4 Ways You Can Evaluate Candidates Outside of Their Resume

The resume has traditionally been, and continues to be, one of the primary documents for evaluating job candidates. From it, a hiring manager can get a pretty good idea of a person’s qualifications, but the resume doesn’t tell you all you want to know about the person.

Interviews naturally are another way that hiring managers get a more complete picture of the job candidate. Here are some ways hiring managers can go beyond the resume to learn more about a person and better evaluate them.

1. Behavioral interview questions

These are good questions to ask to get a good, in-depth picture of a job candidate. These kinds of questions give you insight into how a person thinks, makes decisions, responds to challenges, and solves problems.

The best way to approach these questions is using the STAR format — S (situation) T (task) A (action) R (result). The candidate is asked to describe a specific situation (S) where they were confronted with a problem or a task that needed to be completed. This is providing background. The candidate then describes the task itself (T), the goal that he or she had to reach, and then specific action steps (A) he took to achieve the goal. After that, the person describes the result that was achieved (R).

2. Reference checks

This is another way to learn about a person’s attitudes, beliefs, personality, and work ethic, all things not included on a resume. A former supervisor can provide useful insight because he or she has worked closely with the job candidate over a period of time.

3. People who know the candidate

In addition to references, people who worked with the job candidate can also provide a lot of insight into the person’s skills, abilities, and work habits.

You can also talk to the people at your company who interacted with the candidate to get their opinion of the person.

4. Interview questions

The questions that a person asks during an interview can also reveal a lot about themselves and how the person thinks. What kinds of topics does the candidate focus on? Do the questions show a depth of analysis and creativity? What do they reveal about the research the candidate has done?

Find Candidates for Your Pharmacy Team

At Rx relief, we take a personal interest in each of our candidates. Our staff is passionate about what they do and works to find the right job for each person. Rx relief has received a number of awards for our service. If your healthcare organization is looking for pharmacists, give Rx relief a call today.