Instead of Screening Out, Try Screening In
Win the war for talent by using alternative tactics and giving underdogs a chance
If you’ve posted a job on LinkedIn, Indeed, or other job boards in the past few years, you know the pain of receiving countless applications from people far from qualified for your open position. Recruiters have the unenviable task of declining hundreds of applications for each one that is good enough for a first interview. So they tend to look for reasons to screen out applicants at a quick glance or employ applicant tracking software that automatically reads and declines applicants to save recruiters’ time. Whether robots or recruiters do it, most hiring today seems to be about saying “no.”
No college degree? Screen out. Less than 1 year at your current job? Screen out. Don’t have every skill keyword we’ve listed in the 3-page job description? Screen out.
And yet many jobs go unfilled, the unemployment rate is back to historic lows, and we hiring managers feel the pain of missing product release dates and lost revenue due to open roles. As the saying goes, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result. Your hiring process isn’t going to improve until you do something different. And sometimes, the best way to be different is to go in the opposite direction of everyone else. In hiring, the answer might be screening certain people in rather than just screening them out.
Screening In > Screening Out
I first heard the idea of “screening in” on the Conversations with Tyler podcast a few weeks ago. Tyler Cohen is an economist who is passionate about identifying top talent. He wrote a best-selling book on the topic, and frequently interviews leaders in the art and science of talent. In September, Tyler interviewed Byron Auguste, the co-founder and leader of Opportunity@Work, an organization that is helping create new routes for people to qualify for jobs and helps companies embrace hiring outside of the standard college path.
Byron Auguste sees too many job seekers screened out based on shallow signals like a bachelor’s degree, and too few ‘screened in’ by directly demonstrating the skills needed for the job at hand—which, after all, is what we’re hiring for!
“You should screen in based on skills, not screen out based on pedigree. That’s the fundamental issue.”
While Auguste is helping to change minds broadly, his message is something you can test today with a fresh mindset and a wee bit of courage.
People We’ve Screened In
Most readers are part of or connected to the world of entrepreneurship and software startups, so you’re used to digging hard to find early hires and keep them on through the eternal ups and downs as you work to get something off the ground. You’ve probably taken some chances on people who wouldn’t make it through the big companies’ screening processes. That’s certainly been my experience.
While we didn’t call it “screening in” at the time, there are a few groups of people that most companies fail to value or actively avoid that we grabbed when they came through the application funnel.
Here are a few types of applicants that I’ve pushed to the top in my companies:
Career Switchers - Look, many of us go in a certain direction for two, five, even ten years before discovering that we’re not on the path that fulfills us. Sometimes we’ve got to go back to college or teach ourselves to code at a later age than most. Traditional companies balk at this, but I love career switchers. First, they often have a track record of promotions and success, which suggests they are driven and dependable. Second, in figuring out what they want to do with their lives, they are more likely to be self-motivated. Third, they bring maturity and diverse perspective to your team.
College Athletes - Sports at the university level are serious business today. Students work for years to get a spot on a team and have to exercise and practice year-round to stay in the game. That long-term commitment is a powerful signal for what they will do in the business world. They’ve learned how to collaborate with a diverse group of teammates and come aboard with a competitive fire to win.
Returning Parents - Moms and Dads who leave their careers to care for children or other family members can be great hires when they’re ready to get back into the workforce. They didn’t lose their skills when they stepped back, and they return with greater maturity and perspective.
Children of Entrepreneurs - This one is a little hard to see in a resume, but I’ve had amazing luck in hiring people whose parents are entrepreneurs. First, these kids have seen the highs and lows firsthand and are more respectful of every dollar that comes from the business. Second, they often have had at least some personal experience helping out Mom or Dad in the summers, weekends or evenings. This gives them a strong work ethic and a desire to follow in their parents’ footsteps.
Military Veterans - I’ve not personally served, but I’ve had several opportunities to see men and women of the armed services perform with high integrity and grit. They tend to be strong teammates, bring courage under fire, and want to build something meaningful for themselves and society.
Failed Startup Employees - Your startup can leverage the lessons of people like this who have been through struggles yet are eager to keep going. At an early-stage startup, you learn more in one year than most people learn in four. That’s because the cycles of innovation and the ups/downs come much faster. Your day-to-day hits on dozens of skills and tasks. And when we’ve been a part of something that failed, we’re even more driven to make the next one a success.
These are just a handful of categories to look out for. Big picture, I simply love to look for people with unique experiences. I read resumes and conduct interviews looking for something unique and interesting. And I’m especially moved by people who have been kicked in the butt somewhere along their careers. The underdogs, the oddballs, the mutts—they are frequently screened out of opportunities, so they often rise to the occasion and appreciate the breaks you provide. Aside from their business impact, it feels good to create an organization where you can take a risk on someone and see them blossom before your eyes.
Bob Gilbreath is a 2x-exit entrepreneur and co-founder of Hearty, a curated matchmaking service that combines top software developers with early-stage, venture-backed startups.