I ask this question to all of my business audiences, ”Why do you interview?” The answer is always the same – to hire someone. Actually, you interview to gather enough information to be able to hire the right person. And that small difference in definition can change your entire interview process.
Most of the time, managers see the hiring process as an interruption in business, and something that just has to be done to get a new employee. But a well-done interview using the three steps below helps to create an open and safe environment that helps the job candidates share their honest perspectives. This is the way to gather enough of the right information to be able to make a sound hiring decision.
Consider these ways to go from good to great with your job interviews:
1. Develop your interview team. Successful interviewing takes practice. Just asking questions does not make an effective interviewer. My recommendation, depending on the role, is to have a team of 3 people involved in the interview (and never host a group interview). Select people who are effective at listening and connecting with others. Develop a list of questions that each interviewer will be responsible for. Practice asking the questions, and determine what successful answers will sound like. Not everyone is a good fit for interviewing. Determine who is, and practice to develop the skill.
2. Be clear how this job must add value and make a difference in the organization. I find most interviewers haven’t taken the time, or the company has defined, the real value of the job. Review the job’s core responsibilities and impact. The purpose of the interview is to assess the candidate’s ability to add value. Verifying that someone has done the job before, doesn’t mean he will add the right value. Clarity about value building and performance expectations will change the entire approach to interviewing.
3. Ask talent- or behavioral-based questions. This is critical. Today’s workers are paid to think their way through the situations the workplace creates. Since not everyone thinks the same way, the interview questions must look to assess how the candidate thinks (to see if his thinking matches the thinking needed to be successful in the job).Talent-based questions are successful because they are non-standard (this forces the candidate to respond in the moment), they are looking for a particular behavior (one of the behaviors required to be successful in the job), and involve actual workplace events (this is so the interviewer can see how the candidate would respond to a true life situation). The power of the interview is in these questions – these are how enough information can be gathered to make a sound hiring decision. Notice that having a trained team and knowing the value of the role are required to be able to create and ask talent- or behavioral-based questions.
So back to my opening question, “Why do you interview?” To gather enough of the right information to be able to determine whether the candidate will add value and make a difference in your workplace. If at the end of interviewing the candidates, the answer is no, the process must continue. Not all interview processes end with hiring. They may require a revision to the requirements and start again. The goal is to hire the right employee, not to hire just any employee.
Contact me to learn about our program on talent-based interviewing – how to write talent-based questions and to train your employees to be exceptional at determining how (and whether) a job candidate will add value and make a difference in your workplace. More tools at FireUpYourEmployees.com. Be exceptional at interviewing.
