Almost all business leaders agree the most important component of their cultural fabric is their core values. Executive teams and strategic coaches have spent countless hours developing and refining these crucial organizational identifiers.
Good hiring managers screen for the organization’s core values early on in the screening process to gauge core values fit – before the hiring manager has fallen in love with the candidate. A core values email screen should be conducted after a candidate has successfully passed the first phone screen.
In the email screen, the candidate is asked to reply in an email how they have lived each of the organization’s core values. This not only gives the hiring manager a feel for how the candidate internalizes the core values, but also provides a great sample of their writing and email skills.
Here is a sample email screen:
Below are the core values for the ABC Company. Please take a few moments to provide an example of how you have demonstrated each of these core values in your professional life. We are looking for specific examples; if you do not have one, you may leave it blank, but we are not looking for hypothetical situations. We don’t expect a novel, but sometimes being too brief loses the meaning or the context. Please respond as though you were responding to an email request from the individual to whom you report.
Results Driven: Be accountable for getting the right things done right and on time.
Team Focus: Place team goals ahead of personal goals.
Do the Right Thing: Even when no one is looking or will ever find out.
Empowered hiring managers use a core values email screening to increase their odds of making a successful hire.
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