Does this person fit? Veto, weakest layer, five levels

A weighted average is the wrong way to score a candidate.

Many companies do it anyway. So much for skills, so much for experience, so much for culture fit. If the total clears the bar, hire.

I don't count that way.

Bad hires almost always look the same. One layer is clearly wrong and the others are very good. Average them and the strong layers cover the weak one. After the person joins, the trouble comes from exactly that layer.

First, break the role into four layers too

A person reads as core, patterns, equipment and context. I break the role into the same four, so I can compare layer by layer. Otherwise you're just holding a job post up against a resume.

The role's core is what drive it can feed and what the organization won't tolerate. Its patterns are where the pressure comes from and how much ambiguity there is. Its equipment is the abilities it requires. Its context is who the boss is, who you work with, and what stage the company is at.

How do you get at the role side? I use on the hiring company the same method I use to research competitors. The job post, the hiring manager's description and the company's account of itself all go down as claims first. How the company actually operates is the fact. How strict the approval process is decides how much rejection a salesperson faces each day. Who gets disciplined and who gets promoted after an incident decides what the organization really rewards and punishes.

The match runs both ways. Check only whether the person has what the role needs, and the person you hire will leave. Check only whether the role gives what the person wants, and the person you hire can't do the job.

Veto items come first

There are five. If any one applies, you stop there.

1. The role can't give this person the two things they want most.
2. Their values clash with what the organization really rewards and punishes.
3. Their derailers under pressure sit on the same decision chain as the organization's derailers, and the two will amplify each other.
4. They lack the one requirement in the role that can't be built after joining.
5. The combination of this person and this environment will turn into friction.

The first three are about the person and this organization. They won't work anywhere in this company. The last two are about the person and this role. A different role might work.

A veto only counts once it's verified. If it's only a suspicion, it becomes the first thing to get evidence on in the interview.

If nothing is vetoed, look at the weakest layer

I score each of the four layers in whole numbers only. If I'm unsure, I mark it "to verify" rather than fudging it with an in-between score. Then the weakest layer sets the verdict: strong fit, fit, average, poor fit, strong mismatch.

One part of this is deliberate. Someone with first-rate skills and an only average core can reach "fit" at most. The person I'd rather find has ordinary skills, a core that matches very well, and a market that undervalues them.

I also keep thin evidence apart from low fit. If there's been no organization diagnosis and the environment side rests entirely on what the company says about itself, or if I only used the quick version to read the person, the verdict tops out at "fit."

Pay expectations, visas, start date and non-compete terms decide whether the deal can close. They go on a separate line and stay out of the fit score. Whether a person fits and whether this deal happens are two different questions.

Ninety days later, check the call

Before the person starts, I hand the hiring manager a short list of what has to be verified in the first 90 days. What signal would show the call was right, and what would show it was wrong. Ideally someone with no stake in the hire is watching too. We check at day 30, 60 and 90.

At day 90 we go back to the original verdict. Without that look-back, the right calls and the wrong ones sit in memory with the same weight, and the method never gets more accurate.

This part is still a draft. The structure is set, but it hasn't been through a full real cycle yet. Once enough look-backs pile up, I plan to recalibrate the standards in one go.

Candidates can turn this around and use it on an offer they're holding: Run a Five-Level Check on Your Job Offer.

Only after the fit call does money come in. That's the next page: three-track pay. Or go back to the method overview.

Shorter thoughts go on LinkedIn.