Score candidates before you talk about them
The first opinion in the room tends to become everyone's opinion. Score on your own first, then compare.
Arku team
You finish an interview. Someone says "I really liked her" before anyone else has spoken. Five minutes later everyone agrees.
Maybe they were right. But you'll never know what the quieter people in the room actually thought, because the first opinion set the tone for the rest.
How to do it
- Agree the criteria before you read anything. Three to five things that matter for this role, written down.
- Score alone. Each person rates each candidate against those criteria, with a sentence on why.
- Reveal together. Only once everyone has scored.
- Talk about the gaps. Where two people scored the same candidate very differently, that's the conversation worth having.
Use a scale without a middle
A five-point scale gives everyone a safe "three". A four-point scale (strong no, no, yes, strong yes) makes each reviewer lean one way, which is the information you actually need.
| Topic | Talk first | Score first |
|---|---|---|
| Who influences the decision | Whoever speaks first, or most senior. | Everyone, equally. |
| Disagreements | Smoothed over. | Visible, and discussed. |
| Record of why | Usually none. | A score and a reason from each person. |
How Arku helps
Arku hides other people's scorecards until you've submitted your own, so nobody can peek and adjust. Interviewers who don't use Arku day to day can score from a secure link, with no account to set up.