Successful Interviewing

ISSUE:

The primary reason for the failure of most interviews to identify a truly outstanding candidate is that most interviews focus on the capabilities, background and experience of the prospective employee. This approach ignores the fact that the interviewee is a human being that the employer is going to have to live with day after day.

ABSTRACT

There is a way to stack the odds in your favor and significantly increase the likelihood that you will be satisfied with the employee that you select. It all depends upon how you conduct the employee interview. The interview should follow the following steps:

1. Create relationship with the prospect.

2. Find out who the person is, what they’re looking for and what they are up to in their life.

3. Ask yourself the question: Is this the kind of person that I’m looking for?

4. Share your vision for your organization and see how they react.

5. Evoke a commitment.

6. Handle the details.

DISCUSSION

On paper he seemed to be the perfect candidate for the position; glowing references from just the right large and reputable company; a few years of experience in that much sought after specialty; a flawless interview with the polished image the company prided itself on. Yet, within three months, something went terribly wrong. His productivity decreased rapidly. Errors of greater and greater impact appeared. Absenteeism increased. Other employees and associates complained of his vague, almost hostile dissatisfaction. And then, almost without notice, he was gone, leaving others to reassure the customers and pick up the work load of the now-vacant position.

Unfortunately, for most employers, the previous scenario may seem all to familiar. For many of us, interviewing is a time consuming, frustrating task, fraught with uncertainty and leaving us, at best, with the hope that the new hire will really work out. What are the right questions to ask? How can I tell what a candidate is really like without treading dangerously close to some civil rights violation? Am I making a choice I will later regret? While you can never entirely eliminate the element of chance when conducting an interview, there is a way to stack the odds in your favor and significantly increase the likelihood that you will be satisfied with the employee that you select.

The primary reason for the failure of interviewing to identify truly outstanding candidates is that most interviews focus on the capabilities, background, experience and the like of the prospective employees. Although these elements are important, they tend to characterize candidates as “things” who are being hired to do a job while totally ignoring the fact that interviewees are human beings that you are literally going to have to live with day after day. This being the case, the focus needs to be on your compatibility with them and of them with you. Only once this is established does it become appropriate to deal with background, experience and qualifications.

Therefore, what is the ideal way to conduct an interview? First and foremost, the background, experience and qualifications of candidates should be verified as much as possible in advance. Pre-screen prospects over the phone before conducting an interview. If they sound like good candidates, check references and qualifications before conducting the interview. Whatever the circumstances, try to satisfy yourself to the greatest extent possible before the interview that these are people worth taking the time to meet.

1. Create relationship with the prospect

As far as the interview itself goes, the first and most important step is to create relationship. Business should never be discussed until people are comfortable with one another. Go out of your way to make a candidate feel comfortable and at home. Don’t ever sit across your desk from them. Sit next to the applicant or at a conference table. Make small talk; ask the prospect if they had any difficulty finding your location; offer them a beverage; complement candidates on their clothing. Just do what comes natural to break the ice.

I remember interviewing for a secretary once where the applicant was so nervous that I thought that if I sneezed I would launch her through the roof. Nothing that I tried seemed to work. When all else failed, I told the truth. I actually said to her that she seemed so nervous to me that I was afraid to say anything for fear that I might frighten her to death. She confided in me that she was indeed nervous, and the brief conversation we had about it allowed her to relax so that the interview could proceed.

2. Find out who the person is, what they’re looking for and what they are up to in their life

In the next step, find out who these people are, what they are looking for and what they are up to in their life. You will need to know the answers to these questions for yourself for the interview to be successful. Unless you can provide prospective employees with what they are looking for and they can provide you with what you are looking for, there cannot possibly be a match, and very little prospect for a successful relationship exists.

Given these conditions, start the interview by asking the question, “Please tell me exactly what you are looking for?” At an appropriate time, add the next question, “Since you know you better than anyone else, tell me what kind of job would be ideal for a person with your talents and abilities.” When these two questions have been answered fully, add the next question, “If you could find the ideal job and the ideal company, literally a dream come true, please tell me what that would be like?” The idea here is to encourage the applicant to let you know about himself and what he is looking for without being prejudiced by your job requirements.

3. Ask yourself if this is the kind of person you’re looking for

While the prospect is speaking, ask yourself several questions: Who is this person? What is he up to? Is he the kind of person I’m looking for? Am I excited about what he is saying? Would I be able to provide him with a job in which he can have what he wants? Is this the kind of person that I would like to have on my team?

Unless the answers to most if not all of the above questions are yes, you can safely conclude that this is an inappropriate person for the position and graciously and appropriately end the interview at this time. Don’t talk about the job; don’t discuss his qualifications; don’t further take the persons time or yours. Simply say something like “I don’t think that what you are looking for and the position that I have are a match. Thank you very much for taking the time to apply for the job. I wish you luck in finding what you are looking for.” Using this approach, most interviews will last a very short period of time, and you do not need to take an extended period of time to flush out inappropriate candidates.

4. Share your vision for your organization and see how they react

If, on the other hand, you are excited about the candidate, the interview proceeds to the next step. In this step, you share who you are, your vision, what you are creating and what you are looking for with as much aliveness, enthusiasm and passion you can muster. The intention here is to see what the reaction of the candidate is. Is he sharing your excitement? Is the prospective employee getting turned on by your vision? Is he starting to look like someone who would be willing to follow you to the ends of the earth?

The important thing here is to notice how the two of you are relating. Is this person starting to show up like someone you would really like to have work for you? Are you starting to show up for the applicant like someone he would like to work for?

5. Evoke a commitment

If the answers to both of these questions are positive, you can enter the next phase of the interview by asking the direct question, “I’d like to check in with you. If I were to offer you this position, would you accept it?” Yes, there are details to be resolved, but this is not the time to do so. It’s not wise to work out the details until there is a commitment. So if their response is something like “Well, we haven’t talked about the hours, the compensation etc…,” your response should be “Yes, I know, but assuming we can work out the hours, the requirements, the salary, etc… if I offered you the position would you accept it?” Do not proceed until you get an enthusiastic yes.

Assuming you get an enthusiastic yes, your response should be “Well, I’m on the verge of offering you the position so let’s talk about your qualifications.” Now is when you deal with what you are used to dealing with, mainly the prospective employees ability to do the job. Ask whatever questions you want to ask. Give the applicant whatever tests you want to give him. Do whatever you normally do to satisfy yourself that this is an appropriate person for the position.

Once you have satisfied yourself, offer the candidate the position, again without discussing any of the details. Say something like “Well, I’m satisfied that you are the right person for the job and this is the right job for you and I hereby offer you the job; congratulations.” Shake his hand. Have it be clear that you too want this candidate and that as far as you are concerned, it is a done deal.

6. Handle the details

The last phase of the interview is to work out the details. Discuss whatever details are appropriate like hours, and the like, saving the money question for the end. When everything else has been discussed and agreed upon, the final step is to say something like “So what are your salary requirements?” Presumably you have an idea as to what you are willing to pay the person but do not tell them first. Rather, ask the prospective employee what he would like to make.

Here is where you will likely learn something startling about people. In over 95% of the cases, people will “low ball” themselves. That is to say, they will ask for considerably less than they would like to have. Without getting into the psychological reasons why people do this, the fact of the matter is they do. This being the case, the candidate sitting before you will likely ask for less, or even significantly less, than you are willing to pay. Now you could really use this to your advantage by accepting the applicants offer and getting a new employee at far less than market value. This would be a mistake. Even though people will ask for less than they feel they are worth, they will not be happy with themselves having done so, and you will pay a dear price in the end.

Instead, offer the prospect what he is worth, and not a penny less. Say something wonderful to him like, “You are much more valuable to me than that,” or “You are worth much more than that and I would be happy to offer you this position at $____.” The candidate will be so happy that you see more in him than he has been willing to ask for that watch out, he is liable to leap out of his chair and give you a hug. In any event, you will have hired yourself an excited, enthusiastic, grateful, committed employee who is ready to go to work for you and really do an outstanding job. All that’s left for you to do is to make sure you continue to treat him the way you did in the interview and allow your new employee the freedom to give you the best of what he’s got to offer.

SUMMARY

Most interviews are conducted in such a way that they characterize the candidate as a “thing” who is being hired to do a job while totally ignoring the fact that interviewees are human beings that you are literally going to have to live with day after day. This being the case, the focus needs to be on your compatibility with them and of them with you. Only once this is established does it become appropriate to deal with background, experience and qualifications.