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September,
1998
Use
This Checklist for a Successful Interview
EVERY
COMPANY CONDUCTS THEM, and every candidate endures them. We’re
speaking about interviews, of course. They are the most critical
part of the hiring process, and the future of both the organization
and the job candidate can rest on the outcome. Yet, for all
their importance, far too many interviews are cobbled together
– instead of thoughtfully planned and carefully executed.
Over
the past four decades, the search consultants of Sanford Rose
Associates have debriefed companies and candidates on thousands
upon thousands of "face-to-face" job interviews,
from the almost flawless to the hopelessly flawed. During
that time, some critical elements of successful interviews
have emerged.
While
the following checklist will not guarantee a perfect interviewing
process, it may help your organization avoid a fiasco. And
if we have omitted what you believe to be a crucial detail,
please take the time to tell us about it.
Before
the Visit
- Confirm
the interview date and schedule with all concerned.
- Clarify
the role of each individual who will participate in the
interviewing process. (Ideally, they should be top performers
who can help "sell" the company to the candidate.)
- Have
at least two back-up interviewers, in case of last-minute
illness or travel.
- Provide
detailed information about each interviewer to your search
consultant.
- Designate
a "Shepherd" (usually from the HR function) responsible
for guiding the candidate throughout the visit and keeping
everyone on time.
- Confirm
travel and accommodation plans with the search consultant.
- Make
sure the candidate has received company literature well
in advance.
- Likewise,
distribute information about the candidate well in advance.
- If
the candidate will arrive the night before, decide whether
he/she will be met at the airport, taken to dinner, etc.
- If
the candidate won’t be met, arrange for a fruit basket
and/or welcome letter at the hotel. (Create a good first
impression.)
- Make
similar plans concerning breakfast the next day, travel
to your site, etc.
During
the Visit
- Be
sure the receptionist expects the candidate.
- Have
the Shepherd available to greet the candidate upon arrival.
- Schedule
time apart from the interviewing process for the candidate
to discuss benefits information with HR, complete an expense-account
form and handle any other administrative matters.
- Make
luncheon plans. (Issues: private dining room or company
cafeteria, social break or working lunch, friendly faces
or interview panelists?)
- Practice
the Golden Rule and treat the candidate throughout the day
as an honored guest.
The
Interview Itself
Interviews
are opportunities for companies to gain information and insight
about candidates – and vice versa. That opportunity
can be wasted by focusing on detail readily available from
the resume itself (e.g., "What is your current position,"
"What were your major accomplishments," etc.), as
opposed to learning what makes the candidate tick (e.g., "Tell
me how you typically manage conflict").
Interviews
need not be stressful, but they should create opportunities
to observe job-related performance attributes. Thus, the candidate
for a public relations job might be asked to write a press
release about the company’s most recent earnings report,
while the candidate for a general-management position with
frequent Board exposure might undergo questioning by a small
group of people in a conference room to test his/her persuasiveness.
And why
does the candidate trudge from interview to interview throughout
the day? Defenders cite the need for consensus decision-making.
Detractors make subversive comments about "safety in
numbers" and "no one gets all the blame." If
your organization believes in interview panels, assemble one
that makes sense for the open position – e.g., the hiring
manager, the hiring manager’s boss, a human resources
professional and two or three people from other departments
who interact frequently with the position.
To gain
control of the interview process:
- Determine
the information you want about the candidate and don’t
yet have.
- Assign
responsibility to specific interviewers for obtaining it.
- Review
prohibited questions under EEO and ADA guidelines.
- Structure
one or two situations/assignments that allow the candidate
to be observed "in action."
- Ensure
that the candidate has ample opportunity to ask questions,
and evaluate his/her inquisitiveness and insight.
- Remind
all interviewers that the impressions they create will form
the candidate’s impression of the company itself (warm
vs. aloof, decisive vs. indecisive, dynamic vs. static,
etc.).
- Encourage
everyone to be a "salesman" by explaining something
they like about their job, the company, the community or
opportunities for future growth.
- Avoid
exclusionary questions, such as "Why should we consider
you for this position?"
Meeting
Ms. or Mr. Big
Candidates
for certain positions require the top person’s blessing.
In these situations:
- Schedule
the meeting, if at all possible, for late in the day.
- Just
before the interview, brief the Chief on general impressions
thus far – along with any key questions to ask or
selling points to make.
- Cancel
the interview if the candidate is bombing out.
Before Departure
- Keep
in mind that the candidate probably has a plane to catch,
which will take off at a particular time unless the company
jet is standing by.
- Thank
the candidate for taking the time to visit you and assure
him/her that they will hear from the company (or its search
firm) in the very near future.
- Avoid
impromptu evaluations (e.g., "You’d be a real
asset to our organization") and on-the-spot job offers.
- Have
transportation standing by.
After
the Visit
- Obtain
everyone’s evaluations, meet (if possible) with the
interview panel as a group and reach a decision. (A negative
decision should remove the candidate from further consideration.
A positive decision, in some cases, may await one more round
of interviews or the evaluation of two or three other finalists.)
- Obtain
any post-interview feedback from your search consultant,
along with any issues that need to be addressed (e.g., compensation,
perks, title, responsibilities, etc.).
- Be
sensitive to particular needs, such as relocation assistance,
spousal re-employment, etc.
- Working
closely with HR and the search consultant, construct an
offer that is likely to "stick."
- Extend
the offer orally through the search consultant, even though
the company will confirm it in writing. (This allows minor
adjustments to be made before the offer is cast in concrete.)
- Include
any employment contract with the written offer.
- Congratulate
the candidate upon acceptance and thank the panel for a
job well done.
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