When Companies Start Hiring Again, Will Managers Be Ready?

Posted: Friday July 16, 2010 under Lead Individuals, Tips for Trainers

Conducting good job interviews was a challenging prospect before the economy tanked, before companies stopped hiring and managers stopped interviewing and everyone fell out of practice.

A few years ago (before the global recession), Development Dimensions International (DDI) and Monster (monster.com) asked nearly 4,000 international job seekers what complaints they had of their job interviewers. The top complaints:

• Acting like has no time to talk to me (70%)
• Withholding information about position (57%)
• Turning interview into cross-examination (51%)
• Showing up late (48%)
• Appearing unprepared for interview (47%)
• Asking questions unrelated to job skills (43%)
• Asking personal questions (38%)
• Talking about oneself instead of my qualifications (33%)

These complaints help clarify our challenge: Experienced and practiced or not, many managers are ill-prepared for, and underestimate the importance of, the job interview and their role in it. While job candidates feel tremendous pressure to make a good impression, interviewers, unfortunately, often feel it’s okay to wing it, to come across as aloof, disorganized, or even rude, like the meeting was more of an administrative nuisance than anything else.

Soon enough, when those bright, eager, potential new employees come rushing back in our door, managers will be climbing back in that old (slightly less familiar) interviewer chair. What do we all want from these interviewers … besides selecting the best person for the job? Simple.

• Make every interview a priority on your schedule. Few things you do as a manager are more important or have a greater, lasting impact on your team and your company.

• Prepare for each interview. Really prepare: know the job requirements and desired qualifications, have a game plan for conducting the meeting (start, middle, and various possible endings), review your interview questions, review the candidate’s information, set aside sufficient time, choose a comfortable meeting room with no distractions. Interviewers should prepare as hard, if not harder, than the candidates.

• Ask good questions. You have a short period of time to gather important, job-relevant information about a stranger you’ve just met. To do it, you need to ask the right questions and avoid the many inappropriate and illegal questions that can get you and your company into trouble. For instance, what if a candidate has a clear disability, can you ask about it? Can you ask candidates their age or how many kids they have or if they want kids or if they’ve ever been arrested or where they were born?

• Listen. The 80/20 Rule helps: do 80% of the listening and 20% of the talking. Ask open-ended questions that allow candidates to provide full descriptions and explanations. Focus on their words and behaviors with open eyes and ears … and an open mind.

• Clarify. While it’s good to use prepared questions that are consistent across interviews for a particular job, there’s more to interviewing than running through your scripted questions like a robot: you may need to probe deeper to get a fuller picture. Candidates are on their best behavior, working hard to present whatever they think you want … much like a first date! Good interviewers know how to elicit the information they need to make a solid decision.

• Sell yourself. In the eyes of candidates, you are your company. Project the right image: be polite, personable, and professional. Candidates who don’t become employees may still be valued customers (or hang out with them). And, even if you decide they are perfect for the job, they may decide you’re not quite right for them.

We’ll all start hiring again soon, and a lot of managers will have to learn or relearn one of their most overlooked and vital roles. Best get ready!