions and preconceptions about candidates can help to reduce bias by ensuring that they are evaluating candidates based on objective criteria rather than subjective beliefs or attitudes.

 

How can recruiters sway the final round discussions?

Do your homework: 

 

Set expectations right away – when the debrief starts:

 

Bonus: Here’s how to build an effective final round interviewing team. 

 

Final Thoughts…

Recruiters play a critical role in the hiring process and have valuable insights and expertise that can inform the final decision-making process during a debrief discussion. Here are some reasons why recruiters should not be afraid to voice their opinions during a final round debrief:

 

Recruiters have a unique perspective: Recruiters are often the ones who have spent the most time with the candidates and have a deep understanding of their qualifications, experience, and fit for the role. They can provide valuable insights into the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as any red flags or concerns that may need to be addressed.

 

Recruiters can help ensure a fair process: By voicing their opinions and concerns during the debrief, recruiters can help to ensure that the hiring decision is fair and objective. They can help to identify and challenge any biases or assumptions that may be influencing the discussion, and can advocate for candidates who may have been overlooked or undervalued.

 

Recruiters have a stake in the outcome: Recruiters are invested in the success of the hiring process, as their reputation and credibility are often tied to the quality of the candidates that they bring in. By voicing their opinions and contributing to the debrief discussion, recruiters can help to ensure that the best possible candidate is selected for the role.

 

Recruiters can provide valuable feedback for future hires: By sharing their insights and observations during the debrief, recruiters can help to identify areas for improvement in the recruiting process and provide feedback that can be used to refine and improve future hiring efforts.

 

Overall, recruiters should not be afraid to voice their opinions during a final round debrief because they have a valuable perspective and expertise that can inform the hiring decision and ensure a fair and objective process.

 

 

 

Recommended Reading:

Tips to decrease your time to fill metrics

How to mentally and emotionally prepare candidates for final round interviews

Dan Wang Interview – Senior Technical Sourcing Recruiter – Engineering Leadership & Executive

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