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by Herbert M. Greenberg, Ph.D.
President and CEO of Caliper
How often, after hiring someone who does not work out, have you thought to yourself, "But they looked so good in the interview."?
While interviews can provide valuable input into the hiring process, they often confuse as much as clarify.
Part of the problem is the inherent limitation of interviews.
Instead of lending insight, interviews can often become a form of theatre in which all of the actors are tripping over one another, trying to put their best feet forward. The employers are busy attempting to leave a favorable impression of themselves and their company, while the applicants are trying to mold themselves into whatever they perceive is desired.
Meanwhile, it must be kept in mind that any book store worth its salt has a shelf full of guides for playing this
game to the hilt. And anyone serious about applying for a job has read at least one of these guides.
So, job interviews are replete with people trying to leave the best first impression. The result, all too often, is what we call "Interview Stars," those individuals whose best performance occurs during the interview.
These Stars are able to convey a favorable first impression, but it wears thin very quickly. The difficulty employers encounter is delving below the surface to get a clear understanding of an individual's true motivations.
Interview Stars are overly concerned with making a favorable impression. It is fundamental to such an individual's sense of well-being to be liked, appreciated, and perceived in favorable terms. An individual with this motivation will work very hard to make a good impression in an interview, and, with the help of a few guides, will probably succeed. Yet, while this motivation to be well-liked is important for many jobs, it will not assure success in a sales, consultative or management position.
Sometimes, in fact, too much of a need to be liked can work against an individual's ability to make difficult decisions, let alone to risk rejection when the situation calls for it.
The difficulty, once again, is delving below the surface to get a true read on an applicant's underlying motivations.
A first step is to conduct a personality assessment, which can provide insights into an individual's strengths, limitations and motivations. Second, and equally important, is to compile a list of the key attributes that are going to be required for the individual to succeed in the job, and to work effectively with their manager. For instance, for a sales position, persuasiveness, service-orientation, independence, reasoning ability, empathy, and the ability to bounce back from rejection are increasingly important as customers seek quality.
Then you need some questions that will help you determine the extent to which each applicant possess these traits and can effectively make use of them in the job at hand.
For instance, when trying to determine if an individual is confident and assertive, ask them to tell you about an individual who can influence them. Ask them to tell you about a time when they had to go against the rules. Ask them what the best suggestion they ever made was. Then listen. As their stories unfold, you will learn much more about them - rather than simply reviewing their resume, as so often is what happens in interviews.
When trying to determine how empathic an individual is, ask, "In what kinds of situations will you cling to your point of view - no matter what?" Ask them about the worst situation they faced when managing a project. Ask them to tell you about a time when someone persuaded them to their point of view.
In assessing an individual's problem solving and decision making abilities, ask, "If you could change a policy at your present company, what would it be?" Ask them what are the easiest kinds of decisions to make? What are the hardest? Then, again, listen.
And there are many other questions to pursue to help assess an individual's level of independence, initiative, sales skills, caution, energy, leadership, organizational ability, communication skills, ability to follow directions, and service orientation.
These questions can be windows into an individual's personality. Coupled with the findings from a valid personality test, they can provide you with an accurate read on an individual's motivations - before you bring them on board.
First and foremost, you need to know the qualities you are looking for in a particular position. Then, through valid personality testing and comprehensive interviewing, you will be able to delve below the surface and get a clear understanding of an individual's strengths, limitations and motivations.
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