Interviewing Candidates

We listen to what others are saying in one of two distinct ways: we either listen to respond or we listen to learn. Listening to respond means that we are formulating our response to the candidate while she is talking to us-therefore we do not really hear what the candidate is saying-we miss important information because we are saying to ourselves-"when is this person going to shut up so that I can dazzle her with my brilliant comments!"

Listening to learn means that we really focus on what the candidate is saying-we pay attention-we keep our ego in check, and therefore we learn a lot about the candidate that is not on her resume. She is telling us what we need to know to make the right hiring decision-all we need to do is listen to her.

Thanks for reading.

Interviewing Candidates

(To my readers-I am back after a family vacation and a training event).

We were last talking about the interview process from the interviewer's perspective. When they are conducting interviews, interviewers utilize different techniques-some spend a lot of time asking the candidate questions about his/her background using the candidate's resume as a reference-others ask each candidate the same set of questions-some interviewers use a combination of these two (2) techniques. What ever technique you chose to use, make sure that you ask the questions, then STOP TALKING AND REALLY LISTEN TO THE CANDIDATES' RESPONSES TO YOUR QUESTIONS.....you will be amazed by what you learn.

Interviewing Candidates

One of the biggest mistakes that interviewers make is that they talk too much during the interview. I interviewed once for an HR Manager position at a local manufacturing plant. My interviewer was a Vice-President of this particular organization...and he did not know the first thing about conducting an effective interview. He talked almost the entire time-when we were done, he really did not know anything about me other that the info. that was on my resume.

Interviewing

In the past I have talked about interviewing from the interviewee's perspective. Now I will talk about the interviewer-what does this person need to do in order to fairly and accurately determine if a candidate is a good fit for the job opening?

Many employees who interview candidates have never had any formal training in interviewing techniques. Therefore, they tend to do a below average job when they interview candidates.

What do you think is the biggest mistake that many interviewers make?

Networking

The coach in Jacksonville knew a coach in the Miami area that had just taken over a football program. Mark called him-they hit it off almost immediately. Mark flew down to Miami, interviewed, and was offered the job as Defensive Coordinator. He accepted, and he and his wife and 3 children are currently in the final stages of relocating to Florida. As an added bonus, this particular high school football program was one of the best in the entire country just a few short years ago.

From unemployment to the Defensive Coordinator of a premier high school football program that is on its way back to the top-all in a few short months. It simply took determination and a few phone calls. Networking can work wonders-just ask Mark.