A better, easier way to Interview

Interviewing is sometimes a complex process that can have uncertain outcomes. Getting someone new on the bus (as Jim Collins would say) is costly and time-consuming - but getting them off the bus if they don’t work out is even more so. Basic interviewing techniques have not changed now for a very long time. Just as performance appraisals have gone by the way, surely, it’s time to update our approach to interviewing. Is there a better way? Can you save time, can you get a better outcome, can you reduce the risk of picking up the wrong person?

I don’t know about you, but I have taken home on many occasions’ piles of resumes as part of the recruitment process. I have also conducted more interviews and have been interviewed (as a consultant) more times than I can remember. I have sat in on interviews as a third-party observer and I have made more than a few mistakes - all at the interview stage. So, I changed my approach to interviews, now I conduct them in a very different way. This post looks at the traditional interview approach as compared with my own.

1. Traditional approach

1. Prepare the job description.

2. Advertise or send to recruiters.

3. Prepare interview questions and a scorecard.

4. Conduct interviews.

5. Select a successful candidate.

Prepare Job Description

I do not believe in Job Descriptions; their relevance or currency expires soon after they have been written. This is because the nature of modern work, especially teamwork is that it is forever changing. In place of Job Descriptions, I use a Profile. If you absolutely must use a Job Description, then I strongly recommend that you let your best talent prepare it by asking other team members what should be in it.

Recruitment agencies

I’m not a great fan of recruitment agencies either as I don’t think they provide value for money. They are very good at preparing a shortlist but seem more inclined to provide a number of candidates rather than quality.

They are expensive for what they do, or rather do not do. They tend to come into their own with more senior positions and I have no problem using them in that regard.

Prepare Questions and Scorecard

Again, have your best talent develop job-related questions by talking to existing top employees who are associated with or deal with the position. Prepare a scorecard list of the questions with space against each to record a score. Use a simple rating scale (e.g., 1-High-Performance, 2-Excellent, 3-Potential, 4-Average,) and use it to rate candidates’ answers during the interview.

Conduct Interviews

Have two of your Direct Reports or best talent, do first-round interviews, using a structured approach, that is, asking all the candidates the same questions, in the same order to compare answers in a fair and objective way. Repeat this process for second round interviews if required, then select a successful candidate (and throw away the Job Description.)

2. Conversational approach

This is the approach I developed, here is an example based on an IT recruitment exercise for a Senior IT Infrastructure Manager.

1. Create Profile

I do not write a job description; as previously stated, I don’t believe in them. Instead, I create a Profile of the person I want which will act as my interview guide. The Profile is also used to brief recruiters or frame an Ad.

Why am I recruiting, who do I want?

Require an IT Infrastructure Manager that can act as an IT generalist deployable across the Group.

The rate of corporate acquisition growth is generating increased resource demands and the size of the management team.

What do I want?

1. Management Style

Ask each person what their Management Style is, (if they have trouble answering this you have a problem) look for “I” statements, such as:

· I am open and honest

· I build my own teams

· I motivate people

· Look for mention of a specific style. (e.g., Transformational, Servant)

2. Style of work today

Discuss that the position has come about because of:

· Corporate acquisitions, standardization, IT Change Management.

3. Style of work in the future

Discuss how the nature of the work, or the business is changing:

· Candidate may need to take up a future Business Unit Management or IT Manager position.

4. Complementary skillsets

Discuss that you have or are building a High-Performance Team and that complementary skillsets are a high-performance enabler - look for:

· People leadership, Change Management, Team Building.

· IT Architecture, IT Management, Crisis Management.

5. Strengths

What are their strengths (give them time to think about this as they may not have thought about it before?) Strengths are not skills, they are their natural talents like being sociable, a flair for leadership or the ability to persuade people.

6. Personality type

Ask them how others describe them, how their family describes them, how their friends describe them, how their current staff describe them.

· Friendly, helpful, caring.

· Self-managing, empowered, flexible.

· Open, honest, able to quickly self-correct.

7. Work ethic

Why do they come to work? (Aside from remuneration). What do they get out of work, what does it do for them?

· Business first orientation.

· Puts in what’s required.

· Focussed, dedicated, gets things done.

· Mutual accountability.

· Selfless collaboration.

· Shared leadership.

8. Experience

Ask them to describe their career progression so far and their aspirations.

· IT Management.

· Business Management.

· Change Management.

· Consulting.

· CIO.

No Scorecard

I do not use a scorecard or take notes during an interview, it makes it look more like an interrogation to me. In my case I’m pretty good at spotting talent using this approach – it has a good success rate, but if you are not as certain, use a scorecard based on the Profile.

Copy of Profile

I copy the Profile to all of my Direct Reports for their information and ask for any feedback.

2. First round - Structured interviews

Have two of your Direct Reports or best talent conduct first round, structured interviews (asking all the candidates the same questions, in the same order to compare answers in a fair and objective way). Shortlist candidates for the second round as required.

3. Second round - Conversational interviews

I have always viewed interviews as being very one-sided, more of an interrogation than a two-way exchange or conversation. When I conduct an interview, I have a conversation using the Profile as my guide. I do not ask pre-prepared questions, rather I frame them as I go. I have learnt so much more about a person and their fit for the role by using this conversational approach. It gives much better insight into their personality, strengths, skillset, knowledge, and motivations than a structured interview approach.

I have one of my Direct Reports sit in, to let the ‘talent’ assess potential new ‘talent’. Having multiple perspectives is also more reliable and accurate because it tends to ‘average out’ any one interviewer’s biases. Plus, I am always looking for high-performance talent that can be moulded for inclusion into a high-performance team and always value another opinion on this.

4. Get into Conversation mode

By this I mean get the person to relax as much as possible, ask a man to take off his suit jacket, for example, ask them if they would like a coffee or tea because you are going to have one. Tell them that you want to have a conversation and get to know them and as one of my Direct Reports is present, it will be a three-way conversation.

5. Start by asking Personal questions

Just like you would when meeting someone for the first time when socialising, “Did you have any problems getting here today, do you play any sports, do you follow the footy? When they answer - immediately give your answer as well, to share information about yourself. This relaxes the atmosphere, starts the conversation on safe ground, and lets you get a sense of where the person is coming from, you also sometimes get a surprisingly good story.

Some recruiters will tell you not to ask personal questions, they consider it crossing the line. The issue here is the risk of asking illegal questions, such as about age, gender, or drug use.

6. Give an outline of the Organization

Describe where the organization is now, why you are recruiting, what the future looks like, why coming on board is a benefit and a privilege. Then finally, how that position fits into your organizational structure and contributes to your company’s success.

7. Walk through the Profile

Then inform them that you have a position Profile of the person you’re looking for and that you would like to go through it with them and seek their feedback. State each Profile topic and ask what they think about it.

My view on a person’s fit is that I do not want an exact match as that leaves no room for personal and professional growth. All new positions must allow room for growth and freedom of expression within the position. Each person needs to culturally adapt in their own way.

One important question for me is “why are you leaving your current job?”, followed by “what is attractive to you about this job?”

8. Select a successful candidate

I break when the interview is concluded and consult with my Direct Report. If it is clear to us that the person is not suitable, I invite them back in and tell them there and then and I give a detailed explanation of why they are not suitable at this time, I also add whatever career advice I think will be helpful to them.

If they are a candidate, I tell them as much, I appraise their performance during the interview to give feedback, and I thank them for coming to see to us and that we enjoyed the conversation and will be in touch within a certain timeframe.

Interview Tips

If need be, remind yourself to Listen

The key is to pay close attention to what is not answered and make on-the-spot judgements on why that area was skipped or glossed over.

Not a perfect fit

Look for people who can bring a new perspective to your team, instead of being an exact fit. Look for eccentricities, extroverts, and introverts, each is required in a High-Performance Team.

Ask what you don't know

There's a lawyer's tip that advises you to only ask witnesses questions that you already know the answers to. I do the opposite. I ask questions on issues where I am clueless about what the answer will be.

Resist hiring in your own image

Always look to hire someone better than yourself, this is really rule number one.

Ask situational questions

For a situational interview question (“What would you do in…”), you can describe a major job potentiality that the person may face.

Ask behavioural questions

For a behavioural interview question (“Tell me about a time when you…”), ask the candidate how they handled situations that are likely to happen in the role you’re hiring for.

References and Referees

Basically, I am only interested in asking one or two questions to referees. “Would you employ this person again? and if so, “Why? “or “What do you like about this person? And “What don’t you like about this person?”

Some further, revealing questions:

· Describe a time you were assigned a new position. How did you adapt?

· Should you get hired, what do you think would be most challenging in this role?

· Tell me about a time you encountered a problem with a stakeholder.

· How do you know when to solve a problem on your own or to ask for help?

· What’s one thing you like about your current (or prior) job, and you’d want here as well?

· What do you hope to achieve during your first six months here?

· Which languages can you speak fluently?

· Describe the type of work environment in which you are most productive.

Now, consider these factors to help you evaluate candidates:

Concreteness and simplicity. We all know people who can ramble on and on about something. If the candidate does this without answering your questions, that’s a potential interview red flag. This also applies if they include a lot of irrelevant information in their answer.

Dodging questions. It’s one thing to go off in tangents on a topic, and another thing to deliberately avoid answering a question. This might happen inadvertently, so try to bring the conversation back on topic or ask a more specific question. If the candidate still seems unwilling or unable to answer, it’s a red flag.

Attitude. Yes, the tone of each answer matters. If someone is condescending or arrogant when answering, consider whether they’re a good fit – even if the content of their answer is appropriate.

Authenticity. Answers to some questions might be similar among candidates. Look for those who stand out and have unique and honest answers.

Listening. Candidates who listen give the most relevant answers. If a candidate constantly interrupts you or misunderstands the meaning of your questions, that can indicate they aren’t very good listeners.

Examples. Pay attention to the quality and details of examples that candidates give. The outright lack of real examples is a red flag, while vague examples might be embellished or even made up. Ask follow-up questions to get clarification.

Inconsistency. If a candidate says they have excellent communication skills and yet they struggle to complete their sentences, that’s a red flag, too.

Lastly

Put in the time and effort required when recruiting (getting someone on the bus) because it takes ten times as much time and effort to performance manage someone out (getting them off the bus).

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Management and TeamsRussell Futcher5 August 2021A better easier way to Interview