SKILL NUMBER 6: INTERVIEWING PEOPLE

THE BOOK OF MANAGEMENT

THE TEN ESSENTIAL SKILLS FOR ACHIEVING HIGH PERFORMANCE

SKILL NUMBER 6: INTERVIEWING PEOPLE (pg. 350 - 417)

The key to success for any organization is its people.  Getting the right people depends on recruitments.  Skills requirement change as business environment becomes more dynamic.  Most creative and progressive recruiters has recognize that understanding the aptitudes, attitudes and motivations of employees is essential in order to hire the best possible fit for current vacancies.

 

PLANNING THE INTERVIEW

Prepare for and conducting an interview involves a number of steps which includes analyze and understand the job; map the strategy for filling vacancies and logistics issues.  A well thought out job description can help to attract candidates who are right for the job.  A vacancy provides an opportunity to consider the continuing need for the job.  An in-depth understanding of the competencies, knowledge, skills, experience, education, aptitudes and attitudes is important when developing a precise person specification.

Interviewing is a person to person interaction.  However technology can be a valuable ally.  Interviewing is a very subjective process as it involves people and their impressions and interpretations of information and its delivery.  Thus, devising a matrix to filter the flow of candidates will save process time.  You will be required to score candidates on information that is less factual and more qualitative in nature.

Build interview shortlist with the help of filtering matrix.  Consider initial telephone screening to narrow shortlist to interview when hiring in volume.  Telephone screening can also be useful for confirming candidates credentials, probing gaps in employment history, exploring willingness to relocate, or determining whether the salary expectation are in line with the company’s offer.  If you have seemingly overqualified applicants, ask yourself what is the impact on a particular job role.  When inviting candidates to interviews:

• Make the venue easily accessible
• Allow for or provide interpreter for hearing or speech impaired candidates
• Allow friend or family to accompany

 

CONDUCTING THE INTERVIEW

The interview is the first opportunity for you to get to know the person behind the CV.  The interview will also shape the candidate’s impression of your organization.  So, make sure the candidates know where to go on their arrival.  When you meet them, offer a warm, professional greeting.

Choose the appropriate format to be used.  The goal of the interview is to find the right candidate who will bring the right skills to the job.  The idea behind asking competency based questions is to link past behavior and experiences with the skills needed for the job and future performance.  Behavioral questions are the most reliable and the best predictor of a person’s performance in future.  The STAR (Situation, Task, Action, and Response) is one of the methods to consider in preparing competencies questions and then listening effectively to candidates’ responses.  Another important part of an interview is exploring the credentials and past experience.  Open ended and probing questions are to be used with the intention to encourage candidates to explain their answer in detail.

Improving interviewing skills is important to finding the right person.  It is also important to remember that the successful candidate can be of either gender and can come from varied backgrounds, ages, lifestyles, and life situations.  Cultural awareness is essential in order to understand how candidates present themselves and how to respond.

Interviewing is to allow information gathering as much as possible about the candidates.  Besides asking questions and listening to their answers, visual observation of the candidate is also important.  Bringing the interview to a successful close is also an important part of an interview process.  Be open and clear as possible about the process ahead.

 

GATHERING FURTHER INFORMATION

An interview may not be enough to fully gauge the candidates’ capabilities, on the job potentials, and suitability for a particular role.  Various kinds of test and activities can be carried out to uncover a candidate’s professional skills, ability and aptitude.  They are needed to ensure a good organizational fit.

Assessment center can be used to test for job-specific skills, capabilities, and personal traits.  Assessment here refers to a series of exercises designed to reveal candidates’ personal characteristics, capabilities, skills, and potentials to succeed in the job filling.  Assessment center is where you have the opportunity to scrutinized candidates against the selection criteria that has been outlined in the job description and person specification.  It allows organization to observe candidates’ behavior in adapting to a variety of different challenges.  A typical assessment exercises might include:

• On-line or paper-and-pencil test to assess personality, aptitude and skills
• In-tray exercises based on day-to-day work situations
• Interviews
• Role-play and simulation scenarios
• Presentations
• Group activities

Psychometrics test has been identified as one of the methods used to help identify the specific characteristics, abilities, and aptitudes in individuals.  Psychometrics test mesure the psychological variables such as:

• Intelligence
• Aptitude
• Personality traits
• Emotional intelligence
• Preferred work style
• Candidates’ ability to learn
• Potential to achieve in future

Many tests are available to assess the candidates’ abilities and aptitudes, from IT to spatial reasoning.  Aptitude is more about a person’s propensity for a particular type of thinking or reasoning.  Abstract reasoning, or the ability to analyze information and solve problems is one of the common theme in aptitude testing.  Role-play and group activities offer great benefits.  It enables assessment of candidates to work in teams.

Its important to check potential candidates early on to avoid problems later.  Failing to take steps to confirm candidates’ identity and background can leave your organization vulnerable to a number of serious risks.

 

MAKING THE FINAL DECISION

Hiring a new person is more than simply filing the slot.  New recruits must be capable of growing and developing along with the organization.  The people recruited must be sufficiently flexible to be effective contributors to the organization of tomorrow.  Traits such as integrity and a constructive, positive management style should not be negotiable.

Confirming the hire of your top candidate will depend on obtaining suitable references.  The most painful part of recruitment is telling non-selectees they did not get the job.  The rejecting letter’s main purpose is to tell non-selectees that they were not successful this time.  It is also as a vehicle to encourage promising candidates to apply again.

Now it’s time for a warm welcome.  Have a programme in place to prepare recruits fro their new workplace.  The new hire need to understand the organization’s mission, values, and strategy moving forward.  Mapping out a clear idea of team’s target will provide a view of how all the pieces fit together.

Short notes from:

THE BOOK OF MANAGEMENT

The Ten Essential Skills For Achieving High Performance

Darling Kindersley Limited (DKL), Penguin Group (UK)