{"id":11335,"date":"2020-07-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-12T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scouttalent.com\/?p=11335"},"modified":"2026-05-01T09:12:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T09:12:03","slug":"the-talent-scout-episode-20-how-to-pick-a-winning-candidate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scouttalent.com\/ca\/blog\/the-talent-scout-episode-20-how-to-pick-a-winning-candidate\/","title":{"rendered":"The Talent Scout Episode 20: How to pick a winning candidate"},"content":{"rendered":"

Listen now<\/a><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re an avid fan of us here at Scout, you probably tuned into the recent webinar<\/a> <\/strong>held by our specialists. They discussed how to pick a winning candidate and all things shortlisting & selection<\/a>, interviewing and candidate testing.<\/p>\n

If however, you missed it, then don\u2019t worry, because we have you covered with a bitesize run-through of the expertise they shared.<\/p>\n

Shortlisting & Selection<\/h2>\n

Shortlisting, selection, interviews \u2013 these are probably some of the first things that come to mind when we think of recruitment. That point when your candidates are engaged with you, you\u2019ve got some incredible people to choose from, and you\u2019re trying to keep everyone warm while you zone in on who your winning candidate is going to be. Even just saying that is a little bit exhausting.<\/p>\n

But how do we go about making this part of your recruitment process as seamless as possible? How do you successfully pick that incredible candidate?<\/p>\n

Well the first thing that you need to do happens long before you get to the interview stage, it even happens before the candidate attraction stage, and that\u2019s nailing down your criteria and universally agreeing to it. Whoever your hiring team are, they all need to be aligned on what you\u2019re looking for. Otherwise finding a winning candidate will be impossible because you\u2019ll all have a different perspective on what winning looks like.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also worth establishing at this point the availability of your hiring panel. If availability for interviews is going to be a challenge for some of the panel then it may be worth considering delegating the duty to someone else. Being available for an interview at both 9 am and 10 am instead of just 10 am could be the difference between securing an incredible candidate or not.<\/p>\n

Winning interview questions<\/h3>\n

Of course, it goes without saying that picking a winning candidate requires a winning interview. Now, all interviews are different as all criteria are different and whether it\u2019s a first or second interview makes a difference too. However, with that said there are a handful of questions that we here at Scout ask in almost every interview because they are very successful at getting you the information that you need from a conversation.<\/p>\n