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gotchas.md

183 lines · small-business/skills/hiring-screener/reference/gotchas.md at 2574e29

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1# Gotchas
2
3Failure modes that produce an unfair shortlist, an indefensible one, or a candidate experience that costs the owner their reputation.
4
5---
6

Gotchas

Failure modes that produce an unfair shortlist, an indefensible one, or a candidate experience that costs the owner their reputation.

Raw lines 1 to 6
7## Gotcha: screening without a rubric
8
9**Why it matters:** With no rubric, scoring runs on impressions. Impressions are where bias lives, and there is nothing to show the owner or the candidate when someone asks why.

Gotcha: screening without a rubric

Why it matters: With no rubric, scoring runs on impressions. Impressions are where bias lives, and there is nothing to show the owner or the candidate when someone asks why.

Raw lines 7 to 10
11### Bad
13```
14"I've read all 40. Here are the 5 strongest."
15```
17Strongest by what measure? Nobody can check it, including the model that wrote it.

Bad

"I've read all 40. Here are the 5 strongest."

Strongest by what measure? Nobody can check it, including the model that wrote it.

Raw lines 11 to 18
19### Good
21```
22"Before I read any of these — there's no scoring rubric from the job post.
23Ten minutes to build one and every score afterward is defensible. Want to
24do that now?"
25```
27---

Good

"Before I read any of these — there's no scoring rubric from the job post.
Ten minutes to build one and every score afterward is defensible. Want to
do that now?"
Raw lines 19 to 28
29## Gotcha: scoring something the rubric does not name
31**Why it matters:** Several of these are unlawful, all of them are noise, and the owner cannot see it happening because the score looks the same either way.

Gotcha: scoring something the rubric does not name

Why it matters: Several of these are unlawful, all of them are noise, and the owner cannot see it happening because the score looks the same either way.

Raw lines 29 to 32
33### Bad
35```
36Candidate 12: 5 years commercial rooftop, strong diagnostics.
37Note: two-year gap 2022-2024, and the resume has several typos.
38```
40Neither of those is in the rubric. Both just moved the ranking.

Bad

Candidate 12: 5 years commercial rooftop, strong diagnostics.
Note: two-year gap 2022-2024, and the resume has several typos.

Neither of those is in the rubric. Both just moved the ranking.

Raw lines 33 to 41
42### Good
44```
45Candidate 12: 5 years commercial rooftop (3), diagnostics on packaged
46units (3), direct customer contact (2). Work orders and controls not
47evidenced — scored as dashes.
4873.3 points earned of 80 assessed weight = 92.
49Evidence quoted for each.
50```
52That number is reproducible: 35 + 25 + (20 × 2/3) = 73.3, over the 80 of weight actually assessed. The 20 behind the two dashes is out of both sides, per `rubric.md`.
54Never raise the gap yourself. If the owner brings it up first, say plainly that it cannot be scored, and offer the legitimate version: an interview question you can draft for them. It is never a score.
56---

Good

Candidate 12: 5 years commercial rooftop (3), diagnostics on packaged
units (3), direct customer contact (2). Work orders and controls not
evidenced — scored as dashes.
73.3 points earned of 80 assessed weight = 92.
Evidence quoted for each.

That number is reproducible: 35 + 25 + (20 × 2/3) = 73.3, over the 80 of weight actually assessed. The 20 behind the two dashes is out of both sides, per rubric.md.

Never raise the gap yourself. If the owner brings it up first, say plainly that it cannot be scored, and offer the legitimate version: an interview question you can draft for them. It is never a score.

Raw lines 42 to 57
58## Gotcha: the prestige proxy
60**Why it matters:** School name, resume polish, and job-title inflation all track money and schooling far more than they track competence in the work. In the trades particularly, the best candidate frequently has the worst-looking document.

Gotcha: the prestige proxy

Why it matters: School name, resume polish, and job-title inflation all track money and schooling far more than they track competence in the work. In the trades particularly, the best candidate frequently has the worst-looking document.

Raw lines 58 to 61
62### Bad
64Rank the tidy two-page resume from the well-known company above the one-page list from the small shop, without comparing what each person actually did.

Bad

Rank the tidy two-page resume from the well-known company above the one-page list from the small shop, without comparing what each person actually did.

Raw lines 62 to 65
66### Good
68Strip names, schools, and formatting before scoring. Compare the described work against the criteria. Bring identity back only once the ranking is done.
70---

Good

Strip names, schools, and formatting before scoring. Compare the described work against the criteria. Bring identity back only once the ranking is done.

Raw lines 66 to 71
72## Gotcha: rejecting for a missing fact
74**Why it matters:** People who are bad at resumes are not bad at the job. Silently dropping them is how an SMB loses the hire it wanted over a formatting problem.

Gotcha: rejecting for a missing fact

Why it matters: People who are bad at resumes are not bad at the job. Silently dropping them is how an SMB loses the hire it wanted over a formatting problem.

Raw lines 72 to 75
76### Bad
78```
79Candidate 23: no EPA cert listed. Declined.
80```

Bad

Candidate 23: no EPA cert listed. Declined.
Raw lines 76 to 81
82### Good
84```
85Candidate 23: cannot assess — 608 not mentioned, everything else scores
86well. Drafted a two-line question. 4 candidates are in this band.
87```
89---

Good

Candidate 23: cannot assess — 608 not mentioned, everything else scores
well. Drafted a two-line question. 4 candidates are in this band.
Raw lines 82 to 90
91## Gotcha: the invented rejection reason
93**Why it matters:** It is a lie the candidate can sometimes check, and in a mid-size town those circulate. It also invites an argument the owner never needed to have.

Gotcha: the invented rejection reason

Why it matters: It is a lie the candidate can sometimes check, and in a mid-size town those circulate. It also invites an argument the owner never needed to have.

Raw lines 91 to 94
95### Bad
97```
98"We've decided to go with candidates who have more experience."
99```
101Written about someone with more experience than the person hired.

Bad

"We've decided to go with candidates who have more experience."

Written about someone with more experience than the person hired.

Raw lines 95 to 102
103### Good
105Either a true and useful reason:
107```
108"The 608 Universal is what ruled it out for this role. If you get it,
109send me a note."
110```
112Or no reason at all, kindly. Both are honest. The invented middle is not.
114---

Good

Either a true and useful reason:

"The 608 Universal is what ruled it out for this role. If you get it,
send me a note."

Or no reason at all, kindly. Both are honest. The invented middle is not.

Raw lines 103 to 115
116## Gotcha: silence
118**Why it matters:** The two-week no-reply costs more goodwill than any decline. The candidate tells people, and in a trade in a mid-size town that reaches the person the owner wants to hire next year.

Gotcha: silence

Why it matters: The two-week no-reply costs more goodwill than any decline. The candidate tells people, and in a trade in a mid-size town that reaches the person the owner wants to hire next year.

Raw lines 116 to 119
120### Bad
122Send the three invites. Deal with the other 37 later, which means never.

Bad

Send the three invites. Deal with the other 37 later, which means never.

Raw lines 120 to 123
124### Good
126Draft all 40 replies in the same pass. Declines go out as soon as the decision is real, not when the role closes.
128---

Good

Draft all 40 replies in the same pass. Declines go out as soon as the decision is real, not when the role closes.

Raw lines 124 to 129
130## Gotcha: sending without approval
132**Why it matters:** A rejection sent to the person who was supposed to get an interview cannot be recalled. It is the kind of mistake an owner remembers for years, and it is one mis-sorted list away.

Gotcha: sending without approval

Why it matters: A rejection sent to the person who was supposed to get an interview cannot be recalled. It is the kind of mistake an owner remembers for years, and it is one mis-sorted list away.

Raw lines 130 to 133
134### Bad
136Send the batch and report it afterward.

Bad

Send the batch and report it afterward.

Raw lines 134 to 137
138### Good
140```
141Ready to send, pending your yes:
142 3 interview invites — Marcus O., Dana R., Priya S.
143 2 holds through Aug 8 — Luis T., Ana G.
144 31 declines — Alvarez, Brennan, Cho, Deng, Ferro, … (full list below)
145 4 question emails (cannot-assess) — Kim, Osei, Vance, Whitlock
146Want to read any before I send?
147```
149Grouped, so approving forty is one decision. But it is still a decision.
151---

Good

Ready to send, pending your yes:
  3 interview invites — Marcus O., Dana R., Priya S.
  2 holds through Aug 8 — Luis T., Ana G.
  31 declines — Alvarez, Brennan, Cho, Deng, Ferro, … (full list below)
  4 question emails (cannot-assess) — Kim, Osei, Vance, Whitlock
Want to read any before I send?

Grouped, so approving forty is one decision. But it is still a decision.

Raw lines 138 to 152
153## Gotcha: deciding the hire
155**Why it matters:** The owner has context no resume carries — a reference they trust, how the person fits the crew, what happened in the room. Presenting a ranking as a decision takes that away and puts the responsibility somewhere it does not belong.

Gotcha: deciding the hire

Why it matters: The owner has context no resume carries — a reference they trust, how the person fits the crew, what happened in the room. Presenting a ranking as a decision takes that away and puts the responsibility somewhere it does not belong.

Raw lines 153 to 156
157### Bad
159```
160"Marcus is your hire."
161```

Bad

"Marcus is your hire."
Raw lines 157 to 162
163### Good
165```
166"Ranked by the rubric: Marcus 89, Dana 84, Priya 81. Evidence on each below.
167Dana scores lower on rooftop specifically but higher on customer contact,
168which you weighted at 20 — worth a look if that's the bigger gap on the crew."
169```
171---

Good

"Ranked by the rubric: Marcus 89, Dana 84, Priya 81. Evidence on each below.
Dana scores lower on rooftop specifically but higher on customer contact,
which you weighted at 20 — worth a look if that's the bigger gap on the crew."
Raw lines 163 to 172
173## Gotcha: auto-creating the payroll record
175**Why it matters:** Pay rate, classification, and start date have legal and tax consequences. A misclassification found six months later is expensive, and nobody remembers who typed it.

Gotcha: auto-creating the payroll record

Why it matters: Pay rate, classification, and start date have legal and tax consequences. A misclassification found six months later is expensive, and nobody remembers who typed it.

Raw lines 173 to 176
177### Bad
179Push the new hire to Gusto as part of the onboarding checklist.

Bad

Push the new hire to Gusto as part of the onboarding checklist.

Raw lines 177 to 180
181### Good
183Show the exact values, confirm each with the owner, then hand off. When employee-versus-contractor or exempt-versus-non-exempt is genuinely unclear, say so and point at their accountant rather than picking one.

Good

Show the exact values, confirm each with the owner, then hand off. When employee-versus-contractor or exempt-versus-non-exempt is genuinely unclear, say so and point at their accountant rather than picking one.

Raw lines 181 to 183