I recently was reminded in a Super Bowl commercial that Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel first introduced the Internet on the “Today” show 21 years ago. If you’re only 18, that was a long time ago, but for us Baby Boomers it feels like yesterday. My point is there were no iPhones, no tablets, no laptops, no email, no Twitter and no texting. The definition of using social media was giving out your business cards to friends. Everything about the way we communicate has changed.
Wait a minute; I want to retract that last statement. Not everything about the way we communicate has changed. A job interview today doesn’t feel much different than it did
21 years ago. Yes, we email resumes instead of mailing them and we complete job applications online, but the real face-to-face job interview hasn’t changed much.
Here’s a request I’ve heard a hundred times: “Bill, I’m interviewing a job candidate tomorrow, can you give me your 10 best interview questions?” Because the interview’s tomorrow I give them the same old behavioral interview questions we’ve
been using for years. “Tell me about a time you solved a difficult problem. Tell me about your greatest achievement. Tell me where you expect to be in five years.”
Do these questions sound familiar?
Sometimes this approach works, but it’s also led to some really bad hiring decisions. You end up hiring the person who performs best in the interview not necessarily the best person for the job. Here are a few suggestions to shake things up and get away from those rehearsed responses.
Whenever possible don’t conduct job interviews in your office. To create an authentic conversation we need to get out of the office and into a relaxed atmosphere. Take a walk, visit your favorite coffee shop and make the plant tour an engaging conversation, not another show-and-tell guided tour. Have a conversation at someone’s workstation. Stop for coffee in the cafeteria and invite a non-management employee to sit in on your conversation. Engage people in a conversation and stop the Q&A inquisition.
When you finally sit down to have a conversation, look for a round table. One of my favorite interviews was in an office with a throw rug, floor lamp and two lounge chairs. When I’m in an office with a desk and two uncomfortable chairs, I feel like I’m in the assistant principal’s office and I got caught skipping school. Save the desk for contract negotiations.
Make sure the candidate gets to spend some time with non-management staff. Forget technical skills for a moment and try to give them a genuine picture of your work culture. If you’re afraid to leave the candidate alone with your employees, then maybe you’re doing something else wrong!
I’m borrowing the following questions from Mitch Rothschild who likes to push people beyond their comfort zone. Here are a few of his favorites: “What won’t I like about you in 90 days and what won’t you like about me? What percentage of your life do you control? When you’re not at work, what are three things you do better than anyone else? Describe two things you’ve heard today that you don’t like.”
Try the reverse interview. Ask me one question that might make me feel uncomfortable. Describe something that we talked about today that was superficial and not very genuine. Give me a second chance to answer that question. If you had five job offers, what would stop us from being at the top of your list?
Job interviews look more and more like speed dating. The trouble is if we don’t get along after the first date (that first week at work) we will see each other again and again. I start every job interview with this introduction: The worst outcome from today’s interview is that you accept our job offer and six months later you and I wake up Monday morning and realize we’re unhappy with each other. Let’s agree to drop our guard and have an open, honest, authentic conversation that will help us both decide if this is a good fit. If we do this well, we’ll wake up every Monday morning with a smile. Let’s do it!
Kaminski is president of Stone Associates Training. He is an HR consultant with 35 years of experience in the employment field, teaching managers the art of hiring great employees. He also is an adjunct instructor at Keuka College. You can contact him with your questions, suggestions and comments at bill@stoneassociatestraining.com.
