Interview Guide

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INTERVIEW GUIDE

Table of Contents

How to Use This Guide 2

Interviewing is Part of a Selection System 3

One, Review the Critical Criteria for the Position Review the Job Expectations Review the Critical Success Skills

5

Two, Define the Hiring Process The Most Economic Process The Most Objective Process

7

Three, Prepare for the Interview Sessions Review the Interviewing Methods Available Establish an Interview Team Decide What Company Information to Give Each Candidate Look at Ways to Make Interviews More Effective Practical Tips of Excellent Interviewers What to Avoid During Interviews Common Mistakes of Interviewing

9

Conducting In-Depth Interviews The Cone Approach Using the Cone Questions

15

Conducting Follow-Up Interviews How to Integrate Interview Impressions and Objective Testing Data That May Conflict 18

Appendix How to Get Valid Information in a Background Check 20

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HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE

Employment research consistently demonstrates that selection interviewing is one of the most widely used but least effective techniques for identifying future employees. There are several reasons cited.

Most managers do not have the time or opportunity to practice effective techniques, and like other skills, frequent practice or use is necessary to keep the skills sharp.

Interviews require a subjective opinion that often varies from one interviewer to the next. Because an interview can seem like an easy task, it is often approached too casually without careful preparation and

consistent structure.

In fact, there is extensive research that indicates that interviews are typically not a valid way to select the best employees.1 Many employers who have paid for their hiring mistakes the hard way would readily admit that an interview is only one of the tools needed for new employee selection, and often not the most reliable tool.

But whether or not an interview is actually effective, most people think that interviewing is very important when considering a person for a job. It appears that employers and job candidates all believe that doing well in an interview is somehow a requirement for getting a specific job.

At GrowthPlay, we recognize that interviews are an important step in the selection process, as are other techniques, such as background checking or GrowthPlay’s assessment testing. We offer this guide to increase the likelihood of developing an interview approach that is effective in distinguishing strong from weak candidates.

This interview guide is a result of the many interview training sessions we have provided to our clients. Our purpose is to provide information on basic techniques that can increase confidence in the outcome of the interview process. It covers the key factors that research has shown to be most useful and beneficial when trying to hire the right people.

In using the guide, we suggest that you proceed at a pace and flow which best suits you. As you begin, you might want to read the first three sections since they contain general information about interviewing and how it fits into the hiring process. After reading those sections, you will need to make some decisions about interviewing job candidates, such as:

who needs to be involved in the hiring process what training do the interviewers need how will other selection techniques (assessment testing and background checking) be used in making the hiring

decisions how will those selection techniques impact the interviewing process

After making those decisions, you can use the information in this guide to become more effective when interviewing job candidates.

1 John & Ronda Hunter, “Validity and Utility of Alternative Predictors of Job Performance,” Psychological Bulletin, July 1984, p. 90.

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INTERVIEWING IS PART OF A SELECTION SYSTEM

Employment research has clearly shown that accurate employee selection results from a combination of hiring techniques used together as a “system” and applied consistently. No single technique can cover all the important areas so well that it alone should be relied upon to forecast a candidate’s prospects for performance success.

At GrowthPlay, we suggest a selection system and method of weighting which we call The 30/30/30/10 Rule. Using this approach allows you to evaluate your interview results in relationship to other key elements of a good system. The 30/30/30/10 Rule involves four selection techniques. Each one is geared toward gathering the kind of information most suitable for its type, and each is weighted:

ELEMENT APPROPRIATE TO ASSESS WT.

Interview Communication/Listening Skills Business Acumen Ability to Present Self Thinking/Evaluating on the Spot or Under

Pressure Personal/Social Maturity

30%

Background Check Financial Maturity Qualifications for role Responsibility/Ethics Educational Requirements Work Ethic Career Commitment Employer Loyalty

30%

Assessment Testing Job Skills Understanding Sales/Service/ Management

Principles Work Motivation Decision-Making Ability Candidness Teamwork

30%

Gut Feelings Compatibility with Company Ease of Supervising

10%

While interviewing may be the most common of selection techniques, it has its advantages and its disadvantages. To put this in the proper perspective, let’s look at what an interview can do, versus what it should not attempt to do:

ADVANTAGES

Candidates can explain unclear background data. Interviewers can evaluate candidates’ presentation skills, poise, and their ability to think quickly. Interviewers can check the candidate’s stress tolerance, planning, perspective, problem-solving approach, and past

work experience.

DISADVANTAGES

A candidate’s honesty or integrity cannot be verified. Interviewers cannot attempt to separate a candidate’s real motivation from the present need for a job. Most job skills cannot be effectively measured.

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Even though The 30/30/30/10 Rule reduces the level of importance placed on the interview results, many managers may still place a heavy emphasis on interviewing. Unfortunately, with most managers, the need to hire new people does not occur often enough to help develop quality interviewing skills. If they tend to be very busy or assume they are already good at interviewing, they become too casual, or too rushed in their preparation for interviews.

The format of an interview must be structured and applied consistently with all candidates in order to be effective and legally compliant.

Good interviewers typically prepare for interviews by focusing on three general areas:

Determining the skills needed for the position Defining the hiring process Planning and preparing for the interview sessions

Let’s look at each of these three general areas in more detail.

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ONE, REVIEW THE CRITICAL CRITERIA FOR THE POSITION

The first, and most crucial step in selecting successful employees, is narrowing the selection criteria to the very few really critical skills that distinguish top performers. Research has shown that four common mistakes are most likely to defeat a selection process.

Mistake 1 Looking for too many criteria

Extensive objective, statistical research demonstrates that the most important skill accounts for almost 40% of an employee’s success. The second most important skill accounts for another 20-25%, the third, up to 10% more. The fourth adds 5% more and each additional factor adds even less. In other words, looking for more than 6 to 10 skills actually dilutes the effectiveness of the selection process.

Mistake 2 Not understanding the relative importance of skills

All skills are not equally important as demonstrated above. For a salesperson, good administrative and organizational skills, while typically important, will not compensate for call reluctance or the inability to answer objections effectively. Outstanding new business development skills, however, may well compensate for weak clerical habits.

Mistake 3 Basing criteria solely on top performers

Typically, many selection factors reflect interest in the job and are as likely to occur in both top and bottom performers. The most important factors on which to base selection are those that distinguish between top and bottom performers in the same job.

Mistake 4 Not determining what results a good selection criteria should accomplish

Many selection systems produce only average results, but don’t realize it. For example, if the top 20% of a sales force produces 80% of sales, that sales force is exactly equal to the “normal curve.” Pure chance or pure random selection would have achieved the same results. In other words, the accuracy of the selection system is no more effective than the act of “flipping a coin” at every step in the selection process.

Review the Job Expectations

If you need to write a new description or job definition, you are best advised to begin by thinking of the results you want to accomplish. Then, think of the job first in terms of the tasks that must be completed to successfully accomplish those results. For example, will salespeople need to find their own prospects? If so, then generating new leads will be important. If a manager is expected to train staff in certain functions, then that manager will need to be an effective trainer to fulfill the expectations of the job.

Once you have established all the major results and tasks required of a person in a specific position, you would then start to think in terms of skills – the unique combination of abilities, habits, and motivations that work together to support the completion of the required tasks and to achieve the desired results. Using our example of a sales manager who coaches others, ask yourself what skills help a manager to be an effective trainer. Several come quickly to mind, including verbal communication, willingness to develop technical competence, a desire to see results, and a well-developed habit of patience.

Review the Critical Success Skills

Examine both the tasks and the skills of the job and prioritize those that are most critical to performance success. This will help you to identify the Critical Success Skills needed for the position.

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ONE, REVIEW THE CRITICAL CRITERIA FOR THE POSITION (CONT.)(CONT.)

Test your conclusions by:

Trying to think of successful individuals who don’t have that skill. If you can think of one or more, then that skill may not be critical to success. Remember, think of this as a skill a candidate must have versus one that is just nice to have.

Taking a hard look at those people who failed in this position. What seems to have caused their failure? Examining your superstars in comparison to others. What skills do they seem to share which differentiate them from

everyone else in their position?

Once you have finished this analysis, you should have a better idea of what you need.

Another consideration is the scope or numbers in the function or position being filled. If a large number of people perform a given job, then a more objective or quantitative (statistical) approach is appropriate. A statistical analysis of that group’s performance can identify and weigh the value of the few most critical skills.

The GrowthPlay selection database, for example, includes over 400,000 people across some 40 core business positions. Our research base of over 300 statistical validity studies has identified the critical skills for these positions. The skills identified in this guide have been statistically identified as the most critical for the position. A person who has this combination of critical success skills is more likely to succeed in this position. A person who lacks this combination is more likely to be unsuccessful in this position.

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TWO, DEFINE THE HIRING PROCESS

Once you know what performance criteria you are looking for, you are ready to determine the process you will use to find this person. Depending upon individual circumstances, you may choose either a more economical or more objective process.

The Most Economic Process

You will want to use an economic process if the hiring will be done on a large scale (a large number of candidates or recruitment over a wide geographic area) and cost is a consideration. With the economic process, you order the sequence of events with the rationale that you want to reserve the most costly techniques for the fewest number of candidates.

For example, with the Economic process, you might want to:

1. Evaluate all candidates and eliminate those who don’t match certain criteria. 2. Conduct preliminary background checks on all candidates who match the screening criteria. 3. Conduct preliminary phone interviews. 4. Use assessment testing to verify skills, interests, and job aptitude prior to in-depth, face-to-face interviewing. 5. Use in-depth interviews to evaluate candidates. 6. Use follow-up interviews to further evaluate candidates. 7. Determine which candidate to hire. 8. Make job offer to the best candidate.

The Most Objective Process

If it is a key position and cost is not a major issue, then you might want to use the most objective process. With this approach, you will conduct the most objective steps first and the more subjective steps last. The most objective hiring tasks you can perform are background checks, résumé checks, and assessment testing. You would reserve in-depth interviewing until last, since it is the most subjective step in the selection process.

For example, with the Objective process, you might want to:

1. Evaluate all candidates and eliminate those who don’t match certain criteria. 2. Conduct in-depth background checks on all candidates who have the desired experience and meet the educational

requirements – eliminate those who do not pass. 3. Use assessment testing to verify skills, interests, and job aptitude – evaluate only those who are “recommended” or

“recommended if the concerns addressed can be resolved.” 4. Use in-depth, structured interviews to screen these candidates – evaluate for candidates with “excellent” and

“average” scores. 5. Match interview results to assessment results – review discrepancies. 6. Use additional interviews to further evaluate candidates. 7. Determine which candidate to hire. 8. Make job offer to the best candidate.

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THREE, PREPARE FOR THE INTERVIEW SESSIONS

Once you have decided upon the hiring process, you can start to plan and prepare for the interviews needed to select the right candidate.

Review the Interviewing Methods Available

There are three types of interviewing methods that can provide interviewers with a variety of information.

Screening interviews provide a method for verifying that candidates have some, or all, of the skills needed for the position. This means that the person can presently perform, or has the potential to learn how to perform, the critical tasks and major competencies inherent in the position. The candidate’s résumé, along with a current job description, will make the initial screening easier. The idea behind screening candidates is to reduce the number that need to be considered more thoroughly. By eliminating candidates at this level, you won’t waste effort or time on less-likely prospects.

Inquisitive or in-depth interviewing is primarily a one-way search for information. This approach tends to be investigative and follows a more formal or structured format. Questions posed are designed to pull information from the candidate that will contribute to the decision-making process. These responses may be scored by the interviewer as a means of quantifying the results of the interview. This interview method is described in greater detail in the Conducting In-Depth Interviews section of this guide.

The cooperative interview becomes a two-way exchange of information. Questions posed by both parties are explorative and designed to determine an appropriate fit. This is the most commonly used interview method and under most conditions, it is likely to be effective. As this method is typically the last step in a sequence of multiple interviews, the interviewer begins to sell the company with increasing urgency. This interview method is described in greater detail in the Conducting Additional Interviews section of this guide.

Establish an Interview Team

Sharing the interview process can lighten the sometimes heavy responsibility of hiring the right person. Some people you might want to consider having on an interview team include:

the hiring manager human resource personnel or recruiters additional in-house interviewing resources

By having different people at different levels assist with interview process, the team members can provide the hiring manager with their first impressions and reactions to the candidates.

The hiring manager has the most to gain by finding the right person for the position, but may not always make the hiring decision. During the interview process, the hiring manager can help by making sure the job description accurately reflects key tasks and priorities, and by prioritizing the critical skills for the position. Keep in mind that job descriptions may not be current, or even exist, for higher-level positions.

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THREE, PREPARE FOR THE INTERVIEW SESSIONS (CONT.)

To speed up the hiring process, some organizations use human resource personnel or a professional recruiter2 who may have a wide range of responsibilities. These people are usually responsible for providing general information about the company and specific information about the particular job, including a written copy of the job description. In some situations, they can assist with the screening interviews or conduct background or reference checks.

Additional in-house interviewing resources could include peers or people with whom the candidate will work on a regular basis, such as technical support personnel, customer service people, or the department secretary. When these individuals are involved in the hiring process, they are usually more accepting of the newcomer once that person has been hired.

Decide What Company Information to Give Each Candidate

During the initial screening of job applicants, someone will need to provide a broad overview of the company by covering briefly the following facts:

How long the company has been in business What the company does What types of products or services the company has to offer Who are the company’s major customers and their locations

It is helpful to determine what company information you are going to give all candidates, such as job descriptions or company brochures. It is also beneficial to set a time limit (say three to five minutes) when providing background information on the company. Use a script and rehearse what you are going to say before meeting with candidates. While candidates might be curious about other issues, these do not need to be discussed unless a specific question is asked. Be prepared to briefly answer such questions without going into great detail, especially during the early stages of the hiring process.

As candidates progress through the hiring process, they will naturally be curious about other issues such as retirement plans, 401(k) opportunities, career development opportunities, performance criteria, or additional benefits. Some companies have found it useful to have one person responsible for covering company benefits information. Since company benefits can be used to “sell” a candidate on the company, when and how those benefits are presented can be critical; therefore some planning in this area is advised.

Look at Ways to Make Interviews More Effective

Good interviewing skills take time to develop. The manner in which an interview is conducted, from the opening greeting to the questions asked, determines the quality and quantity of information received. Here are some ways to make interviews more effective:

Put the Candidate at Ease

By greeting candidates with a smile, a handshake, and your undivided attention in a comfortable setting, you can provide what is often called a “permissive environment.” By helping the person to feel free to talk, you create the opportunity for the applicant to provide more candid responses. Treating the candidate as an important visitor is also significant. If you present yourself in a professional manner, you’ll be seen as someone who can be trusted and deserves an honest response.

2 One word of caution: If you enlist the services of a professional recruiter, make sure this person does not have a vested interest in getting a candidate hired. Most recruiters work with a guarantee of performance or for a percentage fee. It is wise to use recruiters who guarantee that the employee will perform well for one-year because that recruiter will usually try to find the “best” candidate for the position and tend to be more objective in the selection process. Recruiters who work for a percentage do not guarantee performance and have a vested interest in getting their candidates hired.

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THREE, PREPARE FOR THE INTERVIEW SESSIONS (CONT.)

Identify Time Frame and Purpose of the Interview

Start the interview by establishing rapport and stating the objective for this specific interview. Tell candidates how long they can expect the interview session to last.

Stick to your schedule by allotting time to discuss each key area.

Take Notes

Rather than rely on your memory, take notes. Try to limit the amount of note taking during the interview by restricting it to job-related issues only. Avoid any written comments as to ethnicity, sex, age, disability, or other physical characteristics.

Some people prefer to use a tape recorder, and that is acceptable. Keep in mind, however, that tape recorders can intimidate some people. If you want to use a recorder, you must ask the candidate’s permission. Make sure the tape recorder is set up properly and that it continues to work during the interview. Continue to take written notes in case the recorder fails.

Work to Gather Useful Information

Since a primary objective of the interview is to gather good information, listening to understand the applicant’s responses should take priority over preparing a reply. Throughout the interview, stay relaxed and open to what the candidate has to say. Your actions can help candidates relax also.

Making eye contact, looking and acting interested, removing distractions, allowing time for the candidate to respond, and not interrupting while the candidate is speaking are all effective tools that will support useful information-gathering.

Also, learn to ask for examples by asking simple questions, such as “Why that product?” or “How many people?” or “Which services are you describing?”

Notice the candidates’ non-verbal communications: the way they sit in the chair, hand movements, body posture, or how they act when first meeting others.

Provide Feedback, but Go Easy On Arguments and Criticism

If a candidate says something unusual or especially important, respond in a way that indicates that what was said is important to you. For example, you could pause or stop taking notes for a moment and respond with genuine enthusiasm. The rapport you build in those moments may encourage a candidate to open up even more and provide you with additional, useful information.

However, if candidates perceive that you are personally attacking something that was said, they may become defensive. This may cause them to “clam up” and become evasive. Try not to argue; even if you win, you lose.

Give Candidates Time to Ask Questions

Once you have covered all your topics, ask the applicant if there are any questions and respond accordingly. Some candidates may ask questions that you are not prepared to answer, such as detailed information about what type of insurance coverage the company has to offer. If that happens, simply say that you don’t have the exact information at your fingertips, but assure the person that you will find someone who does. Always follow-up on any promises made to candidates by making sure that someone in the company provides answers to their questions.

Provide Closure and Use Appropriate Follow-Up Techniques

End the interview session by telling the candidate the next steps and by reviewing what to expect. As soon as possible, complete all your interview notes and evaluations and keep them for future reference. Setting up the next step and sending a thank you note are the final actions.

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THREE, PREPARE FOR THE INTERVIEW SESSIONS (CONT.)

Practical Tips of Excellent Interviewers

Several factors can add to your success in getting the real picture of a candidate.

Listen – Don’t Give Away The Show The key point of a selection interview is to gather information, not to sell something. Even naive and

inexperienced candidates can follow interview clues projected by a talkative interviewer, allowing them to package their answers. To avoid this situation, practice the 80/20 Rule: listen to the applicant for 80% of the interview; talk for 20%.

Silence – Don’t Be Afraid Of It Talking may be either communication or a defense. Too much of it on your part is an indication of your own

discomfort with silence. Likewise, the need for an interviewee to talk too much indicates discomfort with silence, a characteristic that can hinder future success. No one can listen while talking.

Offer Opportunity – Not Security Good employees tend to live on their own merits and expect to be rewarded as a result. They prefer more

opportunities for growth, not just long-term security. They may be unwilling to commit to guarantees for employment tenure.

Look For People Who Exhibit The Courage Of Their Convictions People are better suited to persuade others to buy an idea or product in which they strongly believe. Even the

best actor cannot feign a false belief in the product all the time. A lack of conviction leads to cynicism and, eventually, personal problems for the candidate.

Be Leery Of Candidates Who Present Themselves As Being In Need Of A Job Good candidates seldom do this. Selling themselves as people who might be interested in opportunities other

than those offered by your company reflects on their general confidence and ability.

What to Avoid During Interviews

In the United States, equal opportunity laws make it illegal for employers to disqualify job candidates on the basis of a variety of personal characteristics. As a result, interviewers are advised to avoid questions concerning:

arrests citizenship marital status spouse, the spouse’s employment or salary, dependents and child care arrangements, or questions not likely to affect

job performance, such as health or pregnancy type or condition of military discharge whether applicants own or rent their own homes age gender disability status

Common Mistakes of Interviewing

Interviewing job candidates can be challenging for many people since this communication exchange requires personal sensitivity and a willingness to adapt to what is legal to ask within the boundaries of the interview process. To be better prepared for the series of interviews needed to hire a well-qualified candidate, it is helpful to review some of the common mistakes that interviewers make during job interviews.

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THREE, PREPARE FOR THE INTERVIEW SESSIONS (CONT.)

Common Mistakes of Interviewing

1. Being too anxious to fill the position 2. Explaining everything about the company or job before getting all the answers desired 3. Trying to judge factors that can’t be measured well by an interview (i.e., honesty, ability to learn, hidden motivations) 4. Not repeating key or doubtful areas in either a first or follow-up interview to double check consistency 5. Not allowing pauses to last, taking an interviewee who is trying to evade an answer off the hook 6. Placing too much emphasis on how well they express themselves, rather than on “content” 7. Judging too much on personal appearance 8. Judging too much on education and background 9. Asking questions about topics that are not permitted 10. Not presenting real problems candidates would need to face and asking for their reactions

Being too anxious to fill the position

Many times hiring managers become too anxious to fill a particular position because critical customers are not being properly supported. While it is true that lost opportunities can be very costly, hiring the wrong person will also be very expensive monetarily, emotionally, and politically.

Since it is a financial investment to train a new employee, a wrong decision is literally worth thousands of dollars. If we add the termination expense and the need to hire another person, the cost could double or even triple. In a small organization or department, if the new hire doesn’t work out, everyone feels the extra workload. In the long run, customers and employees would rather wait than retrain someone else.

Additionally, a poor hiring decision may mean that the manager could lose credibility within the company. It also sends the wrong message about the company’s management style by conveying that it is more important to fill a position with a “warm body” than it is to keep customers satisfied and the current staff happy.

Explaining everything about the company or job before getting all the answers desired

In an interview situation, both parties are interested in looking at each other and trying to determine if there is a match. Quite often, however, both parties approach one another with a conflict of interests.

Candidates are highly focused on their need to get a job and will push for information about the company benefits, career advancement opportunities, etc. On the other hand, the interviewers need to focus on getting the best candidate for the position. Interviewers will need to limit the amount of company information shared until they have eliminated some of the candidates.

Trying to judge factors that can’t be measured well by an interview (i.e., honesty, ability to learn, hidden motivations)

Certainly during the interview process, it is only natural to be curious about whether or not the person you are interviewing is honest, trustworthy, or has the ability to learn. While interviews can provide an opportunity for interviewers to evaluate a candidate’s poise, and ability to think quickly, an actual interview cannot verify a person’s honesty or the ability to learn on the job.

A person’s task effectiveness, previous training or education, and ability to learn can be better evaluated through verifying college degrees and by speaking with the candidate’s previous employers or customers. To verify a person’s honesty, refer to Appendix B for detailed information on how to perform a useful and productive background check. Use assessment testing to learn more about a person’s hidden motivations.

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THREE, PREPARE FOR THE INTERVIEW SESSIONS (CONT.)

Not repeating key or doubtful areas in either a first or follow-up interview to double check consistency

Sometimes, you will ask a question and the candidate will give a brief, cursory answer or one that is a bit superficial. In other cases, candidates may respond with buzzwords or an appropriate industry truism, wanting you to believe that they are knowledgeable about a subject.

Rather than ignore this situation, remain silent. This lets the candidate know you are waiting, listening for more information. Or, you can rephrase what the candidate said and ask if you heard the information correctly. Be cautious when you rephrase what the candidate said, making sure that you don’t imply approval or disapproval of what was said. Very often, a candidate will offer more information or add to what has already been said.

You can also probe for additional information. Use simple, direct questions like “What were the number of people involved?” or “How many customers responded like this?” If candidates cannot back up any assertions being made with quantifiable or qualifiable details, they may be misrepresenting their experience. Make notes so you can check on specific issues during a background check.

Not allowing pauses to last, taking an interviewee who is trying to evade an answer off the hook

No matter how well you’ve prepared for the interview, there will be times when the conversation lags. If this happens, try to exercise some patience with yourself and the candidate. Again, it is helpful to use silence to your advantage since it is one of the more effective ways of encouraging the other person to talk.

No matter how slow candidates tend to talk, resist the urge to finish their sentences or to interrupt. To do so can imply one of three things. First, you could be giving a signal that what they are saying seems to be transparent or obvious to you. Second, by completing their thoughts, you might be giving away answers when they were trying to evade a question.

Worse yet, by not allowing pauses to last, completing the other person’s thoughts, or interrupting, you could mistakenly imply that you are not willing to let employees express themselves in their own words. In this case, you might lose a highly qualified candidate due to a lack of sensitivity on your part.

Placing too much emphasis on how well they express themselves, rather than on “content”

While you will want to note if candidates show enthusiasm and interest in what they are talking about, you need to concentrate on “what” they are saying, not just “how” they are expressing themselves.

If you are not hearing the level of content you need, you can elicit greater detail by asking respondents to clarify something they said earlier. Or, if candidates seem to focus only on their feelings, you might want to redirect the conversation by giving a pleasant, verbal indication that you’d like more elaboration. For instance, you could say, “That sounds interesting, – could you tell me more about how the customers or other employees were affected by what you did?” Candidates will then know that you are looking for more specific results.

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THREE, PREPARE FOR THE INTERVIEW SESSIONS (CONT.)

Judging too much on personal appearance

We all have preferences when it comes to personal appearance. When it comes to interviewing job candidates, however, things can quickly get too complex. Entire books have been written about how to dress and behave during interviews. It is simply not prudent to put too much emphasis on the candidate’s appearance during a job interview because it is most likely not representative of overall grooming habits.

To avoid making the subject more complex than needed, we offer this simple reminder: you can easily train a person on how to dress. Focus your efforts instead on things that aren’t easily trainable.

Judging too much on education and background

Research into the importance of education as it is related to certain career paths provides interesting findings for some positions. For certain positions, there is a negative correlation between education and job performance; this is true of entrepreneurs, political leaders, and salespeople. People who are top performers in these professions most commonly have not achieved a high grade point average or they may have even dropped out of high school or college.

If you are considering candidates for a sales position, you need to focus less on their educational achievements. While a certain degree of intelligence is necessary, selling is more of a practical application than an academic exercise. Sales managers usually want “doers” who are streetwise and not necessarily people who are interested in high academic achievements. In fact, people who strive to do well academically may become frustrated in a sales position.

Also, with the many changes that are happening in the American workplace today, you may find some candidates with advanced degrees or an extensive background applying for entry-level or intermediate positions. Rather than immediately rejecting the candidate, find out why the person is interested in the position. Perhaps the person is making a career change or a lateral move and doesn’t object to starting over in a new area.

For most positions, assessments can provide more valid information as to a candidate’s ability to succeed in a position as opposed to an over-reliance on education or academic background.

Asking questions about topics that are not permitted

Even extensive preparation cannot prevent a candidate from providing illegal or inappropriate information. Some candidates tend to mistakenly volunteer information regarding protected subjects, such as their marital status or daycare issues. If those situations arise, it is helpful to tell the individual that such a level of detail is not required. It is unnecessary to explain why the information is not needed.

Refer to the previous section called What to Avoid During Interviews for specific information on what types of questions to avoid.

Not presenting real problems candidates would need to face and asking for their reactions

After the candidates have passed the in-depth round of interviewing, it is critical to present them with some of the same problems they will find during their workday. Candidates will also need to be given the opportunity to ask about potential problems they might encounter on the job, with a particular market, with peers, and within the company or organization.

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CONDUCTING IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS

In terms of overall impact on the value of an interview, “asking the right questions” is second only to understanding what you are looking for in the first place. Once you know what you’re looking for, you will want at some point to conduct an in-depth interview. This in-depth interview can be conducted in person or over the phone and its purpose is to verify that the person can perform the key tasks and critical competencies for the position.

In an inquisitive or in-depth interview, the focus is primarily a one-way search for information. This interview approach tends to be investigative and follows a more formal or structured format. The interview questions posed are intentionally designed to “pull” information from the candidate that will contribute to the decision-making process.

The Cone Approach

For an in-depth interview, research has shown that an approach using specific Cone questions is the most effective.

When using this approach, the interviewer starts by asking open-ended questions which focus on a characteristic sought in the candidate. For example, to judge a person’s level of confidence and maturity, determine if the candidate has a positive self-image and expects to succeed. Some of the signs of this would be a generally positive and “up” mood. Confident, mature people also view their own results objectively, and they can accept criticism.

As you can see in the following diagram, cone questions often start with the broad inquiry such as, “Tell me about...” In our example, an opening question could be, “Tell me about a situation in which you were involved that could not be handled by standard or established procedures.” As the candidate answers, listen for areas of interest, and begin focusing downward in the cone. In our example, a more narrow, second-stage question might be, “How did you evaluate your options for new approaches?”

This question would lead you to the bottom of the cone with a very specific, follow-up question intended to pinpoint how the candidate handled the situation, such as “What steps did you take in managing the situation, and how long did it take to put a plan into action?” In this example, you are looking for candidates who are willing to bend the rules for the sake of timely action and those that draw upon their intuition and experience to stay the course despite being in a position that they may view as uncomfortable or threatening. It is this final point in the inquiry where you can start forming conclusions about the candidate, drawn from specific answers to your pinpoint questions.

When using the cone approach, a key point to remember is that if a person has performed similar tasks satisfactorily in the past, similar success could most likely be expected in the future. In some situations, candidates may not have performed all of the critical tasks needed, but if they show a willingness to learn quickly on the job, that fact can make a difference in the hiring decision.

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CONDUCTING IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS (CONT.)

To verify that candidates can be effective in a particular position, you will want them to answer the questions in ways that clearly indicate that they have successfully performed similar tasks in a previous position. If we were to use a cone approach to evaluate a customer relations skill, the cone questions could flow as follows.

Cone Questions Interviewers Should Listen For 1. General: Describe a long-standing

customer relationship you’ve had. a customer relationship that has lasted for a year or more

2. Focus: What tactics have worked well to help maintain the relationship?

a recognition of situations which may become problems in the future a focus on building goodwill pro-active approach in asking the customer for ways to improve

products or services not allowing previous problems to bias how customers are treated now

3. Specific: On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 = high) how would you rate your ability to nurture customer relationships ... and why?

willingness to listen to customer’s challenges and help problem-solve even in unrelated areas

helping customers stay abreast of changes that may be of benefit objective and cool-headed approach; not trying to impress for its own

sake

Using the Cone Questions

Also included in the H.R. Assistant are the Interview Evaluation Forms for specific positions with the cone questions for each of the critical success skills that have been identified for that particular position. An alternate set of cone questions for each of the critical success skills is also available. This way, if there is more than one person interviewing a candidate, you will automatically have cone questions for both people responsible for interviewing.

The cone questions were developed after carefully researching how other top and bottom performers have performed previously in similar positions. While you will need to adapt to the needs of the interview setting, your first instinct should be to trust that the questions were intentionally written to measure the skills you are looking for. Here are some tips for effectively using the cone questions.

Explain the Approach You Will Be Using

To help the interviewing process run smoothly, you will want to explain to candidates the approach you are going to use during the interview session. There are three rules you will need to follow when explaining the approach:

1. Keep it short 2. Keep it simple 3. Don’t over-explain Since the questions follow a strict pattern, a brief explanation of the types of questions they will be asked can help put them more at ease.

It is helpful to have a one or two sentence description memorized. No big words. No jargon. No detail. This explanation could sound something like this.

The questions I am about to ask you involve the key tasks and skills we need for this position. To help us determine if we have a skills match, I’d like for you to answer the questions by telling me about the kinds of things you’ve done or been asked to do in previous positions.

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CONDUCTING IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS (CONT.)

Review the Cone Questions Before You Start to Interview Candidates

Since you need to establish rapport with the candidates, it is important that you become comfortable with the cone questions before you begin to ask them. If you appear to be just reading the questions verbatim, you might come across as unprofessional, disinterested, or worse yet, too casual or too unconcerned about the interview process.

Even though you may be nervous, keep in mind that the candidate is probably more nervous than you are. Some interviewers have found it helpful to memorize the first set of questions and refer to the instrument only occasionally.

This enables them to feel more confident and they can make eye contact and set the tone for the interview, helping the candidate to become more relaxed.

Ask Questions Exactly As Written

Sometimes, you might feel that you want to improve on the tone of one of the questions by changing a few words to make it more friendly. DON’T. As a measurement of performance, it is important that the questions be asked in a consistent manner.

If you have a problem with a particular interview, discuss it with your representative at GrowthPlay. It is important that all interviews be as standardized as possible with all candidates. Even a small revision to one of the cone questions can change the entire meaning of the question or the way in which candidates may respond.

Ask Every Question

Sometimes in an interview, you may be tempted to omit a question because you think that you have already heard what the candidate is likely to say. Don’t assume that. Instead, view this as an opportunity to double check the consistency of the experiences the candidate has had. To ease into the question, you might want to say something like: “I know you may have already covered this earlier, but I’d like to ask you once again about …” Then ask the next set of cone questions.

At that point, the candidate may respond with something like: “Well, in addition to what I told you about my responsibilities at Company X, I also did something very similar at Company Y…” If you hadn’t asked the question, you would never have discovered these details and the additional experience.

Recording the Responses

Along with the cone questions, this guide includes a booklet for recording the responses to each question. Since some candidates become uncomfortable when their responses are recorded word-for-word, we have designed this booklet for quick note taking. It will guide you in what to look for when listening to the responses so that you can place a checkmark beside a response when you hear it.

Sometimes you could have had observations about the candidate that you didn’t want to write down during the interview. You may have noticed that the candidate seemed upset when responding to particular questions or displayed defensiveness when describing a previous job experience. Immediately after the interview, while the information is still fresh in your mind, go over your notes and make any other comments and observations. But be sure to distinguish these from the notes made during the interview.

Rate the Responses After the Interview Is Over

During the actual interview, don’t try to rate what the candidate has said. It is more important that you listen carefully to the responses given to each question. After the interview is over, use the Interview Evaluation Form included with this guide to rate the applicant’s responses to the cone questions.

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CONDUCTING FOLLOW-UP INTERVIEWS

After a candidate has made it through several rounds of interviewing, the focus usually becomes more intense. By now, the background checks are done and assessment testing is complete. Follow-up interviews are typically needed to cover several major areas:

To Gain a Better Understanding of Unclear Information

Due to any number of reasons, there may be times after you’ve finished with the in-depth interviews, when you just did not have a good understanding of some of the information conveyed. This interview is the appropriate time to revisit unclear topics with the candidate.

Before starting, consider the issues you want to address and what questions will help you gain a better understanding of the information needed. Keep the candidate talking while you’re listening, and keep the conversation moving in the direction you want it to go.

Remember, this is the time to clear up any misunderstandings or question areas, so don’t move on until you’ve gotten answers.

To Obtain New Information

Sometimes you will need to follow-up with candidates because you have found new information in a background or reference check. Most candidates realize that additional information might be needed and are usually willing to provide it.

Assessment testing can also provide you with new information. Usually, the assessment test results provide you with clues or suggestions on how to address skill or performance issues.

To Address Specific Job Requirements

It is often important to present candidates with some of the same problems they will find during their workday. To better prepare for this two-way exchange of information during the interview process, you will need to create some job-related interview questions that give candidates the opportunity to think through how they would solve (or begin to solve) specific problems faced on the job.

Candidates will also need to have the opportunity to ask about potential problems they might encounter on the job, with a particular market, with peers, and within the company or organization.

You will also need to address the specifics of the particular job, such as starting date, travel or moving expenses, and other practical issues.

How to Integrate Interview Impressions and Objective Testing Data That May Conflict

Sometimes, a candidate that interviews well, and appears to be a good match for a position, could fail to be recommended by the assessment testing process. The purpose of this section is to highlight reasons why this occasionally happens.

Different selection techniques measure different elements. An interviewer can observe verbal skills, appearance, and demeanor; but is subject to false impressions based on a candidate’s “acting” ability for the relatively short time an interview takes.

Most of us tend to consider the lack of a weakness as a strength, e.g., very low energy would hinder sales. In reality, however, high energy doesn’t make a candidate good in sales. The same is true for intelligent conversation or other verbal communications ability. These unnecessary strengths can give us an overly positive impression.

Validated test techniques can measure many skills that are critical such as the ability to qualify, consistent follow-up, or disciplined time management. These skills are difficult to evaluate in an interview.

It is easy to confuse internal criteria (how easy it is to get along with a candidate, or how easy they would be to manage) with external criteria (what customers are impressed with). Thus, a candidate that “looks good” but can’t grow sales often looks better in an interview or background check of previous bosses, than a less compliant interviewee who ultimately beats quota consistently.

CONDUCTING FOLLOW-UP INTERVIEWS (CONT.)

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Often we can’t be sure of what skills previous jobs really required

in order to see if those are the same skills needed to succeed in our job. For example, we often find that excellence in new business development requires different skills than it takes to succeed at maintaining existing customers. As a result, a good reference from a previous employer may be irrelevant for this job, even though it sounds great.

Background checks and interviewing can be weak at evaluating long-term motivation. Anyone can work hard for a few weeks or months, but motivation elements in testing can measure the “staying power” of a candidate.

We have provided this information to help you enhance your personal quality as both an interviewer and a manager. Using our suggestions should increase your interviewing skills and the results you hope to achieve. In fact, understanding the job you are to hire for and its critical requirements can help you manage that position more effectively on a daily basis.

We at GrowthPlay hope this information will help you in your quest to match the most appropriate people to your business. We are always ready to assist you in defining the Success Models for critical positions and in providing state-of-the-art assessment testing services.

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APPENDIX How to Get Valid Information in a Background Check

GrowthPlay’s experience shows that many employers never really check references, or else they do it hastily and it becomes little more than a rubber stamp. Here are 9 techniques to make the background check a useful and productive tool in aiding the selection process.

While it is often difficult to get references to cooperate because of cautious internal policies or other legal concerns, many will comment verbally or off the record, but not in writing.

1. Be wary of first party references

Good sales candidates are not going to name references who will describe them negatively. Such first party references are not as valuable as the candidate’s past customers, who will probably be more candid. These references can indicate how loyal and satisfied the customers were with the candidate, which is a good indication of a prospective employee’s past performance.

2. Radial search referrals might be used

The radial search for referrals is a method of reference checking that requires getting additional references from the first party references. Such “second generation” references will not be carefully selected to present only a positive impression.

Remember: Ask references to help you out; don’t ask them just to criticize. Ask them to highlight strengths and let them build up the candidate, and see how high they are willing to go.

3. Use an interview background check

This will show whether or not the candidate is likely to change in terms of work performance. In other words, what degree of reliability do the references suggest? What “odds” do they give for the person’s future success?

4. Use the critical incident technique

Determine the one trait or incident for which the candidate is best remembered. Could this be described as primarily good, bad, or neutral? Does it indicate an individual who is results-oriented or service-oriented?

5. Pick out problem areas

Determine the candidate’s customers who were the most difficult to handle, and those problems that were the toughest to solve. Even first party references may reveal difficulties which can be indicative of future sales performance. Find out if the candidate eventually overcame the difficulties.

6. Obtain a numerical scale reference rating

Keep in mind that 70 points on a 100 point scale is “passing” to most people; 50 points would be “failing.” Reference rating scales are often easier for people to deal with. For example, references generally do not like to say negative things, but they may be willing to call a person an “85” instead of flatly saying “average.”

7. Identify an individual’s best job

Notice whether or not the reference needs to think excessively about identifying an individual’s best job. This may suggest that the individual’s behavior was consistent, but not necessarily exceptional.

8. Check for idiosyncrasies

Did the candidate have any outstanding idiosyncrasies? If so, did they help or hinder job performance?

9. Get customer opinion

Has the candidate kept regular customers? How loyal are customers to the candidate personally, as opposed to the product or the company? Why? Was the candidate seen as efficient, dependable, and genuinely interested in the customers?