There's a world of successful people who refuse to acknowledge the fact that interviewing involves specific and tangible skills that should be acquired and cultivated. So many executives trust their intuition when interviewing candidates for jobs within their departments, and as a result they pass over the best and end up with much less than the best. If you realize that hiring smart is vital to your future success, you won't approach interviewing in this haphazard manner. Instead, you will avail yourself of good material on the subject of interviewing so that you approach it with a professional, productive attitude.
- First of all, make it a policy to keep accurate records of what occurs during each interview. The reason this is so important is that my studies indicate that the first person interviewed for a job has the worst chance of getting it. Why? We all tend to respond more favorably to our most recent experiences, and the ideal candidate who had the misfortune of being first, second, or third in line may slip through your fingers simply because you have not kept proper notes. Establish a solid rating system so that after seeing a dozen or so candidates, the first-and perhaps the best-isn't lost in the shuffle.
- Pay particular attention during interviews to how much the candidate wants the job. I recommend this because when it comes time to make the final decision, and if there is considerable doubt in your mind between two or three candidates, the one who wanted it most will probably turn out to be your best choice.
- Know what you want to accomplish in an interview before it begins. Have a plan; go over the candidate's resume and application form so that you don't waste time asking questions about things that are already sitting on the desk in front of you. Make notes about items from the resume§ that you want to explore further. Know well in advance the areas you want to cover, so that when the interview is over, you aren't faced with having dwelled too long on some subjects at the expense of getting to those that really interest you.
- Devote whatever time is set aside for the interview to the interview. Give the candidate the courtesy of an uninterrupted block of time. (Ninety-five percent of our survey respondents agreed that you should take whatever steps are necessary to avoid interruptions during a job interview.)
- Conduct the interview yourself. While it may be necessary at times to have others from your company involved, it's best to go it alone. Then, if you are impressed by certain candidates, pass them on to others involved in the decision-making process.
- In line with the above, try to narrow down the number of people who will be involved in the ultimate hiring decision. The more people adding their voices to the decision, the more likely you will end up with a "compromise candidate." That translates into mediocre.
- Phrase your questions carefully. Don't use closed-ended questions that are calculated to bring forth "yes" and "no" answers. Don't lead candidates by giving them the answers within the question: "What do you like best about data processing, creating new programs?" Throw in a hypothetical question: "How would you react if we assigned you an urgent program that involved long stretches of time without days off?"
I've come to the conclusion that one of the most productive ways of questioning job candidates is to ask them to answer your questions the way they think their references would answer them. Make note of their replies. Then, when you talk to the reference, ask the same question. If the answer differs dramatically, you can mention what the candidate said and discuss reasons why the answers are different.
