DRI Consulting - Free Tip: Interview Guidelines

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Key Elements in a Selection Process

A clear organization chart, position description and hiring criteria. Input from the work team, internal and external stakeholders is critical here.

A broad, strategic notification campaign through position relevant channels.

Solicitation of paper work that will aid in an initial screening process (to include resume/C.V., letter of interest, work samples, references).

As large an initial qualified candidate pool as is possible with the time and money available.

A systematic, inexpensive reduction of the initial pool to as large a "Step 2" pool as possible (usually through paper screening, reference review).

Systematic contact with the semi-final candidate pool to arrange next-step assessment (phone interviews- especially regarding continued availability and interest, personality testing, submission of further work samples, reference checks).

Selection of sufficiently large finalist pool.

Direct, personal contact and assessment of finalists (structured presentation, individual interviews, "work-withs" - structured job-relevant exercises performed for evaluation by hiring entity and job orientation for potential hire, personality testing).

Some contact by work team/external and internal stakeholders here is critical.

Systematic rating and ranking of finalists.

Job offer with performance expectations, potential contingencies and expectations for results defined.

Structured orientation to the position by key people.

Performance review process defined at time of offer and conducted as planned.

A general rule of thumb is that "the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior in similar circumstances". People are amazingly consistent beings and some degree of predictability is possible, even for those going through significant life changes or transitions. An effective general strategy for eliciting information that can help you predict a candidate's future behavior in the new job is to follow the path of Experiences/Self-evaluation/Probing. Use open-ended questions to invite the candidate to do the work necessary to inform you.

Be sure to also assess personal character. Be creative in asking questions or observing the job candidate interacting with your organization to determine core elements of this person who may become part of your team.

Experiences (usual, typical, special, unique situations):

What is important for me to know about what you’ve done in the past.
Tell me about the duties and responsibilities of your most recent (favorite, best, worst) job. (Listen for the order these are presented, this is usually not accidental).
Describe what you do in a typical work day.
Tell me about your professional history, including school, work and other non-paid things you have done.

Self-evaluation (Strengths, weaknesses, motivations, fears, goals):

What appeals to you most about this position?
Describe what you see as your major strengths and weaknesses for this position.
What will you be least skilled at or familiar with at the start of this position?
What did you like most/least about your past jobs (or job most similar to this)?
What are your short and long range goals?
Describe your work (leadership) style.
What personality/work styles testing have you taken recently? From this what more can you say about who you are and how you work?

Probing for specifics:

Tell me about your best accomplishment in the recent past. Start at the beginning and walk me through it.
Describe the last important decision you made.
Tell me about your toughest assignment.
Tell me about the co-workers you get along with least well.
How would your staff describe you? That is similar to how you see yourself. That is different than how you see yourself.

Interviewers aim to get as clear a picture as possible of:

what situations the candidate has experienced before that is similar to the job being hired for.

what their specific role in these situations was (what exactly did they do).

what the result of their work was (how did things turn out as a result of what they did).

This is referred to as the S-B-O, situation-behavior-outcome strategy. Seek to get at least 2 or 3 of these SBO’s per key hiring criteria you are using.

Pay close attention to what the candidate asks you about your organization and the position. This is indicative of how assertive, information gathering minded, strategic the person is.

As a team-based organization, asking them for input in the selection process "...how can we best get to know about you and your skill?" involves them some in this process.

Some ideas for a face to face interview and performance assessment:

Tune into the candidates timeframe on this and ask them explicitly to keep you informed about any offers they are getting.

Because it is both demonstrative of skills needed for the job and highly informative, I suggest asking the finalists to prepare a formal presentation to the search team with the following:

Their understanding of the organization’s need in this position. (Allow them access to information about the company and time to interview a staff member or two to prep for this. Include the job description at this point and ask them to rate themselves in light of this.)

Their immediate and mid-term operating plan once hired. What will they do, with whom, to achieve what result?

A rough outline of resources they will need to succeed, including personal orientation, training, office tools, budgets.

Why the organization should hire them. An outline of selling points about them.

Question and answer exchange to follow (30 -45 minutes).

This can range from 10 minutes to one hour or more, depending on the position you are hiring for.

A systematic rating process, based on the key job criteria, takes place after each finalist presents.

Note: This presentation and assessment can serve in place of or as a starting point, supplement to individual interviews.