Hiring & Recruitment Skill
Purpose
Provide engineering managers with comprehensive hiring frameworks, interview templates, and assessment tools for building strong engineering teams.
Primary Bond
Agent: hiring-performance-agent Relationship: This skill provides the hiring templates, scorecards, and evaluation frameworks that the agent uses.
Templates
Job Description Template
# {Role Title} - {Team}
## About the Role
{2-3 sentences on impact and scope - what will they accomplish?}
## What You'll Do
- {Responsibility 1 - outcome focused, not task focused}
- {Responsibility 2 - include collaboration aspects}
- {Responsibility 3 - include growth opportunities}
- {Responsibility 4 - include impact on users/business}
## What We're Looking For
### Must Have
- {Years of experience or equivalent demonstrated ability}
- {Core technical skill 1}
- {Core technical skill 2}
- {Key soft skill}
### Nice to Have
- {Bonus technical skill}
- {Domain experience}
- {Leadership experience}
## Our Interview Process
1. **Recruiter Screen** (30 min) - Background and mutual fit
2. **Technical Screen** (60 min) - Coding and problem-solving
3. **System Design** (60 min) - Architecture thinking
4. **Team Fit** (45 min) - Collaboration and values
5. **Hiring Manager** (45 min) - Final discussion
Expected timeline: 2-3 weeks
## What We Offer
- {Compensation range if public}
- {Key benefits}
- {Growth opportunities}
- {Culture highlights}
Interview Scorecard
interview_scorecard:
candidate: "{Name}"
role: "{Role}"
interviewer: "{Name}"
date: "{Date}"
interview_type: "{Technical | Design | Behavioral | Final}"
competencies:
technical_skills:
weight: 30%
score: null # 1-5
evidence: ""
strong_signals: []
concerns: []
problem_solving:
weight: 25%
score: null
evidence: ""
strong_signals: []
concerns: []
communication:
weight: 15%
score: null
evidence: ""
strong_signals: []
concerns: []
collaboration:
weight: 15%
score: null
evidence: ""
strong_signals: []
concerns: []
growth_mindset:
weight: 15%
score: null
evidence: ""
strong_signals: []
concerns: []
overall:
weighted_score: null
recommendation: null # Strong Hire | Hire | No Hire | Strong No Hire
summary: ""
next_steps: ""
scoring_guide:
5: "Exceptional - top 5% of candidates seen"
4: "Strong - clearly above bar"
3: "Meets bar - solid hire"
2: "Below bar - significant concerns"
1: "Far below bar - clear no hire"
Behavioral Interview Guide (STAR)
star_framework:
situation:
prompt: "Tell me about a time when..."
look_for:
- "Specific, real example"
- "Clear context setting"
- "Relevant to competency"
task:
prompt: "What was your specific responsibility?"
look_for:
- "Personal ownership"
- "Clear scope understanding"
- "Appropriate level of challenge"
action:
prompt: "What steps did you take?"
look_for:
- "Specific actions (not 'we' but 'I')"
- "Logical approach"
- "Problem-solving demonstrated"
result:
prompt: "What was the outcome? What did you learn?"
look_for:
- "Measurable impact"
- "Self-reflection"
- "Learning demonstrated"
sample_questions:
problem_solving:
- "Tell me about a time you solved a problem with incomplete information"
- "Describe a situation where you had to make a difficult trade-off"
- "Tell me about a technical decision you later regretted"
collaboration:
- "Tell me about a time you had a conflict with a teammate"
- "Describe a situation where you had to influence without authority"
- "Tell me about receiving critical feedback"
leadership:
- "Tell me about a time you mentored someone"
- "Describe a situation where you drove a significant change"
- "Tell me about a time you had to make an unpopular decision"
Hiring Pipeline Metrics
hiring_metrics:
funnel_metrics:
applications_to_screen: "{X}%"
screen_to_interview: "{X}%"
interview_to_offer: "{X}%"
offer_to_accept: "{X}%"
time_metrics:
time_to_first_response: "{X} days"
time_to_offer: "{X} days"
time_to_hire: "{X} days"
quality_metrics:
new_hire_90_day_retention: "{X}%"
new_hire_performance_rating: "{X}/5"
hiring_manager_satisfaction: "{X}/5"
targets:
time_to_hire: "<45 days"
offer_acceptance: ">80%"
90_day_retention: ">95%"
diversity_pipeline: ">40%"
red_flags:
time_to_hire: ">60 days"
offer_acceptance: "<60%"
90_day_retention: "<85%"
Decision Trees
Hire / No-Hire Decision
Scorecard Complete
|
+-- Any Strong No Hire?
| +-- Yes -> No Hire (single strong no is veto)
| +-- No -> Continue
|
+-- Weighted score >= 3.0?
| +-- No -> No Hire
| +-- Yes -> Continue
|
+-- Any critical competency < 3?
| +-- Yes -> Discuss in debrief, likely No Hire
| +-- No -> Continue
|
+-- All interviewers Hire or Strong Hire?
| +-- Yes -> Make offer
| +-- No -> Debrief discussion, address concerns
Offer Negotiation
Candidate requests higher comp
|
+-- Within approved range?
| +-- Yes -> Can approve, consider value
| +-- No -> Continue
|
+-- Top candidate for role?
| +-- Yes -> Escalate for exception
| +-- No -> Continue
|
+-- Can we offer other value?
| +-- Yes -> Negotiate (signing bonus, equity, title, start date)
| +-- No -> Explain our position, give time to decide
Anti-Patterns
anti_patterns:
culture_fit_trap:
symptom: "Hiring people just like us"
remedy:
- "Define 'culture add' not 'culture fit'"
- "Diverse interview panels"
- "Structured evaluation criteria"
halo_effect:
symptom: "One great answer overshadows all else"
remedy:
- "Structured scorecards for each competency"
- "Multiple interviewers for same competency"
- "Calibration before debrief"
urgency_hire:
symptom: "We need someone NOW"
remedy:
- "Bad hire costs more than waiting"
- "Consider contractors for immediate needs"
- "Never lower the bar"
confirmation_bias:
symptom: "Looking for evidence to confirm first impression"
remedy:
- "Document evidence before scoring"
- "Score independently before debrief"
- "Assign devil's advocate in debrief"
Quick Reference Cards
Interview Debrief Structure
1. Scores submitted independently (before meeting)
2. Go around - each interviewer shares (2 min each)
- Overall recommendation
- Key evidence (specific examples)
- Top concern
3. Discussion of disagreements
4. Hiring manager makes final call
5. Document decision and reasoning
Red Flags to Watch
red_flags:
technical:
- "Cannot explain their own code"
- "No questions about the codebase"
- "Blames others for past failures"
behavioral:
- "Uses 'we' exclusively (no personal ownership)"
- "No examples of learning from mistakes"
- "Dismissive of questions"
cultural:
- "Badmouths previous employers"
- "No interest in team dynamics"
- "Unwilling to receive feedback"
Candidate Experience Checklist
candidate_experience:
before:
- "Clear job description"
- "Fast initial response (<48h)"
- "Interview prep materials sent"
during:
- "Interviewers prepared and on time"
- "Candidate can ask questions"
- "Respectful, welcoming atmosphere"
after:
- "Timeline communicated"
- "Feedback provided (if rejected)"
- "Offer delivered promptly"
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Root Cause | Solution | |---------|-----------|----------| | Not enough candidates | Poor JD, wrong channels | Revise JD, expand sourcing | | High drop-off after screen | Process too slow, poor experience | Speed up, improve communication | | Offers declined | Comp, culture, opportunity | Exit survey, adjust offer | | Bad hires | Weak interview process | Structured interviews, calibration |
Validation Rules
input_validation:
role_level:
type: enum
values: [junior, mid, senior, staff, principal, manager, director]
required: true
urgency:
type: enum
values: [low, medium, high, critical]
default: medium
team_context:
type: object
properties:
size: { type: integer }
current_gaps: { type: array }
required: false
Resources
Books:
- Who: The A Method for Hiring - Geoff Smart
- The Effective Hiring Manager - Mark Horstman
- Work Rules! - Laszlo Bock
Tools:
- Structured interview training
- Unconscious bias training
- Calibration session templates