I thought I would write a post on the Habañero hiring process to give people that are thinking of applying (or for people that have already applied) an idea of what is happening behind the scenes.
The first thing you need to know — we're really, really slow :) The average hire takes about a month. We used to be much slower, but we now have an HR consulting firm (Kirschner Cameron Group) that has really improved our recruiting process.
Here's what happens:
1. Sorting through all the resumes!
Kirschner Cameron receives all the various resumes (for each position there are an enormous amount), and ensures that each applicant has the skills, experience and personality we are looking for. For user experience positions, a quick review of the applicant's portfolio also occurs by Habañero's UE team.
2. First interview
If Kirschner Cameron thinks that the applicant may be a good fit for a position, they bring the candidate in for an initial interview. This interview is conducted by them and generally nobody from Habañero sits in on the first interview.
3. Habañero Interviews
If everything goes well in the first interview, a series of interviews are set up with various teams at Habañero. Often more then one group in the organization participates. This allows the candidate to get a feel for what it is like to work with all the different groups (user experience, engineering, projects and planning). We try to get a blend of senior, junior, long-term and new employees to participate in the interviews. They aren't too scary, and are more discussions to determine fit (for both the candidate and ourselves). For user experience positions, we often get the candidate to go through their portfolio and illustrate some of the more exciting, innovative or challenging aspects of their work.
4. Behavioral Competency-based Interview (BCI)
Now comes the big one! The BCI is conducted by Kirschner Cameron, but your potential Habañero group leader will also sit in on the interview.
From the Kirschner Cameron site:
The BCI is perhaps the most important step for candidates and employers to really get to know one another. Kirschner Cameron has developed a rigorous process that ensures that everybody gets beyond the superficial, first-impression level...
The BCI is a 3-4 hour interview... The candidate is asked repetitive, specific questions about their educational and professional experiences for their entire career, followed by an investigation of their proficiency in 25-50 position/culture-related competencies. We know of no other recruiting tool that allows clients to quickly and accurately get a real understanding of a candidate’s personality, strengths, weaknesses and probable work performance...
The BCI isn't as scary as it sounds, and is a great way to learn about how a potential employee will react in certain situations. It also feeds in to our performance management process :)
5. Executive Interview
The last interview that is conducted is an executive interview with Steven and / or Elliot. This interview lasts about an hour and is a good chance to learn about Habañero's strategy and leadership philosophy.
6. That's It!
Although the whole process can take upwards of a month we feel strongly that due diligence in hiring means building the best team possible. Qualities that are really important for us? Innovation, teamwork, creativity, a positive attitude, and always wanting to do a great job for all of our clients!
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