Hiring People_ Recruit and Keep the Brightest Stars - Kathy Shwiff [20]
It’s important to get detailed descriptions. If a candidate’s first account of his experience is too general or vague, follow up with more questions. Probe for a couple of recent examples of each situation. Look for answers that show that the candidate took responsibility for the outcome.
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Dos & Don’ts
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GETTING THE MOST OUT OF INTERVIEWS
Here are some guidelines for effective interviewing:
Do review all the applicant’s paperwork right before the interview.
Do consider beforehand which questions will elicit the facts you need to make a decision.
Do pose the same set of questions to all candidates, in order to make a point-for-point comparison.
Do try to make the candidate feel at ease—by offering water or coffee, for example.
Don’t put a desk or physical barrier between you and the candidate.
Do establish a rapport and adopt a relaxed, friendly attitude.
Do make the applicant aware of your position and what you do.
Do give the applicant some background about the company.
Don’t give too much information about the job’s responsibilities before asking questions about the candidate’s skills and previous responsibilities.
Don’t ask questions that might lead to answers that legally cannot be considered when hiring.
Do ask open-ended questions to draw out the applicant.
Don’t ask “yes” or “no” questions.
Do listen attentively to the candidate’s responses so you can ask good follow-up questions.
Don’t fill silences with chatter—give the candidate time to think.
Do give the candidate a chance to ask questions.
Don’t talk too much or turn the interview into socializing.
Do conclude the interview by asking the candidate, “Is there anything we haven’t covered that you’d like to tell us?”
Do tell the applicant what the next steps are in the hiring process and discuss the time frame for follow-up.
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This technique works well in many situations. The secret is to identify the qualities and behaviors you want in a candidate, and then to formulate questions that will elicit accounts of how candidates have displayed those qualities in the past. Here are a few examples of typically desirable traits in job candidates and the questions or approaches designed to reveal whether someone has demonstrated them:
If you are looking for someone who’s passionate about her work, find out what she likes most about her current job and why. Solicit an example of a time when the candidate was so involved with a project she put everything else aside to work on it. Ask how the candidate has handled a situation when she didn’t believe in a project or a mission.
If you are looking for a person who delivers on commitments, ask how the candidate managed commitments in previous jobs. Who set the direction and made the plans? If there were setbacks, how did she deal with them? To what extent did she achieve her goals?
If integrity matters, ask the candidate to describe a situation in which her integrity was challenged at work—for instance, a colleague asked her to tell a lie.
If flexibility is important, ask the candidate to talk about a situation in which she had to change plans to accommodate the needs of a coworker.
If time management skills are critical, ask the candidate to describe a situation in which she had to prioritize among various demands on her time. How did she decide which task to complete first, second, and third?
If the ability to innovate is important, have the candidate tell you about a situation in which she had to develop new methods and techniques.
If you want to know how the candidate deals with obstacles, ask her to tell you how she tackled a particularly challenging goal.
If the job requires handling customers, ask the candidate how she resolved a recent difficult customer