When you have a vacant learning and development (L&D) position, finding a great candidate quickly is essential. Otherwise, keeping up with your projects and meeting productivity goals may be challenging, if not impossible, while you remain short-handed.
Once you find a job seeker who might bring what you need to the table, conducting a thorough interview is essential. This ensures you actually have the right person for the role, increasing the odds that they will excel as a member of your team.
If you want to make sure that the L&D candidate you are interviewing genuinely ticks all of the boxes, here are the six P’s that you simply must cover during your meeting.
1. Past
First and foremost, you need to learn about the candidate’s experience. Ask questions that allow you to learn about how long they have been in the L&D field, which industries they’ve worked in, and how many deliverables they’ve produced. This will give you a solid overview of what they have accomplished during their career, making it easier to assess whether they can tackle your projects with ease.
2. Portfolio
Being able to see examples of the candidate’s work is a great way to evaluate their capabilities. Make sure to ask each interviewee if there are any published examples you can view, allowing you to experience something they created. Additionally, include questions about the tools and platforms they have worked with before and if they have completed projects similar to yours in the past.
3. Process
Each designer or content developer has their own process. Ask the candidate to describe how they brainstorm ideas, develop training, or create content to get an understanding of their mindset and methodology. Then, have them explain how they envision their role interacting with the rest of your L&D team, giving you insight into their teamwork and collaboration capabilities.
4. Philosophy
Understanding how a candidate defines learning and how they picture their role aligning with the organization’s values and mission give you indications of the candidate’s philosophy. Ideally, you want to select a job seeker whose viewpoint meshes with the company’s, limiting the chance of conflict.
5. Personality
Rarely do L&D professionals work entirely alone. Since team-oriented projects are more common, assessing a candidate’s personality is a must. To learn about the job seeker’s character, ask them to describe their core motivations or whether they consider themselves to be more introverted or extroverted. You can also have them discuss their interpersonal strengths and weaknesses, allowing you to picture how they would fit into your team.
6. Potentiality
While the vacant position may be your primary concern, discovering whether the candidate could grow with the role is wise. Have them discuss their professional aspirations and ask to describe how they would like to see the position change over the next few years. This gives you a chance to envision how they fit into the long-term plan and see if it’s a strong match.
Are You Looking for Amazing L&D Candidates?
If you are looking to expand your L&D team and need skilled candidates for your vacant positions, the team at Clarity Consultants can connect you with some of today’s top talent. Clarity has nearly a quarter-century of expertise in the field, giving you access to knowledgeable and experienced professionals quickly and easily. Contact us to learn more about our services and see how our L&D hiring expertise can benefit you.
