Hiring new people into your company, in many respects, is as scary as letting someone marry into your family. So how can you get a read on them in a short interview? Here’s a few do’s and don’ts to keep in mind while searching for the next fit in building the future of your business.
1.Get to know the person:
There is plenty of time to jump into business. Take a few minutes to get to know each other. Where are they from? What do they do for fun? What are their passions? Find some commonalities and connect on a personal level first. Does this candidate fit the culture and personality of your team/company? You’ll get some clues at this stage.
2.Postpone judgment:
Statistically, people are inclined to judge someone they just met within three minutes. An interview is the easiest place to fall into this trap because the entire process is about trying to judge someone in a short amount of time. It’s also the worst environment to make an early call because it takes the candidate longer than those initial minutes to relax. Give the interviewee time to settle in so you can postpone judgment until the end of the appointment. On the opposite end of the spectrum, some candidates go into an interview very prepared and “on their game.” Candidates are like onions, and can have many layers. Great interviewees are not always great employees. Conversely, there are people who are terrible in an interview but fantastic employees.
3.Plan your questions:
You only have a small window to see how they will fit in with your company, so try to keep the conversation focused on how this person performs. One way is to ask about a project they worked on, then follow up by asking what role they played on that project and why. This will give you insight into the role this person is prone to playing. Behavior-type questions are excellent. “Tell me about the time when…” or “Give me an example of…” What motivates or drives them? Where are their blind-spots?
3.Open-ended:
Open-ended questions are recommended over yes or no questions. Let them explain. Be sure to let them talk, even if you are tempted to help them complete a thought. Remember, you are there to listen first.
4.Maintain consistency:
Once you have laid out topics you want to cover while interviewing, consistency will make it easier to measure candidates equally. It also helps to write down responses from those candidates to remember and compare later when you may not be able to recall what it was about them individually that won your interest. “Apples to apples,” as we in produce like to say.
5.Throw curve balls:
"Curve ball" questions show you how well someone thinks on their feet. Try to ask a question that is vague and has no correct answer, like, “When lost in a maze, would you turn left or right? Tell me why.” Clearly it’s not something you can get wrong, and the real answer is revealed in how they got to that conclusion. You’d be surprised what people will say, and how you will feel about it. Another tactic is to move around to various subjects and observe how your candidate is able to keep pace, change subjects, and perhaps even course-correct while thinking on their feet.
6.Questions from candidates:
Be sure to provide time for your candidate to ask questions about anything they wish regarding your company and the position. Candidates are also there to figure out if they want to work with your team, too. The type and quality of their questions can be quite revealing, indicating issues such as the level of preparation they conducted prior to the interview, their focus and priorities, their intellect, their ability to be direct and/or broach sensitive issues, and more…
7.Tired of the same old interview Q&A sessions?
Try using a pre-employment assessment tool. Have the candidates take a pre-employment assessment prior to the face-to-face interview. When they arrive, share the results of the assessment and discuss the assessment’s conclusions. Even the most savvy of interviewees will not have their “canned responses” prepared for this discussion. It really brings a whole new transparency to the interview. It's interesting to see how one responds to discussing the speed at which they solve problems, for example.
8.Two important final questions:
a. Do you have any concerns that we need to discuss?
b. Is there anything else that we did not talk about, that I need to know?
These are just a few broad strategies regarding interviewing. The fact is that there are many strategies, tactics, techniques, and methods utilized in interviewing. Like most interactions in life, it’s important to be aware and know your audience. Listen and be sensitive to what and how subjects are discussed. If at all possible, and especially with key positions, have more than one person interview the candidates. A well-prepared panel, from various departments, can provide a great perspective. And if this person is hired, everyone on the panel will feel more compelled to help the new team member succeed.
