TL;DR: We use structured hiring as a framework. It creates a replicable and scalable process so that we can hire as quickly as possible, offer an amazing and transparent candidate and hiring team experience, diversify our candidate pool, and better predict long-term success in the role. Here’s how we do it.

A good hiring process needs to be replicable and scalable. On top of that, our goal in hiring is to find a magical uizard 🧙 to join your team as quickly as possible, offer an amazing and transparent candidate and hiring team experience, diversify our candidate pool, and better predict long-term success in the role. Here’s how we do it.

Say 👋 to Structured Hiring

It's more fun than it sounds, we promise.

Have you ever had a frustrating or confusing experience as a hiring manager, interviewer or job candidate? Chances are good that you have. That's why we use an approach call structuring hiring.

What are the benefits of structured hiring?

🚀 Better outcomes. It helps you select for long-term success (not just short-term needs), make evidence-based decisions, mitigate interviewer bias, enable consistent candidate evaluation, and reduce redundancy and total interview time.

😍 Better experience. Candidates feel like they’re being treated with honesty and respect. Recruiters can oversee the process, keep everyone on track and better predict when the role will be filled. Interviewers know exactly what’s expected of them. And hiring managers get candidates who meet their criteria and have a much higher chance of success once they begin working.

We use structured hiring which defines the role and attributes a successful candidate needs to have – before a job is opened. It provides a consistent and equitable interviewing experience for everyone involved. The core tenets of a structured hiring approach are:

• The ideal candidate is defined by the business objectives of the job
• A deliberate process and rubric are used to assess all candidates
• Hiring decisions are based on data and evidence, not a feeling or whim

We look for the perfect potion to find a magical match

We look for the right ingredients, or core attributes, to identify which candidates can thrive at Uizard and make an impact. This approach is based on Google’s formula. We have 4 ingredients that make up the perfect potion:

🧙 Uizardry

Aligned values and culture

🌱 Growth Mindset

Ability learn and problem solve

🤝 Leadership

Ability to influence and inspire

⚙️ Role-Specific skills

The base technical skills need

How to weight core attributes

🌟 When we prioritize which ingredients matter most, think of them in this order (it relates to the ‣):

1. 🌟 Attitude (Uizardry). Attitude is one of the hardest things to change. If there’s a mismatch in values and culture, there will likely be more conflict, lower performance, and a higher likelihood of new hire turnover. That effects the entire team, not just the individual.
2. 🧠 Smarts (Growth Mindset & Leadership). Smarts are not static. If someone demonstrates a growth mindset, they’re able to learn and adapt more quickly, problem solve better, and deepen resilience/grit. Growth mindset pairs with leadership, because leadership is role agnostic. Everyone, regardless of title, influences and inspires the team. That’s what allows us to align, take on aspirational goals, and be at the front of the no-design tools movement.
3. 🧩 Skills (Role-specific Skills). Skills can be learned and should carry the least amount of weight in decision-making. With that said, all new uizards should have the core skills we need for success in that role. The rest they can learn.

We build 🌈 Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion into everything.

Companies that have an ethnically diverse team are 35 percent more likely to perform above their respective national industry medians. Gender diversity helps companies perform 15% above the median. Unconscious bias can prevent companies from hiring diverse team members and hinder overall productivity, and that’s why it is essential to eliminate it from our hiring process (source).