How to Avoid a Bad Hire (A Practical Hiring Playbook for Canada)
Hiring is hard in any market. It’s also one of the most important jobs a manager has—because one wrong hire doesn’t just cost salary. It costs time, energy, team confidence, and sometimes customers.
And yet, most hiring still runs on a messy mix of “gut feel,” last-minute urgency, and interviews that drift into whatever comes to mind. That’s not because managers don’t care. It’s because many hiring systems are built to process applicants, not help people make better decisions.
If you’re hiring in the next 30–60 days and want a clean, repeatable process, book a quick 15-minute call: https://calendly.com/joelzimelstern1/15min
Why bad hires happen (even when you’re trying to be careful)
1) “Gut feel” feels efficient… until it isn’t
“Gut feel” often means you liked the person, the conversation was easy, and they seemed confident. None of that guarantees they can do the job.
Confidence is not competence. Likeability is not reliability. And “they remind me of me” is not a hiring strategy.
2) The job is fuzzy
A lot of bad hires come from one simple problem: nobody defined what success looks like. The job post lists duties, but the team never agreed on outcomes.
3) The process changes depending on the candidate
One person gets a friendly chat. Another gets grilled. Someone is asked about a specific skill; another isn’t. When the process is inconsistent, so is the decision.
If any of this sounds familiar, it’s fixable—and usually faster than people think. Grab a 15-minute slot here: https://calendly.com/joelzimelstern1/15min.
A hiring approach that actually reduces risk
You don’t need a perfect system. You need a repeatable one.
Step 1: Define success in outcomes (not duties)
Before you interview anyone, write down what “good” looks like.
Try this:
- In 30 days, what should they understand or have set up?
- In 60 days, what should they own independently?
- In 90 days, what should they deliver or improve?
If you can’t describe success, you can’t reliably hire for it.
Example (90-day outcomes):
- Runs a key process without being chased
- Communicates status clearly and early
- Produces a core deliverable at the quality level you need
- Builds working relationships with key stakeholders
Step 2: Build a scorecard (so your team stops hiring based on vibes)
A scorecard is a one-page list of what matters, with a simple rating scale.
Keep it short—6 to 10 criteria max. If you have 18 criteria, you’ll end up using none of them.
Include:
- 3–5 role skills (must-haves)
- 2–3 work behaviours (communication, ownership, prioritization)
- 1–2 values-in-action (how they handle mistakes, conflict, ambiguity)
Then define what a “strong” answer looks like for each.
Step 3: Screen for dealbreakers early (with the same questions for everyone)
The goal of screening is not to find “the best.” It’s to confirm basics so you don’t waste everyone’s time.
Examples:
- Can they actually do the core work you described?
- Are they aligned on schedule/location/travel if essential?
- Compensation expectations in the range (roughly)
- Eligible to work in Canada (ask this cleanly and consistently)
Step 4: Run structured interviews (without turning it into an interrogation)
Structured doesn’t mean robotic. It means:
- same core questions for all candidates
- same criteria
- same scoring approach
What this fixes: the common debrief problem where someone says, “I just didn’t feel it,” and nobody can explain why.
A simple interview structure that works
- 5 minutes: set expectations (“I’ll ask a few scenario questions; we’ll leave time for yours.”)
- 35–40 minutes: behavioural and scenario questions tied to the scorecard
- 10 minutes: candidate questions
- Immediately after: score and write down evidence
Questions that usually reveal the truth
- “Tell me about a time you owned a result that didn’t go well. What happened and what did you do next?”
- “Walk me through how you prioritize when everything is urgent.”
- “Describe a disagreement with a stakeholder. What did you do—specifically?”
- “Tell me about a time you had to learn something fast. How did you approach it?”
Listen for clear steps, not inspirational language.
Step 5: Use a work sample (small, job-like, and respectful)
If you want to avoid a bad hire, this is where the odds improve—because you’re no longer guessing.
A good work sample is:
- as close to the job as possible
- timeboxed (ideally 60–180 minutes)
- evaluated with a simple rubric (same for everyone)
- followed by a short discussion (“walk me through your thinking”)
A bad work sample is:
- “build us a full strategy deck.”
- anything that looks like free consulting
- a vague task with no scoring criteria
If you need more than 2–3 hours, either simplify it or consider paying candidates for their time. It’s also a signal of how you operate as an employer.
Want me to review your current interview process or design a simple work-sample test for a role you’re hiring? Book 15 minutes: https://calendly.com/joelzimelstern1/15min
Step 6: Do reference checks that go beyond “they were great”
Most reference calls are useless because they’re too polite.
Ask questions that force specifics:
- “What were they accountable for day-to-day?”
- “What were they best at—give me an example.”
- “Where did they need coaching or support?”
- “How did they handle feedback or pressure?”
- “Would you hire them again? In what type of role?”
You’re listening for patterns and clarity. If everything is vague, that’s information too.
Step 7: Debrief with evidence (not opinions)
If your debrief sounds like this:
- “I just liked them.”
- “They had good energy.”
- “I can’t explain it, but…”
…you’re back in gut-feel territory.
A better debrief rule:
- Each interviewer submits scores before the group discussion
- Discuss evidence tied to the scorecard
- Decide, document the reason, and move on
Then make onboarding part of your hiring process:
- 30/60/90 plan aligned to the outcomes you defined
- early check-ins that aren’t just “how’s it going?”
- fast course correction if expectations aren’t being met
This is how you avoid letting a mismatch drag on for six months.
A quick Canada-specific note (keep it fair and clean)
Hiring in Canada means you need to be careful about questions that drift into personal/protected areas. The simplest rule: keep questions job-related and consistent.
If something isn’t genuinely required to do the job, don’t ask it. If you’re unsure, get HR/legal guidance for your province.
Copy/paste templates (save these)
Scorecard (one page)
Role:
Mission (1 sentence):
90-day outcomes (3–5 bullets):
Criteria (rate 1–5 and note evidence):
- Role skill #1
- Role skill #2
- Problem-solving/judgment
- Communication (role-specific)
- Ownership/reliability
- Collaboration
- Values-in-action
Dealbreakers (yes/no):
- Must-have certification (if applicable)
- Schedule/travel requirement (if essential)
- Eligible to work in Canada
Work sample brief (candidate-friendly)
- Context: what the role is solving
- Task: what to produce
- Constraints: timebox, assumptions allowed
- What “good” looks like (rubric)
- How you’ll discuss it (10–15 minute walkthrough)
Reference check script
- Relationship + dates
- Scope and responsibilities
- Strengths with examples
- Coaching areas
- How they handle feedback
- Would you rehire them?
For candidates (so you avoid the wrong job, too)
If you’re the applicant, your best protection is clarity. Ask:
- “What does success look like in the first 90 days?”
- “What’s broken or behind right now?”
- “How will my performance be measured?”
- “What kind of manager succeeds here?”
And watch the process. A company that can’t explain its steps or keeps shifting the goalposts may run the same way after you’re hired.
Ready to make your next hire with confidence?
If you’re hiring soon and want to stop gambling on gut feel, I can help you build a hiring kit your team will actually use (scorecard + interview questions + work sample + debrief method).
Pick a time for a fast 15-minute call: https://calendly.com/joelzimelstern1/15min
