Hiring staff during a high unemployment phase? At first thought, this may seem beneficial because there will be a lot of incredibly talented people looking for employment. However, how should an organization select the best candidate from a glut of applicants?

Most hiring processes rely heavily, or even solely, on interviews, but interviewing does not provide any assurance that the candidate can perform key tasks within specified deadlines. Interviewing also requires coordination if multiple members of an organization will participate.

CFA Society South Florida recently posted an advertisement for a part-time society administrator independent contractor. In three weeks, we received over 60 applications for the position. This is our experience using applicant testing as part of the hiring process.

The position to be filled

The candidates were competing for an administrator role. It is a part-time independent contractor role requiring the successful candidate to be responsible for most of the planning for physical and virtual society events, member engagement via social media, and volunteer recruitment. The admin acts as a right hand to our Executive Director but also will engage directly with society board members and society members serving as volunteers.

The hiring process

Our society utilized applicant testing during two phases of the hiring process. One test was administered in conjunction with an initial review of candidates’ applications to identify candidates for the first round of interviews. For this purpose, we used Indeed.com test offerings to assess the applicants’ proficiency with MS Office and performing administrative functions. The second, more difficult test, was custom developed based on the needs of the society and was given to those candidates we selected after the initial round of interviews. That test focused on performing some of the logistical tasks required to support in-person society events within a defined timeframe.

The results

• The initial candidate pool was reduced from over 60 to under 20 based on a review of their submitted applications and performance on the initial test. Candidates were not disqualified solely based on their performance on the test. In a few cases there were some aspects of their background that warranted a discussion, for instance, if they were already a CFA charterholder.
• Hiring a CFA charterholder as an admin could be a plus as there would automatically be more familiarity with the society and its mission. The test in this case was crucial in determining if CFA charterholder candidates could also perform the administrator role.
• We reduced the pool below 10 after the initial interview round. The initial interviews were conducted 1-on-1 by either the Executive Director or the Society President using a jointly developed list of questions.
• There were three finalists at the conclusion of the second round of testing. All the remaining applicants finished the test within the defined timeframe, but some of the results were not consistent with the instructions given.
• The final round of interviews was conducted jointly by the Society Executive Director, the Society President, and the Society Vice-President. It was important to involve an additional interviewer who was not involved in the initial round and could provide a tie-breaking vote if necessary
• The team agreed on a final candidate, Judith Conmy, who accepted the offer of the role. We are currently completing our hiring process and look forward to introducing our new Society Administrator to the local society community.

Figure 1: Hiring Process

Testing benefits

• Incorporating applicant testing reduced the time from initial job posting to selecting our administrator and required less coordination compared to several rounds of interviews.
• Testing provided a quantitative and comparable measure of ability to perform assigned tasks, which complemented the qualitative assessments conducted during interviews.
• Testing also assisted in encouraging us to justify any bias we had towards hiring CFA charterholders.

The fringe benefits

• Identified potential society volunteers: We received applications from CFA charterholders who ultimately were not selected, but were identified as potential society volunteers, members, and perhaps future board members.
• CFA Society and CFA Institute awareness: Many of the applicants used our society website to prepare for the interviews, and several also referred to the CFA Institute website. This helped raise awareness of the society to applicants, many of whom have contacts at potential partner organizations.

Additional Ideas for Applicant Testing

• Videoconferencing administration: Schedule a videoconference, administer polling questions, breakout sessions, mute all, etc.
• Written communication skills: Draft a thank you email/letter to a speaker or volunteer