If I could impact more on how my clients do their collective interviewing, I would tell them the following:
[framed_box]I can help bring strong and motivated senior level candidates to you. Your job is to close the sale, not mine. The way your company organises candidate interviews is nothing short of reprehensible. A smart candidate will, sorry to say, turn and run. Here’s how I would coach your internal team who are involved with candidate interviews (and I’m not talking about HR).
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If you view interviewing as an intrusion on your time, don’t be in the mix. It shows, and is a disincentive for someone to join your company.
Skip the silly questions of “If you were an animal what would you be?”, and so on. That sort of juvenescent stuff belongs in the playroom.
Have questions prepared, not just on strengths, but how the candidate handles themselves through adversity, tangible examples of accomplishments, and of character. The higher up the hire, the more it’s behavioural.
Speaking of character, read the CV from the bottom up; what are their interests, which uncovers curiosity, and from that, passion.
This assumes you will have actually read the CV and thought a bit about it before you meet the person. Read it.
Along with character, assess presentation, preparedness, listening skills, articulation, deportment, and humour. Oh, yeah–it’s called presence.
Do NOT keep people waiting 30 minutes or beyond. I spoke to someone last week who told me the regional CEO kept her waiting 90 minutes, and when he showed up, apologised by saying how busy he was. Myopic management, and a big warning sign. The CEO with an ego that leads.
Do NOT get up after 15 minutes to say you have an important call or meeting, and it’s been nice to meet. That’s definite “screw you” behaviour–or simply bad time management, but either way, sends a malodorous message.
Do NOT spend 3 or 4 weeks getting two people together globally because it must be on your time or venue–be fast and flexible.
Do NOT keep the smart-phones or computer on and continually glance over. We’ve all moved beyond that..
Do NOT spend the majority of the time talking; say enough, but be a better and smarter listener.
Know enough about the job and requirements to present it in the right light. If you can’t, don’t interview; you’ll look like a clown.
Jot down notes while you’re interviewing so you have something to report back. And leave enough time for questions.
Give some intelligent feedback to the hiring manager. I often ask, and get something such as: “They were good. I liked them and they seemed to know what they were talking about.” Or, I also get “They don’t know what we do. I asked {very detailed] questions on how they would handle X, and they couldn’t answer correctly.” But even bad feedback is better than not at all, and everyone who interviews is obligated to do so.
Know what your company is trying to achieve in this hire, how it fits into the bigger picture.
Most importantly, treat people kindly. Everyone is nervous going into an interview, regardless of stature. Be nice. They’ll remember, and it costs nothing. Kindness is so often overlooked today. When I mentioned to a client last week that the goal was to have a candidate join with a smile on his face, the retort was “No smiles here, they need to know that. There’s a job to do.” If the job was for a bus-boy, perhaps so..
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The best I do consultatively for my clients is to help them formulate an internal checklist, working as a team to assess and hire with more thought and less tumult. Bringing a senior person on board is very much a group effort. Of course, this assumes they’re willing to take the medicine to make it better.
