Interviewing Deeply and Well

Here’s a quiz question for you. Is a job interview a test or a conversation? Do you shine a bright light in the eyes of hopeful candidates or subject them to firing room squads of five-on-one group interviews? Do you hope that you will ask the question that trips candidates up so you can eliminate them? And interview ought to be a conversation – a two-way discussion that allows you to get to know the candidate and visa versa.

A job interview is not a test, it should be a conversation.

I am not a fan of group interviews because they do not make for a good conversation. Relationships are not being built and you are subjecting the candidate to stress that might inhibit his or her ability to open up and share experiences. I was once interviewed by a group of 12 people at once. The group included the CEO and several of his senior leadership team members. As a facilitator, I was able to handle the conversation. I was determined to get the job and one reason is that I wanted to get them to stop doing these group interviews! Did I really get to know any of them? No. Did they really get to know me? No, all they learned was that I could facilitate a conversation with 12 people.

Here are a few other recommendations for how to interview deeply and well and find the candidate who is the best fit for your open positions.

First and foremost, don’t let HR own the process of filling your position. Too many managers abdicate ownership of hiring and this is a big mistake. Who needs to train this person? Who needs to manage this person? Who will be responsible for ensuring this person is productive? On whose team will this person reside? You and yours. Personally, I would not even let HR narrow down the people to a list you ought to interview – their might be one of those unconventional rock stars in the pile of resumes and HR departments are more likely to screen based on job descriptions. Take the time to be very involved from the get go. Nothing against HR, I am an HR person myself. But HR does not know your needs and team like you do and they will not be managing the hire. It is in your best interest to get and stay involved. I know that some government agencies don’t let managers own the initial screening – if you work for the government, be as involved as your system allows and advocate for improving the system in an appropriate manner.

Behavioral interviewing: I like using behaviorally based questions because they get tell you how people approach their work and how they respond to various situations. I am not a fan of using behavioral questions in such a regimented way that it gets in the way of creating a conversation and relationship. Do you hand interviewers a list of seven questions and tell them to ask those and nothing else? I don’t recommend that approach – it’s mechanical and hiring a rock star needs to be a bit magical too (I can imagine all the employment attorneys wrinkling their noses at me while reading that). I think it is fine to ask each candidate some of the same questions, but then also take time for conversation that is specific to their experiences and interests. If you are not skilled in interviewing techniques, seek training or coaching, as this is necessary to make the right people decisions.

When talking to each candidate, get to know his or her motivation for applying for this job. What does he or she want to get from the position? What work does he or she most enjoy? If you are hiring a manager, determine whether the candidate has a genuine interest in and capacity for management – experience managing is not enough. You and I both know there are many lousy managers out there!
Ask several people to interview each candidate – one-on-one. Make sure the interviewers know your criteria for fit. Have a group debriefing meeting to get feedback. If someone has a bad or really good feeling about a candidate – take this seriously and look into it further. Our instincts are often right. 

Make sure you give candidates lots of time to ask questions. It is important that they have an opportunity to get to know you and learn what they need to know to determine their level of interest. In addition, I think you can tell a lot about how a candidate thinks by the questions they ask. If they have no questions, that’s a concern to me. If all their questions are about pay and benefits, that’s a red flag too. I want to hire someone who is interested in the business, so much so that they have done some research and come to the interview with several business related questions.

One last thought before I finish. The interview process is about establishing relationships. That relationship begins before the first interview occurs. I know that many of you may not have a lot of say about how applications are collected and screened, but I want you to consider the message your company sends if the only way they can apply for a job is online and there is no email address or phone number (that connects to a human) available in the event they have questions. If this is the way your HR department recruits, do whatever you can to get them to stop. This type of cold and inaccessible system will hurt your hiring efforts because the rock stars will have no patience for the system and many of the folks who take the time to fight with the system will not be the best applicants. My two cents worth.

Comments

[Valeria Maltoni]

Hello Lisa:

I just read your contribution to "More Space" and had to visit. You're my kind of recruiter! Usually I know when a company is a fit for me if I can guide the interviewer into a conversation with me (the candidate) and vice versa. A useful skill to have in Corporate America.

At my current company, for example, I interview technical candidates even though I am the communications and marketing manager because in conversations with me they reveal a whole new side of themselves. The soft stuff will get you every time.

Yes, interviews are conversations. In fact, I believe that the conversation is the new marketplace -- if we thought it wasn't before.

People crave the connection more than they crave the stuff -- jobs, gadgets, etc. -- these days.

[Lisa Haneberg]

I agree Valeria - interviews ought to be conversations - and by definition they all are. But many are sucky conversations with no real dialogue.