Hate Interviewing? Try this…

Interviewing and selecting the right candidate can be nerve racking. However, if you use this approach, you will increase your odds of success.

 

In my prior article, I talked about screening candidates. If you’ve screened well, you should know by now if the candidate is qualified. So next is interviewing with the goal to better understand their unique skills, and whether they are a team and culture fit.

 

I always recommend a minimum of a two-step interview process: 1) an initial phone screening interview and, 2) in-person interview. The in-person interview should include multiple staff to gain a more complete prospective. Once you have narrowed your candidate to one, a third interview can be helpful, and that should be with his or her prospective co-workers.

 

Behavioral Interviewing

Next, let’s talk about how to interview. Remember, at this point, you should have established that the candidate is qualified. So, the face-to-face interview should help us better understand their behaviors.

 

What is unique about behavioral interviewing is that your goal is to establish how the candidate manages on-the-job situations like conflict, upselling, technical or ethical dilemmas.

Here are some example interview questions:

• How do you keep yourself organized?
• Tell me about your last manager.
• How do you keep yourself current (in our industry)?
• Tell me about a conflict you had with a boss or co-worker and how you resolved it.
• Describe a skill that you are working to improve, and the steps you’re taking.
• Tell me about a success story you had in customer service.

 

Notice that all these questions are not rhetorical and require a candidate to think and discuss their behaviors or skill sets in greater detail.

 

One Principle of an Extraordinary Leader is Developing a Hiring Process that Minimizes Mistakes.

 

Excerpt from The Extraordinary Business by Mike Hill

 

Write to Mike at Mike.Hill@TeamTrenton.com