Scott was baffled. He had interviewed a number of healthcare professionals for a role, and chose one, Brian, based on his energy and inquisitiveness. But 60 days into his employment, already there were problems. Where was the Brian who gave so many compelling answers about how he would handle priority conflicts, employee cliques, and short deadlines? Where was the Brian who was so certain of his contributions, so willing to do what needed to be done?
Mistake #1
The biggest mistake hiring managers make is to ask “how would you,” or “what would you.” I know some recruiters are fond of this line of questioning, but the point of interviewing is to predict the future. The best predictor of the future is past performance. Therefore I’m a fan of the “behavioral interview” form of question. That begins:
Tell me about a time when…
Scott first has to determine what matters in the role. I recommend digging beneath the skill sets – you will naturally ask about skills and the resume will reveal training and past experience. In addition to those elements, think about the qualities of your star performers: the innate qualities that are harder to develop such as values, motivations and traits. Is that star performer so outstanding because she is flexible? Then flexible might be an important quality you want to be sure is under the surface.
Then consider what behaviors are indicators of flexibility. Perhaps, the ability to change focus when the needs have changed without notice. Then an interview question might be (not how would you):
- What’s a recent example of when you had your day all planned out but everything changed and you suddenly had to turn on a dime?
- How did you find out?
- What was your reaction?
- What did you do?
- How did you rearrange your day?
- What happened to the things you thought you were going to do?
When it comes to interviewing, have the candidate stay in the non-fiction department. Discover what they already know how to do and how they feel about it.
Mistake #2
In an attempt to set Brian at ease, Scott described the opening in detail. He shared that there is extensive overtime, a batch of routine tasks as part of the role, some tedious reports and challenging clients. If Scott asks:
- Can you work a lot of overtime?
- Are you alright with routine tasks?
- Can you deal with challenging clients?
The candidate is very likely to answer, “yes, yes and yes.” Then months later Scott may be baffled and say, “How could this be? Brian said yes to all these unattractive aspects of the role?” That can happen because Brian wanted a job and Scott gave away the right answer.
Instead, ask what has happened in Brian’s prior job:
- What were your hours last week? Is that a normal work week for you?
- What specifically do you do on a regular basis?
- What kinds of new and creative tasks do you perform?
- About what percentage of your role does that comprise?
- Specifically, what are your routine daily tasks?
- How do you feel about that?
Generally a candidate will give candid responses to these questions, because the questions are about specific recent experiences. Both Scott and Brian want a good fit, but if a candidate is optimistic about the opportunity overall, (and is unemployed) he may accept a role that will not wear well over time.
By the end of the interview, if Scott has asked enough open ended questions to get a clear reading on Brian’s qualities and experiences, then it is important to share all the great things about the company and the role, as well as the caveats and drawbacks. Brian needs this information to make an informed decision, and now Scott can give away all the right answers because he has already made his own assessment of Brian’s potential fit.