All series

Evidence Before the Offer

Every screening artifact tells you something different and lies in a different way. The order you read them in decides what you learn.

9 parts · about 34 minutes end to end · Read in order, start to finish

  1. 1 Antique engraving illustration. A single folded document spread flat beneath a jeweler's loupe, the magnified text revealing careful notations and margin queries penciled between its printed lines. What a Resume Can't Tell You A resume shows you what a candidate wants you to see. Your job is knowing which signals are reliable and which demand a harder look. Assessments, Screening & References · 4 min · May 2025
  2. 2 Engraving of a magnifying glass over a resume revealing a hairline crack beneath the polished text, reading a resume without being duped. How to Read a Resume Without Getting Duped Resumes are marketing documents, not performance records. Tenure patterns, progression gaps, and word choices tell you far more than the job titles do. Assessments, Screening & References · 9 min · Jun 2025
  3. 3 Antique engraving illustration. Two distinct keys on a split ring, one ornate and old, one modern and precise, neither the same, each essential, resting together against a two-panel door. Screening Is Not an Interview A recruiter screens for 'should we talk?' A company interviews for 'should we hire?' Blurring the two loses alignment and produces hires that looked right on paper. Interview Design & Strategy · 3 min · Apr 2025
  4. 4 Antique engraving illustration. A mortise and tenon joint set side by side, unassembled, with calipers measuring each face to confirm the fit before assembly. What is a Job Fit Assessment? A job fit assessment measures how a person works, not just what they have done: their pace, how they communicate, and how they carry pressure, and whether that matches the role. It closes the blind spot resumes and interviews leave, so both sides see the working relationship before the offer, not after. Assessments, Screening & References · 1 min · Sep 2025
  5. 5 Antique engraving illustration. A prism resting on a drafting table, a single beam of light entering one face and separating into a fan of distinct rays on the far wall. Personality Assessments: A Multi-Dimensional Look at Hiring Personality assessments are not pass/fail filters. The PXT, Kolbe, DISC, and Big Five generate the conversation interviews miss: how people work together. Assessments, Screening & References · 2 min · Oct 2025
  6. 6 Antique engraving illustration. A radial dial gauge with a fine needle, surrounded by four small portrait frames arranged symmetrically around it. Assessments Start Conversations Bilateral assessments, where both candidate and hiring manager complete one and compare results, turn hiring from a one-sided judgment into a mutual exploration. Assessments, Screening & References · 3 min · Oct 2025
  7. 7 Antique engraving of a geological core sample in a brass drill stand, sediment layers visible along its length The Sentence Completion Exercise: Thirty Unfinished Sentences That Show You How a Candidate Thinks Thirty unfinished sentences, completed fast, show you how a candidate thinks about failure, conflict, and ownership before the polish goes on. How to run the exercise and read it well. Assessments, Screening & References · 5 min · Jul 2026
  8. 8 Antique engraving illustration. A plumb bob hangs on a taut line beside a partially built stone wall, with a mason's trowel and level at the base. Reference Check Questions That Tell You Who You Are Hiring Reference check questions for construction leadership hires that get past rehearsed praise: what to ask, how to read hesitation, and when to stop an offer. Assessments, Screening & References · 5 min · Jul 2026
  9. 9 Antique engraving illustration. An ear trumpet pressed to a wall, the user's form only a silhouette from behind, the instrument's bell cupped against plaster not meant to carry sound. Stop Doing “Backdoor References” Backdoor references break confidentiality in construction's small world and rarely surface better insight than a structured reference call would. Assessments, Screening & References · 2 min · Dec 2025
Start with part one