How often have you, as an employer, begun an interview with the somewhat lame statement: "Tell me a little bit about yourself? If you're a typical manager, you've done it far too often, even if you've done it only once.
I'm convinced there would be a lot fewer firings, and ulcers and heart attacks if people were hired on the basis of ability and compatibility instead of the rather sterile basis of experience. And that can start - perhaps end - with conducting better interviews.
Unfortunately, most interviews consist of an employer reading the applicant's resume, then looking up across the desk and uttering the dread statement. Usually, the job applicant will merely repeat what's on the resume, which brings both parties right back to ground zero.
Resumes, of course, create a "non-human" basis for hiring (since, when you get right down to it, experience is really the least important factor in hiring) and create a rigid, uncomfortable atmosphere when they're used as a crutch in interviews. Now read the next two sentences several times, and remember them:
An interview should not be geared toward finding the person with the most experience. An interview should be geared toward finding the person who is going to be most effective at doing what needs to be done and who will be compatible with you and your company in a work relationship regardless of experience.
You can find that person by doing the interview correctly. First, you must create an atmosphere in which the interviewee can relax and be natural. People have a difficult time keeping their guard up when they're relaxed and they feel that they're really being listened to.
Second, go into the interview with a clear vision of where the company is going and what responsibilities need to be addressed, but without any preconceived notion of what type of experience is needed to carry out those responsibilities. It's always better to tailor a job to the right person than vice versa.
Third, ask open-ended questions that revolve around:
- The interviewee's daily concerns and anxieties. We all have them. Are they the same as yours?
- The interviewee's personal goals and future plans. Can this person accomplish what he or she would like at your company?
- A belief system or overall philosophy that is compatible with the company's.
Also look carefully at whether the candidate has a clear fix on a career pattern or simply views what you have to offer as "just another job."
You'll never get at these issues by saying "I see you used to be executive widget washer at Podunk, Inc. Tell me what that involved."
Instead, try something like "Over the years, what has been the common denominator in the work you enjoyed? What has been the common denominator in the work you didn't enjoy?"
The answer should give you a pretty good handle on whether the candidate would be happy with what you have to offer.
Another good question is, "What might you have changed at your last job (or any position) that would have made it better?"
This will give you some insight into the candidate's daily concerns and anxieties, since the answer will relate to how those anxieties might have been addressed.
To get a fix on a person's belief systems, ask about the overall philosophical approaches of their previous employers and then ask how comfortable the individual was working within that philosophy.
Finally, there's, "Describe your ideal job." This will provide some insight into future plans.
Not only do these questions provide more insight into a candidate, they do so without revealing too much about your company or your opening, making it difficult for the candidate to simply tell you what he or she thinks you want to hear.
Some other questions:
"What was the most important thing you did on a day-to-day basis? What was the least important?"
"How did you feel about having to... [specific responsibility]?"
"What motivates you to get up in the morning and go to work?"
You needn't use these questions verbatim, but I do think everyone must develop questions that relate more to whether a job can fill a candidate's needs than to whether a candidate's specialized experience matches the job description.
A few years ago, a client of mine encountered a business owner, a publisher, who also knew how to interview. The owner had tried to sell his business, but was forced to repossess it when the buyer failed to make a profit. The owner was in the process of dissolving his corporation and cutting his losses when my client approached him.
A long-term government worker, my client brought with him a battery of talents and experience which nicely complemented the publisher's knowledge and ability. Since they both knew the questions to ask, they quickly reached a meeting of minds, and rebuild the business. My client more than doubled his income in his first year in his new job.
