Hiring Practices Concepts

After building TestGorilla from 0 to thousands of customers across 100+ countries, I've learned that most companies fail at hiring before they even post a job. Here are the 5 steps that separate world-class hiring from expensive mistakes: 1) Define your talent requirements (most skip this) "We need a great developer" isn't a hiring strategy - it's wishful thinking. Great companies get surgical about exactly who they're looking for: • Specific technical competencies (not just "knows Python") • Required experience levels for each skill • Cultural attributes that predict success in YOUR environment • Growth trajectory you need (steady performer vs. high-potential) Vague requirements = mediocre hires. Every time. 2) Identify their decision drivers (this is where magic happens) You're not just competing on salary. Top talent has options. Ask yourself: • What frustrates high performers in their current roles? • What career aspirations keep them up at night? • What would make them leave a "safe" job for yours? • What do they value more than money? When you understand their psychology, you can craft offers that speak to their souls, not just their bank accounts. 3) Design your evaluation framework (objectivity beats gut instinct) Most hiring decisions are made in the first 10 seconds of an interview. That's not evaluation - that's bias confirmation. Build systems that predict actual performance: • Skills-based assessments that mirror real work • Structured interviews with consistent scoring • Objective measures of potential and values fit • Efficient processes that respect everyone's time Data beats "good vibes" every single time. 4) Establish your selection criteria (know your non-negotiables) What actually distinguishes your top performers from average ones? And here's the harder question: Why should A-players choose your process over companies with bigger brands and deeper pockets? Your hiring process IS your product. Make it remarkable: • Faster time-to-decision than competitors • More meaningful evaluation than "tell me about yourself" • Clearer communication throughout • Genuine respect for candidates' time and expertise 5) Communicate your hiring philosophy (story beats specs) Stop posting job descriptions that read like legal documents. Start telling stories: • Why does this role exist? • What impact will this person have? • What's the vision they'll help build? • What's your approach to finding and developing talent? People don't join companies. They join missions. TAKEAWAY: Most companies treat hiring like procurement - find the cheapest resource that meets basic requirements. World-class companies treat hiring like product development - deeply understand your users (candidates), design remarkable experiences, and iterate based on data. The companies that master this don't just fill roles faster. They build competitive advantages one hire at a time.

A post went viral this week after someone claimed you can’t possibly hire a strong Head of Marketing with just 3 years of experience. Here’s my take: YOE is one of the most overrated hiring metrics out there. Yes, experience can help you navigate large org structures or understand operational nuance. But the idea that “years in the game = guaranteed quality” feels completely outdated. Especially today. Some of the most brilliant people I’ve worked with, including founders who went on to build multi-billion dollar companies, had virtually no experience when they started. What they did have was hunger, curiosity, and the ability to figure sh*t out in real time. My own experience is similar I came into BuzzFeed straight out of college with zero work experience and ended up leading a 150-person team that helped build a billion-dollar business. By every traditional measure, I shouldn’t have been in that position. In fact, there were several attempts to layer me with someone “more experienced.” But what kept me in the role was simple: I could move faster, learn faster, and I was hungrier. In an environment that required constant reinvention, those traits mattered more than years on a resume. That’s why I push back when people say it’s “impossible.” Sometimes the best person for the stage you’re in isn’t the one with the longest CV, but the one with the most drive and adaptability. I’ve also hired people with zero experience who went on to build empires of their own. Why? Because they had something more valuable than a line on a résumé: a spark, an adaptability, and a willingness to reject old frameworks in order to build new ones. In fast-moving industries, that’s often worth more than 10+ years of repeating the same playbook. Because at the end of the day, years don’t build companies—people do.

Most executives think a strong resume is about clearly listing experience. It isn’t. Every executive I work with has impressive titles, long tenure, and a career full of responsibility. On paper, the experience is there. If experience alone were the deciding factor, far fewer senior leaders would struggle to gain traction in this market. But resumes aren’t evaluated the same way internal performance is. Hiring decision makers are rarely asking, “Has this person done the job before?”. They’re really trying to understand, “Can this person solve our problem, in this moment?” That distinction matters more than most people realize. Here’s what I see consistently separating executive resumes that move forward from those that stall. First, relevance matters the most. Boards and executive teams are not looking for a full career archive. They want to see alignment. Every line should help answer why you make sense for this mandate, right now. When a resume tries to cover everything, it often ends up saying very little. Strong resumes make hard choices. They are edited aggressively and committed to one clear story. Second, decision-level thinking needs to show up on the page. At the executive level, execution is assumed. What hiring teams want is evidence of thinking and judgment. They are looking for how you thought through complexity, what you prioritized when resources were constrained, and where you chose to apply focus. They also want to understand what you stopped doing in order to protect what mattered most. Third, ownership needs to be unmistakable. Language like “supported,” “partnered,” or “collaborated” has its place, but it often blurs accountability. Executives are hired to own outcomes. A strong resume makes it clear what moved because you were there, how your performance changed, and why your leadership mattered to the result. Finally, the strongest resumes are future-facing. Most resumes do a good job of explaining where someone has been. The best ones quietly point to where the executive fits next. They frame experience around scale, complexity, and readiness for what’s ahead, rather than walking the reader through a chronological work history. When all of that comes together, the test becomes surprisingly simple: can your resume clearly show what you were hired to do, what changed under your leadership, and why that experience is directly relevant to the role you’re pursuing now? When it can, you are no longer being assessed as just a capable executive. You’re being considered as the right one.

We helped 100’ of startups to hire at Workfully. Here what most startups get wrong: Expecting top-tier candidates with bottom-tier compensation →Founders want world-class operators—on a junior budget. →If you can’t afford top of the market, get creative: heavy equity, flexibility, meaningful work Chasing brand names instead of proven outcomes →Worked at Google? Not relevant. →Look for traction, results, ownership—not logos. Starting with the role, not the outcome →Bad hiring often starts with “we need to hire a Head of X.” →Great hiring starts with: “Here’s the outcome we need. What kind of person can get us there?” Judging resumes instead of assessing potential →A CV shows history. →Hiring is about forecasting future performance. Overvaluing interview polish →Some people ace interviews. Some ace the job. →Don’t confuse the two. →Use real-world signals: trial tasks, case studies, async collaboration. Overcomplicating the process →Six stages. Three panels. A final “vibe check.” →Good candidates walk away. →Top performers don’t wait around. →A structured, fast process is a hiring advantage. Building internal hiring teams, then cutting them when things slow down →Companies over-hire recruiters during growth, then cut the team in a downturn → It’s reactive, expensive, and unsustainable. → Partnering with experienced freelance recruiters is the way to go Putting too much emphasis on “culture fit” and very little on mission and values →Culture fit often turns into sameness. →Mission fit builds alignment, energy, and forward motion. →Your best hires won’t always blend in—they’ll raise the bar. Hiring is one of the highest-leverage things a company can do. But only if it’s done intentionally. If you’re hiring right now - ask yourself: Do you know your shortcomings? Are you really getting the best possible choices?

Most hiring advice focuses on résumés and technical skills — and completely miss the point. The real way to identify top talent? Pay attention to how they think, communicate, and challenge ideas. When I was building proprietary tools for my business, I interviewed three candidates. First candidate: From the start, something felt off. His camera was blurry, his responses were vague, and he struggled to articulate his ideas. When I asked how he would approach a specific problem, he paused, mumbled a few disconnected thoughts, and quickly pivoted to something unrelated. It felt like he was grasping for the right answer instead of actually thinking through the question. Second candidate: He was polished and professional. He had a structured way of gathering information and asked all the expected questions—“What features do you need?” “What’s your timeline?” “What are the specifications?” It was a solid conversation, but something was missing. His focus was on execution, not impact. He never asked why I needed these features or how they fit into the bigger picture. Third Candidate: From the start, the conversation felt different. He listened carefully, then asked, “What’s the real problem you’re trying to solve?” Instead of diving straight into execution, he wanted to understand the users—who they were, what challenges they faced, and how the tool would address those challenges. When I explained one of my ideas, he paused and said, “That could work, but have you thought about doing it this way instead? It might be more efficient.” That’s when it clicked. The first candidate was lost. The second candidate could execute. But the third? He thought like an owner. He didn’t just follow instructions—he improved them. Some candidates focus on getting the job done. Others push for clarity, challenge inefficiencies, and think ahead. Those are the ones who truly make a difference. If you want to spot top talent, don’t just look for skills. Look for the ones who ask the right questions.

I’ve spent 2 decades hiring employees and I still don’t hire based on resumes. Over the years, I learnt that a resume rarely tells the full story. Yes, skills and experience matter but what truly stands out is discipline, drive, alignment with our values, and the hunger to grow. At Filter Concept, some of our best team members didn’t tick every box on paper. Some lacked the technical qualifications for the roles they applied for. What they did show was: → The willingness to learn → The courage to take ownership → The mindset to solve problems, not just follow instructions That’s who we bet on and time after time, those bets have paid off. The goal of hiring is to find people who align deeply with your mission and are ready to build something meaningful with you, individuals who bring attitude, ownership, and a hunger to grow. While Ivy League degrees and certifications can be impressive and valuable, they are only part of the picture and should not be the only determinant in any hiring process. If you’re reading this wondering if you’re “qualified enough,” Remember this: your attitude, work ethic, and alignment with purpose will take you farther than any certificate ever will

Skills-Based Hiring Is a Lie. We hire for outcomes, not skills. Here's why: I’ve seen hundreds of companies chase this idea that “skills-based hiring” is the future. It sounds progressive. Objective. Fair. But in practice, it’s become lazy. Listing skills is easy. Defining success is hard. When you hire for “skills,” you’re really hiring for potential inputs. You 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 they’ll translate into performance. You 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦 the context won’t matter. It’s why so many “perfectly skilled” hires underperform. Because skills are only valuable in relation to the 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲. Without that context, skills are just words on a CV. A skilled marketer in one company might thrive. In another, they’ll drown. Not because they lost their skills, but because the 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 were totally different. This is why every hiring process at School of Hiring starts with a 𝗛𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁. We don’t ask “What skills do we need?” We ask: • What must this role achieve in 6–12–18 months? • How will success be measured? • What competencies will drive those outcomes in this environment? Once you have clarity on outcomes, evaluating skills becomes simple and useful. But if you start with skills, you stay vague forever. Hiring for outcomes doesn’t just raise the bar. It builds accountability. It gives clarity to candidates, confidence to interviewers, and evidence to every decision. Skills matter but outcomes define success. 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂: Before your next hire, strip the job description down to one question: “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳?” If you can’t answer that clearly, skills won’t save you. – ♻️ Share this to help others hire for outcomes 🔗 Follow Konstanty Sliwowski for more on hiring and interviewing.

Everyone remembers the leader who took a chance on them before the resume justified it. The one who looked past what you had not done yet and saw what you could become. At the time, you did not have the experience. You did not have the track record. You had a good attitude and a real desire to learn, and somehow that was enough for them. That leader changed the entire trajectory of your career with a single decision. Here is what most people miss about that moment. The best leaders do not hire the most polished resume in the pile. They hire for trajectory. They can tell the difference between someone who has already peaked and someone who is just getting started. Skills can be taught. Experience can be built. Attitude and hunger are much harder to install in someone who does not already have them. The leaders who understand this end up with the most loyal, most driven people in the building. Because there is nothing quite like being believed in before you had proven anything. And it works both ways. If you are leading now, remember that the person who is not the obvious choice on paper might be the one who runs through walls for the chance you gave them. The resume tells you where someone has been. Attitude and hunger tell you how far they are still willing to go.

In 2014, I gave up on conventional interviews. After too many frustrating hiring experiences, I decided to try something different — what I now call evidence-based hiring. It’s simple: instead of asking theoretical questions, I hand the candidate a marker and ask them to show their understanding on the board. No fluff. Just proof. I was hiring for a Project Coordinator role. Some incredibly smart people applied — one even had a near-perfect engineering GPA. But only one candidate could demonstrate value on the spot: a third-class engineering graduate from OAU — Mofesola Babalola. I hired him. Nine months later, he had done so well he was poached by another department, He was that versatile - Olufemi Shonubi still owes me for this injustice And today? Mofesola has since earned a First Class degree in Computer Science from the University of Hertfordshire. The trajectory speaks for itself. Since then, I’ve stuck with this approach. In 2021, I was hiring for strategy roles. After 21 interviews and zero results, I gave my intern a shot. He crushed the case study and exceeded expectations. Three months later, he was operating like he was on steroids. Here’s the truth: 🎓 Degrees are good. 📜 Certifications are impressive. ✅ But performance is about attitude, skills, and adaptability — not just a CV. In Africa, we often overvalue paper qualifications and undervalue practical skills. We need to rethink education and hiring. Countries like Singapore and South Korea have adopted practice-based learning — where students learn by doing, and are evaluated on their ability to solve real-world problems. Africa must embrace similar models. Let’s build systems that reward competence over credentials. Let’s stop hiring based on who looks smart — and start hiring based on who can get the job done. #FutureOfWork #Hiring #Leadership #Education #SkillsOverDegrees #AfricaRising #HumanCapital #Recruitment #TalentDevelopment #EvidenceBasedHiring Image Credit: Mofe, 2014