Designing an interview process you can repeat
Hiring by gut feel is how shops end up with five great employees and three bad ones every year.
Three steps, no more, no less
Phone screen, in-person conversation, paid trial. Five-step processes lose good candidates to faster competitors. One-step processes catch nothing.
Score every candidate on the same criteria
A simple 1 to 5 scorecard on the same five traits, filled out within an hour of the interview. Comparing scorecards is far more reliable than comparing memories.
Decide within a week
Good candidates have other offers. Two weeks of 'we're still deciding' costs you the hires you wanted most.
Take your version of this question further
This is one operator-tested angle on the question. Your shop, your size, your trade, and your team change the answer. Ask your specific version inside Ask a Shop Owner to get a response grounded in how owners like you actually handled it.