Make every interview count
After 12 years in talent acquisition I still very much enjoy interviewing. When I started out in executive search as an intern, I used to sit in multiple two-hour interviews every day and take extensive notes. I would introduce myself in the beginning and for the rest, nod and furiously write. By hand. Some might think this is tedious. I thought it was fascinating. Hearing someone else’s life and career story, understanding their drivers and key achievements and trying to decide if they would be successful in the job they were interviewing for. The last one was not even remotely within my scope at the time, but I couldn’t help myself.
Deciding if someone would be successful in a specific job, team or company is not particularly straight forward. It’s also not a one-sided, one-person decision. It is a bit like trying to predict the future based on a resume and the way someone is answering questions. You will get it wrong sometimes both by hiring someone you shouldn’t have and by passing on a high potential who joins your competitor and steals your biggest customer.
There are however things you can do to ensure the interview time you spend with a candidate is well worth it. If I can only give you three tips, here is what I think will significantly improve your odds of making a good hiring decision.
Prepare
Going back to basics here. I for one am guilty of the back-to-back meetings syndrome. Anyone else? I can hardly call it preparation if I only read the candidate’s CV in the first 2 minutes of the actual interview, while we both complain about the weather. A good pre-interview checklist includes getting clear on what needs to be done in this role, translating that to competencies you can actually assess in a candidate, aligning with the rest of the interview team, drafting a few questions and reading the candidate’s resume and/or LinkedIn profile. I challenge you to fit all this into 2 minutes!
Really listen
Spend 80% of your time actively listening. Master The Pause. Give the candidate space to express themselves. “Say more about this” is a new favorite phrase of mine. Choose your questions wisely and spend more time on less questions than the other way around. Follow-up and dig deeper into examples. You want to walk out of the conversation armed with enough meaningful data points to inform your hiring decision. And you can’t do that if you spend more than half of the time talking or listening to talk.
Give authentic answers
When ‘pitching’ the opportunity and answering questions, don’t actually pitch. Candidates don’t want to hear your pre-scripted spiel about how great your company is. They want to hear the value proposition that is relevant and important to them and that will differ from candidate to candidate. They want their questions answered in an authentic, human way so they can make the most informed decision about their next career move. They want to get to know you. Because you will have influence over their learning, performance, career progression and very likely their resignation. No pressure :)
Making sound hiring decisions will move your company, team and career forward. It is worth investing your time and energy in making every interview count.
I’d love to hear from you. How have you found success in interviewing and hiring so far?
