22/09/2014
Interviews are opportunities for mutual exchanges of information, where candidates are also interviewing the interviewer. They are not just about an employer making a decision and selecting from among several options. Candidates are also selecting and deciding whether the employer is right for them. There is a symbiotic relationship between the hiring process and a company’s image and reputation.
Woo your top choices
All of the principles of an effective marketing and branding strategy apply in the interview room. Smart interviewers, make sure that they have all of the information that they need to make an informed decision and also attempt to win over the candidate. In any economy, people in high-demand may have multiple job offers. So it is incumbent upon the interviewer to show them why they should choose their organisation. “In-demand” candidates should leave an interview, impressed by how the role will be personally and professionally beneficial and challenging, impressed that you are interested in them, and knowledgeable about the benefits of working for your organisation.
Brand Ambassador
An unofficial brand ambassador, the interviewer is an advertisement for the business, and creates an image of the company. The ability to treat a candidate with respect emanates from the value system of an organisation and ultimately it does not matter whether you select that person or not. The candidates’ experience will be one of the determining factors in choosing to join an organisation or not, as the recruitment process is seen as a reflection of a company’s culture – the sum of its parts.
A positive brand experience can result in recommendations to contacts or even a decision to join, if not now, in the future. However if the interview feels unprofessional or ad hoc it is unlikely that the candidate will join and even more likely that they will tell others in their circle about their unprofessional experience. Perhaps they join a competitor.
Odd Questions
Candidates have also become more sophisticated in interview techniques and in their expectations of the interview. The wrong questions or questions designed to trip people over can scare good people away. Some managers think that because they have reached a career level that this automatically means they have the gift of giving a good job interview and asking smart questions. Not so!!
In FORTUNE Magazine 8/3/13, Steven Overman referred to the Top 25 Oddball Interview Questions compiled by Glassdoor, that were actual conversational ambits used by corporate interviewers. Questions like – What songs best describe your work ethic? A penguin walks through that door right now wearing a sombrero. What does he say and why is he here?
Unfortunately too many have been the recipients of such questions or have sat red faced, alongside a fellow interviewer, cringing, as they ask the candidate “If you were on an island and could only bring three things, what would you bring?”
Managers can often think of interviewing job candidates as “something that is easy” says Pamela Skillings, President and Chief Trainer at Skillful Communications in NY. They will often wing it and fail to prepare questions that will reveal the best potential employees, and all too often says Steven Overman, “They get a penguin in a sombrero”.
Time and Money
It is well accepted, that by taking an ad hoc approach to recruiting, the result is often an employee mismatch. This ends up costing a lot of money in training time, salary expenses, recruitment fees, can have an effect on team morale, productivity and focus. To fix the interview mistakes or gaps, the manager must spend much more time with the employee, only to often find that the person must be moved on. Then it begins all over again.
Here are 7 tips to ensure that you don’t scare away top talent and that you hire well:
1. Be very clear on what you are looking for – A combination of the basics to find out is this person right for the job and is the job right for them. The following questions should be used to tell you if the person is right and to help you get to know the real person:
- Can the individual do the job at the degree of excellence or competency required?
- Will the individual do the job? Are they motivated to do this type of work?
- Will the individual fit? If hired, will their personality gel with the organisational culture and values and will they fit in with the team?
2. Be prepared – Just as the candidate will have prepared thoroughly for the experience, so too should the interviewer by becoming familiar with the candidates cover letter, resume, background information etc. Questions must be tailored to the selection criteria and be the same for all applicants, however some tailoring will reflect what you have learned in the marketing collateral provided by the candidate, so that the questions are focused and relevant.
3. Use questions that produce answers of value and that provide an objective diagnostic indicator of an individual’s probability of succeeding and which don’t just rely on people who sell themselves better than others. Behavioural questions enable the interviewer to find out if the candidate is a good cultural fit, whether their working style will sit well with how the organisation operates and their approach to solving problems. Questions such as “Tell me about a time; Give me an example of when…….” help. Prompt candidates to describe a situation when they have exhibited certain behaviors’ and to recount something that has actually happened. This provides insights into past behaviours that can serve as a predictor of future behaviour. By encouraging someone to tell a story, it follows conversationally that they provide the interviewer with further elements to explore – multi-layered opportunities to probe and different angles. This is how you get to know the real person behind the interview hype.
4. Ask open questions – “Why do you want to work for us?” or “What criteria are you using to select your next employer?” Questions that reveal a level of career introspection are important in determining fit. Can the candidate articulate their career history in a clear and compelling manner and tell you what they want?
5. Know the law – Some questions are illegal, so don’t ask them. Questions related to age, marital status, or religion, under Australian Equal Opportunity Legislation are illegal and can get employers into a great deal of trouble.
6. Analyse the candidate – First impressions are powerful and it is easy to make judgments about others too quickly. Interviewers should try to overcome first impressions by using well thought-out structured questions so that they can assess the candidate’s ability to do the job. The interviewer must do a lot of listening and observing and if they are doing most of the talking, then they may not be getting the information that is required. Non-verbal communication and body language will reveal much and the best candidates will make eye contact.
7. Clarify Process – One of the big stresses for candidates is being kept out of the loop and a failure of the business to clearly communicate the recruiting process to candidates. Candidates should be kept in the loop about interview sequence, how long it will take to get back to them. Try and be clear with your instructions so that interviewers don’t get discouraged by a lengthy hiring process, which can result in candidates turning down jobs due to disappointment.
Finding great employees is rarely easy. Don’t let your hiring methods scare away high quality prospective employees and impact your employment brand!