Miles Ahead Marketing

During a structured interview, it is difficult to stray from a specific set of questions.  Unfortunately, many of those who do not use structure also struggle to have hiring success after interviewing a candidate.  Without properly doing this, interviews can become far too subjective, and candidates can become difficult to judge on similar performance categories from the interview because of favorite questions interviewers may ask.

Many interviewers have a few favorite questions and unofficial tests that they believe are keys to vetting a candidate. (e.g., a Question = “What would you write on your epitaph?” Tests: a firm handshake; or a manager who walked candidates to their cars and made a decision about the candidates based on the cleanliness of the inside of their vehicles.)  Unfortunately, these clever questions and tests are not supported by statistical evidence that proves the conclusions that the manager believes they prove.  There is no empirical evidence that concludes with any degree of certainty that the cleanliness of an applicant’s car is directly related to the quality of his/her work.  That is not to say that this hypothesis cannot be proven to be true.  However, the interviewer would need to statistically validate his/her conclusions, rather than creating a homegrown test.

RECOMMENDATION: Use a structured interview process that utilizes work-related interview questions, rather than a free-form and unstructured process.  Also, forget any personally concocted questions (trick or clever questions), tests, or systems for making “go” or “no go” decisions.  Stick to the responsibilities and goals of the open position and you will have plenty of material with which to assess a candidate.

By doing this in the employee review, employee performance evaluation, and the overall job evaluation process as well, the hiring success and promotion success of your company will vastly benefit.  Also, the interview process will become much more organized and objective.

During the interview process, it is essential for the interviewer to understand that the candidates who perform the best in the interviews may not be the best employees.  Some candidates may prepare themselves for the structured interview and the questions an interviewer may ask while interviewing a candidate better than another candidate.  This, however, does not assert that they will become a better employee in the future.  Here is a solution for this dilemma.

“Many interviewers assume that the top performers in an interview will also be the best employees. 

RECOMMENDATION:  Utilize an interview process that is less influenced by the personality and performance of the candidate and more heavily weighted to the quality of the answers and the actual or comparable experiences of the candidates that match the position.”

Stressing the quality of the answers given, and assessing a candidate’s experiences, will allow for a candidate to shine during the job evaluation process that may occur simultaneously with the interview process.  A performance appraisal system, employee review, or an employee performance review will be best to find who will be the best candidate.