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Determining a candidate’s skills and abilities is essential to the hiring process. As Nigerian business owners, you know how important it is to find the right people for your team. Because of how the Nigerian job market works, it’s essential to correctly evaluate a candidate’s skills and qualifications for a role to hire.

There’s more to judging prospects than just looking at resumes and interviews. You need to know a lot about the job you’re looking for, have clear criteria for evaluation, and use various tools to make sure you make intelligent choices. This way, you get the best people and build a solid team to move your business forward.

This piece will show you how to properly evaluate a candidate’s skills and qualifications for a role in Nigeria. We will give you valuable tips and information to make the hiring process easier and improve your chances of success, from figuring out the job standards to making the final choice.

Here are 6 steps to evaluate a candidate’s skills and qualifications for a role

• Setting criteria and job requirements
• Review resumes and applications
• Conduct effective interviews
• Utilise assessment tools
• Check references and backgrounds
• Make final decision

1. Setting criteria and job requirements

Setting clear job standards and criteria is the first step to evaluating a candidate’s skills and qualifications for a role. This step helps speed up the hiring process and ensures you know exactly what you want in a candidate.

• Figuring out what core competencies are: 
  • First, list the most critical skills needed for the job. A candidate must have the skills and credentials to do the job well. For example, if you’re hiring someone for a sales job, some of the most critical skills might be good communication, sales experience, and the ability to build client relationships. For a technical job, you might emphasise specific technical skills, the ability to solve problems, and related certifications.
  • Make a list of both hard and soft skills. The specific skills needed to do the job are called technical skills. For example, being good at using specific software or having technical knowledge in a particular area are technical skills. Soft skills include working with others, being flexible, and managing your time well. Both are important for a well-rounded prospect who can contribute to your team.

• Making a detailed job description: 
  • Once you know the core skills, the next step is to write a clear and detailed job description. A well-written job description attracts the right people to apply and clearly outlines what is expected immediately.
  • This should be in your job description:
    Title and Summary of the Job: Shorten the title and describe the job briefly.
    Responsibility: List the main tasks and responsibilities that come with the job.
    Qualifications: Write down the schooling, experience, skills, and needed certifications.
    Skills: List hard and soft skills necessary for the job.
    Information About the Company: Give some background about your business and its culture to get people who share your goals to apply.
    If you are clear about what you want and need from candidates for the job, you will only get qualified people, saving you time and money in the long run. You will find the right person for your team if you carefully define job standards and write a detailed job description.

2. Review resumes and applications

Once you know what the job needs and how to apply, the next step is to look through resumes and applications to find people who meet those needs. This step helps you narrow down the applicants to the best ones who are most prepared and suitable for the job.

• Checking to see if it’s relevant: 
  • When you look at resumes, you should focus on quickly finding valuable skills and experience. Look for key signs that match the core skills you listed in the job description. This includes specific technical skills, years of experience in similar jobs, and any helpful education or certifications.
  • Listen to how people talk about the jobs and roles they’ve had. Do they use words that fit with what you’re supposed to do? Do they have a track record in areas critical to your business? This first screening helps you eliminate applicants who might need to be a better fit.
  • Watch out for red flags like long gaps in employment that can’t be explained or frequent job moves without good reasons. These things don’t always make or break the deal, but they should be investigated more during the interview process.
• Using job criteria to compare: 
  • Once you’ve ensured the candidates are relevant, you can compare their skills to the job requirements you already set. Make a list or a scoring system based on the most critical skills and knowledge needed for the job. This organised method makes sure that you judge each applicant fairly and consistently.
  • For instance, if you’re hiring someone for a marketing job, you might rate them based on their digital marketing experience, originality, and critical thinking ability. For a technical job, give candidates points for how well they know how to use specific tools, how well they can solve problems, and whether they have any technical certifications.
  • You can find the best candidates to meet your needs by carefully matching resumes with job standards. This helps narrow the applications to those who want the job and can make a big difference on your team.
  • A critical step in finding the right people is carefully reviewing resumes and applications. This ensures that your time and money are spent on the people who will do the best job and meet your company’s goals. 

3. Conduct compelling interviews

You can tell a lot about a candidate’s skills, experience, and cultural fit during an interview, which is an integral part of the hiring process. Interviewing people helps you make smart choices and choose the best person for your business.

• Prepare for the interview: Preparation is essential for good interviews. Carefully review the applicant’s resume and application before the hire. Write down any topics you want to learn more about, like specific job experiences or skills that were discussed.
  • Make a list of interview questions related to the job requirements and core skills you’ve chosen. These questions help you determine how well the individual fits the company’s culture and how well they can do technical tasks. You should include both behavioural and environmental questions. Situational questions use made-up situations to see how candidates might handle problems in the future, while behavioural questions focus on actions and events from the past.
  • If hiring someone for a customer service job, you might ask, “Can you tell me about a time when you dealt with a difficult customer?” What did you do to deal with it?” This question lets you see how much knowledge the candidate has and how they solve problems.
• Getting the candidate: Set up a friendly and relaxed space for the candidate during the interview. To set the scene, begin with a summary of your company and the job. This makes the candidates feel better and calmer.
  • Ask the questions you’ve thought of beforehand, but be ready to change them and follow up based on how the individual answers. Pay close attention and write down important points and cases the candidate gives. This will help you remember what they said and compare them later.
  • Tell the person to ask questions about the job and your business. This will give them helpful information, show that you care about them, and encourage them to participate. Their questions can also tell you what they value and how well they understand the job.
  • Check out the candidate’s enthusiasm, communication skills, and ability to explain their experiences effortlessly. Please pay attention to what they say and how they act. Are they sure of themselves and calm? Do they give thorough and valuable answers?
  • For talks to go well, you must plan and be involved. Planning your questions carefully and making the interview room a positive space allows you to learn more about the candidates and make better hiring choices. This process helps you choose people with the right skills and fit in with your business’s culture and values.

4. Utilize assessment tools

Assessment tools and conversations can give you a fuller picture of a candidate’s skills and fit for your business. These tools help you check skills, guess how well someone will do on the job, and ensure that your hiring choices are based on facts.

• Tests of skills and abilities: Skills and ability tests are good ways to determine how skilled a job candidate is in certain areas that are important to the job. These tests can be anything from tests of technical skills to tests of mental abilities. For instance, if you want to hire a software worker, a coding test can help you see how well they can write code and solve problems. If someone wants to work in sales, a sales aptitude test can show how well they can pitch, negotiate, and close deals.
  • These tests give you objective information that goes along with the personal opinions you get from conversations. They help you determine what the candidate says they can do and what they can do on the job. Make sure the tests are standardised so that the results are always the same and are based on the most critical skills needed for the job.
• Evaluations of personality and behaviour: Personality and behavioural tests can help you determine if a candidate is a good fit for the job and the company’s culture. These tests can tell you how a candidate will act in different situations, how well they’ll fit in with your team, and how well they match your business’s values.
  • For example, a personality test might show a candidate’s ability to work with others, be a boss, or deal with stress. A behavioural test could show how a candidate deals with problems, makes decisions, or adapts to new situations.
  • These tests can help you find job candidates with the necessary skills, personality, and behaviour. This is especially important for jobs that require a lot of talking to people, being in charge, or dealing with stressful situations.
  • Testing skills, abilities, and personalities as part of the hiring process can give you a better idea of each individual. This method helps you make intelligent choices based on a lot of information, ultimately leading to better job results. Using assessment tools correctly will help you choose people who are skilled and a good fit for your team and company culture.

5. Check references and backgrounds

Background checks and checking a candidate’s references are essential parts of the hiring process. These steps help you ensure that the candidate’s application is correct and that you are making an informed choice.

• Setting up calls with professional references: Calling a candidate’s professional references can help you learn about their past work success, habits, and dependability. When you call the candidate’s references, ask specific questions about their job and responsibilities. For instance, you could ask them about their skills, weaknesses, and how they dealt with particular problems.
  • Here are some essential things you might want to ask:
  • Please check the candidate’s job title, duties, and start and end dates.
  • What did the candidate do to help the company and team?
  • Could you give an example of a time when the candidate showed excellent skills or handled a challenging situation well?
  • Would you hire this person again or suggest them for a similar job?
  • Asking specific questions helps you better understand the candidate’s work history and attitude. It also enables you to decide if the applicant will work well with your group and be able to perform the job duties.
• Checking people’s backgrounds: Background checks are essential to ensure that the candidate’s information is correct and that they don’t have any problems with the law. Depending on the work, checking for criminal records, verifying education credentials, and looking at credit information may all be part of a background check.
  • For instance, if you hire someone for a financial job, a credit report might be part of the background check to see how responsible they are with money. Criminal background checks are necessary to ensure safety and trust for jobs that deal with private information or people who are easily hurt.
  • Background checks help you avoid risks and ensure you choose people with a good reputation and a clean record. Candidates should be told that background checks are part of the hiring process, and you should get their permission before moving forward.
  • It is essential to make sure you hire the right person by checking their recommendations and doing background checks. These steps give you helpful information that helps you assess the candidate’s skills and suitability for the job. This keeps your company safe from possible risks and ensures you make a good hire.

6. Make the final decision

It’s time to make the final choice about which candidate to hire after careful evaluations and assessments. In this step, you’ll carefully review all the information you’ve gathered and use a plan to ensure you choose the best option for your business.

• Taking all the data into account: Before you do anything else, review all the information you have gathered about each candidate. This includes their resumes, interview notes, test scores, comments from references, and the results of their background checks. Make an in-depth list of each candidate’s skills, weaknesses, and what they could bring to your team.
  • During this study, think about the following questions:
  • Which candidate has the skills and knowledge that are most useful for the job?
  • How well does each candidate fit with how your business works and how teams work together?
  • Who showed the best ability to solve problems and be flexible during tests and conversations?
  • What did their recommendations have to say about them?
  • If you compare candidates in a planned way using these factors, you can make a better, more objective choice. It would help if you stayed focused on the facts and data you have gathered instead of letting your opinions get in the way.
• Involving important people: Including essential people in the final decision-making process ensures everyone has a say and agrees on what should be done. Set up a meeting with other team members involved in the conversations or tests to discuss the pros and cons of each candidate. Encourage open and honest conversations to get different ideas and points of view.
  • To help with this, here are some steps:
  • Tell the people who matter what you found and how you feel about each candidate.
  • Talk about any disagreements or different points of view to agree.
  • If you need to clarify any leftover questions, you might want to conduct a final round of interviews or tests.
  • By working with your team, you can ensure that the final choice is well-supported and in line with your business goals. This group effort helps you find the best candidate and gives everyone on your team a sense of ownership and commitment.
• An essential part of the hiring process is making the final choice. If you carefully consider all the information and include vital partners, you can be sure you’re choosing the best person to join your team. This careful and planned method helps you ensure that your new employee will be a great asset to your company and help it grow and succeed.

Read Also. How To Build A Solid Online Presence For Your Nigerian Startup?

Conclusion

It’s important to carefully evaluate a candidate’s skills and qualifications for a role if you want to build a strong team and ensure the success of your Nigerian business. You can make smart hiring choices by setting precise job requirements, carefully reviewing resumes, conducting good interviews, using assessment tools, and checking references and backgrounds.

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