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Reeling off a raft of questions
machine-gun style is not an interview, it's an interrogation.
It won't weed out any weaknesses other than a nervous
stammer, it won't garner an in-depth response, it won't
leave you any wiser.
Instead
of using the interview situation to assert the power
your partner won't allow you to assert at home, view
it as a two-way appraisal of a possible mutual business
opportunity.
Approach to Work
You want to find out how they
work; bureaucrats will focus on the procedure, smart
workers will centre on the results; what do you find
is the best way to get things done?
Perseverance
Here you have an eye out for the one who falls at the
first hurdle; what has been your most challenging project,
what difficulties did you meet and how did you overcome
them?
Achievement
You're looking here for the contribution, quantifiable
if possible, they have made to previous employers; what's
the most significant impact you've made at your organisation
in the last year?
Values
The aim here is to find the right cultural fit ie. whether
this job meets their under-lying needs (unless, of course,
you're looking for a few black-balls or change agents
to liven things up a bit); someday you'll be looking
back and assessing your life - what will be your criteria?
Motivation
You need to know what makes the candidate tick e.g.
is it money? Is it status? Is it autonomy? Why are you
interested in this? Why did you do that?
Weaknesses
Especially what they've learned from them; don't ask
for a list of their faults; can you tell me about your
biggest failures and how you dealt with them?
Social Skills
Basically, do they have any? Here you're on the look
out for a short fuse, a puffed up sense of pride, or
just a general ability to get on with people; our accounts
department is really upright about margin reports -
how would you handle them?
Initiative
Especially for management positions, you cannot afford
a candidate who's still at the spoon feeding stage;
you're looking for someone who doesn't wait to be told;
what projects or activities has your team undertaken
and seen through that were your own idea?
Balance
Watch out for the 'all work and no play', or worse still,
the 'all play and no work' brigade; their productivity
will pay the price; to find this out, this is where
their outside interests can come into play; what outside
activities do you enjoy and why?
Interviewing Pitfalls
Common clangers by interviewers include:-
Going it Alone
You rely on one person's judgment alone; the final stage
should involve either multiple interviews or multiple
interviewers - that way different perspectives of the
company and candidate can be covered.
Talking too Much
You want to persuade the candidate, put them at their
ease, present the company, or puff up the job; as a
result you talk yourself into hiring a candidate who
hasn't yet been quizzed.
Going with 'Gut Feel'
Call it hunch, instinct, chemistry or whatever's in
your water, but you let reason and logic go right out
the window; you basically take a shine to someone, give
them an easy time and walk out having hired a Dr Jekyll.
'Winging It'
You don't do your homework on the CV or on the job;
in short, you don't really understand the person or
the job you're trying to fill and end up with an over
or under-qualified candidate who'll walk within six
months.
Keeping a Closed Mind
You go in looking for 'x' and your mind is closed to
anything other than 'z'; as a result someone with a
bit of 'x', plus a dash of 'y', and the special quality
'z' that could really boost your team, passes you by.
Missing the Signals
You stick so rigidly to the script that you fail to
probe or follow-up on or even notice any throw-away
comment the candidate makes which tells you what makes
them tick.
Making it a One-Way
Street
You fail to give the candidate a chance to find out
about you; the type of questions the candidate asks
can show the kind of criteria they're after in a job.
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