Interviewing …Six Common Areas Of Inquiry!
In an interview, does your organization know what it’s looking for?
Or do you?
Over the last 34 years that I’ve been involved in interviewing and selection of professionals from the entry-level to the boardroom, I’ve been trained and practiced a variety of methods of interviews. My professional observation is that regardless of the training or the skill of the interviewer, the vast majority of them attempt to scrutinize six primary areas of the candidate’s background. Those are:
- Affect – The way one presents him/herself (dress, punctuality, professionalism, deportment)
- Education – Major, quality of school, GPA, reasons for choices
- Experience – Type, length, quality of employers, turnover, training
- Performance – Indicators of how well the person performed and was esteemed
- Potential – How well will the candidate fit here; now and in the future
- Character – Indications of work ethic, initiative, interpersonal skills, and other characteristics (in more sophisticated terms, the competency model)
My complaint is not that these six factors are not important, but that all too often, the “test” is subjective and left up to the “gut feeling” of each individual interviewer. Even in excellent organizations, there are many untrained interviewers and the questions asked are often not predictive of the candidate’s future success and in the worst case are not lawful (and create legal exposure). Do all the interviewers look for the same, relevant information? Do your interviewers collaborate so they aren’t all asking the same questions? Do they understand all the legal considerations?
Then, once the candidate responds, how does the interviewer arrive at his/her rating? Is it the same rating at which other interviewers would likely arrive or is it wholly subjective? Is there a rating scale definition to which all the interviewers subscribe?
Many companies will not hesitate to spend months and many dollars to support a new capital expansion of a couple of million dollars …but they will make a million dollar hiring decision with no training and a couple of 45 minute interviews. As we go through this extremely important process, let’s do it really well!
“If you hire well, you will go higher!”
The ISAAC Network, LLC is a consulting firm specializing in the issues that surround recruiting, employment and retention since 1994. Typical offerings include recruiting/employment process consulting; outsourced employment services (bundled or unbundled); competency modeling; interviewer/selection training; web-based employee surveys and analysis; workforce planning; mentor programs; and professional/executive search services. With offices in both New York and Tennessee the firm works with organizations of all sizes and types across the U.S. (and Canada). Call to discuss your issue in confidence at either 865-448-8700 (Townsend, TN) or 585-223-8810 (Fairport, NY).
