The Hiring Handbook
Management · Nº 39
The Hiring Handbook
Job Posts, Interviews, and Skills Tests That Lead to the Right Hire
You hired fast because you were short-handed. Two months later, you're short-handed again.
24 tools, a 6-tab spreadsheet, and ready-made scripts that take you from "should we even hire?" to day 90, one stage at a time, with the same process for every candidate.
You get 24 tools to price a bad hire, write a job post that filters, score candidates against a written scorecard, put the offer in writing, and track every new hire to day 90. Plus a 6-tab spreadsheet, filled in with the example.
A book explains the method. This handbook puts it to work: the tool, a worked example, and a spreadsheet with your numbers.
One-time payment of $29.00. The order form shows the final amount, with any taxes for your country, before you pay.
Digital delivery: PDF handbook, spreadsheet and access on the Consylion platform.
14-day money-back guarantee: if it isn't what you expected, request a full refund within 14 days of purchase.
Your order is processed by Digistore24, our authorized reseller. By purchasing, you accept the terms of use and purchase · refund policy.
Someone quit on Friday, and you need a body behind the counter by Monday. A customer knows a guy. You talk for ten minutes, he seems nice, and you say "start tomorrow." Six weeks later he stops showing up. The team that covered for him the first time is covering again, a little more tired, and you're back to asking around. Nobody did anything wrong, exactly. There just wasn't a process.
THE SPREADSHEET
Hiring process spreadsheet
Use the completed example as a reference and enter your business data in the marked fields. Check the instructions and the calculations before you make a decision.
SOUND FAMILIAR?
Three situations this handbook solves
Someone just gave notice
Before you post anything, you run the opening through three questions: can a schedule change fix it, can someone inside take it on, or does it really need a new person? If it's a hire, you pick the contract and count back from the start date to set the deadlines.
Interview day
Two of you sit down with the same script. You ask only about the job, close with six real situations from the floor, and each of you writes a score before you say a word to each other. Then you compare.
The candidate asks for more
Instead of caving or losing them, you check the range for the role and what the team already earns. You hold the pay and offer something you'd give anyone, like the start date or the schedule, with a reply-by date.
INSIDE
What you'll find in each tool
Five parts in the order a hire actually happens. First, the math and the decision: what a bad hire costs, whether to hire at all, which contract, and the timeline. Then the job post, the pay range, referrals, and résumés. Then the evaluation: scorecard, two-person interview, situational questions, references. Then the offer and the paperwork. Finally, the first 90 days and the numbers that show what to fix next round.
WHAT YOU GET
Everything included in your purchase
- The Hiring Handbook in PDF: 24 tools, each with step-by-step instructions, a worked example, and an exercise
- The hiring process spreadsheet in Excel and Google Sheets, with 6 tabs, filled in with the example company
- The Template kit: 15 ready-made texts, from the job post and the interview opening script to the offer letter and the reply to candidates you didn't hire
- 2 worksheets to fill in (two-person interview and hiring paperwork) and a 30-day plan, one week per stage
- Access to your handbook on the Consylion platform
Full table of contents
The 24 tools, in the order you'll use them
Part 1 · Part 1 · Before you open the position
- 01The cost of a bad hirePut a number on each person who leaves before day 90, in seven parts, from selection to departure
- 02To hire or not to hireReassign, reorganize, or hire: three questions to answer before you post anything
- 03The right contract for the jobFull-time, part-time, fixed-term, or internship, matched to what the position actually needs
- 04Hiring timelineEvery stage with a date and an owner, counted back from the day the new hire starts
Part 2 · Part 2 · Attract the right candidates
- 05Pay range for the jobPay that attracts good people without creating gaps with the team you already have
- 06A job post that filtersPay, schedule, and real requirements up front, so fewer résumés come in and more of them fit
- 07Referrals with rulesA written rule for referrals, with the same process for everyone and a bonus paid at day 90
- 08Résumés and personal dataOne channel for résumés, a retention period, and a date to delete them
Part 3 · Part 3 · Evaluate candidates systematically
- 09Screening résumés with a scorecardCriteria written before you read the first résumé, so the photo doesn't decide
- 10Off-limits interview questionsWhat not to ask in an interview, and the job question to ask instead
- 11Two-person interviewTwo interviewers, two scores given separately, then the discussion
- 12Situational questionsReal situations from the job, scored from 0 to 2, to see how the person would handle them
- 13Reference checksTwo calls, with the candidate's permission, about facts the interview can't show
Part 4 · Part 4 · Offer and hiring paperwork
- 14Background checksCriminal record, credit, and medical exams: what you can ask for, and what to confirm first
- 15The offer in writingPay, schedule, benefits, and terms in a letter, so nobody remembers the deal differently
- 16Negotiating the offerWhat to offer when the candidate asks for more, without breaking your pay range
- 17Getting back to candidates you didn't hireA short, timely reply that keeps your name good among the people you didn't pick
- 18Hiring paperwork and registrationExam, contract, and registration done before day one, with a checklist
Part 5 · Part 5 · From yes to day 90
- 19Probation period in writingThe probation terms in writing, with a review and a decision before each deadline
- 20From yes to the first dayFour short contacts between the yes and the start date, so the new hire actually shows up
- 21Apprentices and people with disabilitiesApprenticeships and inclusion as a real hiring channel, not a box to check
- 22Hiring funnelHow many candidates pass each stage, and where the process leaks
- 23Quality of hireWho stayed and performed at day 90, by channel and by interviewer
- 24Reviewing each hireA one-hour review after each round, facts first, so the next one goes better
Who it's for
It's for you if
- You hire through referrals and a quick chat, and too many people are gone before day 90
- You're never quite sure what you're allowed to ask, request, or promise a candidate
- You open positions a few times a year and want a process any manager on your team can follow
- You run a small team and want two people deciding together instead of one gut feeling
- You want to know what each hire that doesn't work out really costs you
It's not for you if
- You want to onboard, train, evaluate, and keep the people already on your team. See The People Management Handbook
- You need a script for letting someone go. That's The Feedback and Difficult Conversations Handbook
- You're filling an executive role and need headhunters and psychometric testing
- You want legal advice on your specific case. The handbook gives the general principle and tells you what to confirm with a professional
Frequently asked questions
The example is a supermarket. Does it work for my business?
If you hire people, yes. Every tool has a section on how it applies to services, retail, manufacturing and distribution, and independent professionals. You swap the example's numbers and positions for yours.
My company has five people. Who does the two-person interview?
The person who'll work next to the new hire, a partner, or a trusted colleague from another company. Two scores given separately already beat one impression.
The position is urgent. Do I really have time for all this?
You can shorten the deadlines, but not skip stages. Take applications for a few days, interview on two back-to-back days, and call references the same afternoon. The one thing that never gets skipped is the paperwork before day one.
Employment rules are different where I am. Is this still useful?
Yes. The handbook teaches the method, which works anywhere. Where the rules change from country to country, like interview questions, background checks, contracts, and probation, an In your country box tells you what to confirm with your lawyer or accountant.
Where do skills tests fit in?
At the end of the interview, the handbook uses four to six situational questions from the real job, scored from 0 to 2 against a cutoff set in advance. They work even where a hands-on test is hard to set up. The full skills test is in The People Management Handbook.
How much time does this take?
About 2 hours and 24 minutes of reading, or 6 minutes per tool, plus the exercises. The 30-day plan works best with a real opening: one week each for the math, the job post, the evaluation, and the offer.
What do I get, and in what formats?
Each handbook is a PDF of about 100 pages with 24 to 27 tools. Every tool has step-by-step instructions and a worked example. You also get the handbook's spreadsheet in Excel (.xlsx), which opens in Google Sheets too, with the example already filled in. The message, policy, and clause templates are in the Template Kit inside the PDF, ready to copy and adapt. Read it in the member area or download the files.
How do I know if it fits my business?
Each handbook's page shows the problem it solves, who it is for and who it is not for, the full table of contents, sample pages, and the company used in the examples. The examples come from small businesses in several industries, with illustrative numbers. If it is not a fit, you can ask for a full refund within 14 days of your purchase, as described in the Refund Policy.
What is the difference between a handbook, an area set, and the Series?
A handbook solves one problem. An area set brings together every handbook and spreadsheet in one of the 6 areas, for less than the price of 5 single handbooks. The Consylion Handbook Series brings together all 100 handbooks and 100 spreadsheets, for less than the price of 8 single handbooks, and includes the next handbooks in the Series. Products outside the Series, from Consylion Life or Consylion Business, have their own price. They are sold separately and are not part of an area set or the Series.
Do I need to read everything before I start?
No. Each tool works on its own. Open the table of contents, pick the tool for today's problem, and start there. You can also read it cover to cover.
Do I need to know Excel?
The basics are enough: open the file and fill in the marked fields. The formulas are already built, and the handbook's example is filled in for reference.
How do I pay, and when do I get access?
By card or bank transfer, as a one-time payment with no subscription. Once your payment is confirmed, you get access to the member area by email. Approved card payments are confirmed right away. Bank transfers are confirmed when the funds clear. If access does not arrive within 24 hours of confirmation, check your spam folder and write to team@consylion.org.
How long do I have access, and how can I use the files?
Access does not expire, and you can download the files for offline use. The license is individual. You may read the handbooks, print them for your own use, and fill in and adapt the spreadsheet and templates with your company's data. If you are a consultant, accountant, or manager, you may apply the tools with your clients and deliver the result of your work, not the files. You may not share, resell, or distribute the files or the access.
How do support and refunds work?
Support is by email at team@consylion.org, on business days, with a reply within 5 business days. It covers questions about access, files, and payment. It does not include consulting or advice on applying the material to your case. You can cancel within 14 days of your purchase, without giving a reason, and get the full amount back through the payment method you used. Send the request to the same email. The details are in the Refund Policy.
CONSYLION HANDBOOK SERIES
The 6 departments of your business, for less than the price of 8 single handbooks.
This handbook solves today's problem. The Series solves the next one, and the one after that, with nothing more to pay.
- 100 handbooks with 2,403 ready-made tools, to read on screen and download as PDFs
- 100 spreadsheets for Excel and Google Sheets
- 6 business areas
- Lifetime access, unlocked once payment is confirmed
One-time payment of $197.00. The order form shows the final amount, with any taxes for your country, before you pay.
Digital delivery: PDF handbook, spreadsheet and access on the Consylion platform.
14-day money-back guarantee: if it isn't what you expected, request a full refund within 14 days of purchase.
Your order is processed by Digistore24, our authorized reseller. By purchasing, you accept the terms of use and purchase · refund policy.
Management · Nº 39
Hire the next person with a process, not a hunch
No process gets every hire right. A good one makes fewer mistakes and learns from each round. This handbook gives you the tools, the spreadsheet, and the scripts to run your next opening from the first question to day 90. Who you hire is still your call.
See all 100 handbooks · $197.00
One-time payment of $29.00. The order form shows the final amount, with any taxes for your country, before you pay.
Digital delivery: PDF handbook, spreadsheet and access on the Consylion platform.
14-day money-back guarantee: if it isn't what you expected, request a full refund within 14 days of purchase.
Your order is processed by Digistore24, our authorized reseller. By purchasing, you accept the terms of use and purchase · refund policy.