Interviewing lessons all managers with a strong ego should read.

I recently attended an interview where I cringed at the behaviour of one of the people on the interviewing panel, they were egotistical arrogant patronising and hedonistic. It was one of the most uncomfortable interview experiences I have ever had. But all experiences are learning lessons and I would like to share this lesson with you.

Normally on one of my panels each of the interviewers have a task to undertake for example a task for one of the panel members may be asked questions to ensure there is a cultural and behavioural fit. All of the questions are constructed and evaluated prior to the interview so there is an interview format to follow.

On this occasion the company accountant wished to sit in on the panel and observe the proceedings. Not long into the interview the accountant wanted to ask some questions and he started with “Deep breath, stay calm”, “I am going to ask you a few questions, you need to be truthful because I will know if you are lying to me”. Personally I believe this to be rude arrogant egotistical and patronising, and if he had said this to me I may well have terminated the interview. It is critical to remember that an interview is a two way street, candidates are also evaluating you and you should be respectful to every candidate.

The accountant continued with questions like “if you hadn’t been trained in this procedure what would you do?” This was the start of a barrage of hypothetical questions that made the candidate start to consider what training the company actually provided.

Very important lesson

Using hypothetical questions to base your decisions upon is very risky. Hypothetical questions give you hypothetical answers, there is absolutely no real evidence here to indicate that what the candidate says they will actually do in the future, it just gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling. For example if the candidate said something that you are looking for like, “in three years time I see myself working for you but in a managerial role”. That’s great, you feel warm and fuzzy but there is a very high chance you have just been had. This type of answer is often said by seasoned employees who are savvy and sophisticated in the art of manipulative conversation.

Try asking hypothetical questions to a politician or a hardened criminal. I am sure they will give you very convincing answers, but will they be honest answers? Probably not! Will they be insightful answers? Probably not1 Here’s the kicker as they say, how many of us believed the current Australian Labor government when they promised to do something about Japan illegally whaling in Australian waters? A fair number I would suggest, and what has actually been done?

How many parole boards around the world have released prisoners who said all the right things and then reoffended a short time later? Hypothetical questions give you hypothetical answers

Back to the accountant

After the barrage of hypothetical questions that were punctuated with “Deep breath, stay calm”, he then proceeded to give the candidate lessons in personal perception. For example “How many people do you think work in this business unit. The candidate didn’t know and their answer then lead to the accountant’s lesson on personal perception. Trying to teach candidates lessons in perception or any other lesson is arrogant, egotistical, grandstanding and showmanship.

When the candidate asked some questions, the accountant responded with answers that were vague and wishy washy. For example “what training will I be given” asked the candidate and  the response was “We give you social, psychological, life skills training” Giving evasive explanations and not fully clarifying and ensuring the candidate understands the answer indicates an interviewer who is totally self absorbed with their own needs..

At this point I wanted to freeze frame the interview, take the accountant to the closest window and drop him. But it was too late this candidate was already disengaged and ready to go.

The general purpose of an interview is

1. To ensure the candidate has fully reflected and understood the position they have applied for

2. To ensure the candidate has the technical skills you require

3. To ensure the candidate has the behavioural skills you require

4. To ensure the candidate has the experience you require

5. To ensure the risks in hiring this individual have been fully examined

6. To ensure they will fit in with your business culture and strive for your vision

The Lessons Are:

Lesson One: Plan your interviews, select your panel wisely and construct a template of questions for panel members to follow or to use to construct useful probing questions. 

Lesson Two: Past behaviour will nine times out of ten predict future behaviour and so the questions should be what DID you do in this situation, not what WOULD you do in this situation.

Lesson Two: The objective of any interview is to find enough evidence (BASED ON THEIR PREVIOUS PERFORMANCE) to predict future performance.

Committed to hiring the right person the first time round and recovering all the costs of the campaign!

 

 

David Osborne

www.profitablepersonnel.com

 

And how takers cripple your business

Robert Kennedy a former president of America once said: 

“Ask not what the country can do for you but what you can do for your country”.  

The reason why this is an important quote is because there are many candidates looking for work who think purely about their own needs. They are selfishly absorbed in what they want in everything they do. Their whole mindset is “what’s in it for me” and this doesn’t change when they are employed by you.

To get takers to strive for reasonable performance you have to worry and stress over incentives and bonuses. With some of your business procedures takers have to be repeatedly told what to do because they are not thinking about your needs and building your business, they are obsessed with what’s in it for them. But why should you put up with this? It is certainly not making you happy, profitable and wealthy.

What do I mean by a taker?

Takers:

• Work to time not to the achievement of outcomes.
• Need more and more incentives and bonuses to be productive.
• Do not see and share your vision although told on a number of times.
• Have to be asked to do things more than once.
• Do not follow procedures that are the basic requirements of the job even when told.
• Seek security rather than rewards based performance.
• Are not flexible.
• Do not understand that some days and weeks much more work is needed than others to ensure the company achieves its goals.
• Are not willing to go the extra mile unless rewards are offered first.
• Take their sick leave even when they are not sick.
• Take sick leave after the weekend or on your busiest days.
• Are always looking for ways to get other people to do things for them.
• Are always looking for ways to get other people to pay for them.

Takers would certainly not embrace the thought “Ask not what the company can do for you but what you can do for your company”. If you said this to them I am sure you would get a “why should I” response.

It is critical to spot the “Why should I” brigade before you invite them into your company and this is how you do it.

Look and Listen to the language and actions of all the candidates in what they write in the selection criteria and the way they talk in a phone screen.

Takers will say:

• “I have done this and rarely talk about “we” the team achieved this”
• “I am looking for at least xxx thousand to undertake this role”.
• “I want”

Takers are not good team players they are not about the benefit of others just about themselves. Givers however will talk about we and will be willing keen and eager to work on a trial basis to prove themselves. Givers are far happier and enthusiastic which attracts staff and customers to want to work and do business with them. Givers are profitable personnel. Takers provide the bare minimum performance and show no loyalty to anyone but themselves, frequently talking about their needs above all else.

“Whoever renders service to many puts himself in line for greatness — great wealth, great return, great satisfaction, great reputation, and great joy.” 

                                                                         Jim Rohn

                                                         Writer lecturer and speaker.

 A highly profitable and unified team achieve results that are far larger than the sum of the results achieved by the individuals because they create synergy.

Therefore 1+1+1+1 can =10

When you have a team of givers you see:

• Tasks are not just undertaken, but they are undertaken happily.
• The tasks are undertaken more quickly
• The team members start discus non-work related topics.
• The standard of workmanship is higher
• More creative ideas are generated.
• Colleagues can instruct / delegate /allocate work to employees in your chain of command without it causing you inconvenience and offence.
• The team undertakes tasks more energetically and with “fun”.
• Laughter becomes more frequent along with “making fun of each other”
• The team member’s start asking each other’s opinions on matters out of each other’s area of expertise (i.e. a miner asking a geologist about a mining  type issue)
• The level of trust built up in the relationship, collaboration and reliance steadily grows.
•  When disagreements occur, they do not become “personal attacks” and the disagreement does not produce hard feelings.
• The team members begin spending some of their spare time together away from work (e.g. fishing, sports, drinking)  

                                         “No tree has branches that fight amongst themselves”

                                                                      Indian Proverb

Four Very Important Learning Lessons

Lesson One: Have selection criteria where the applicant has to write sentences and you can pick up on the “I did” language.

Lesson Two: Have a phone conversation with the candidate and ask them:

• How they ensured they got on with their team members?
• What results did this team achieve?
• Can I talk to the business owner or your immediate manager to find out more about your team working skills?
• What do you hope to achieve for this company?

Takers will struggle to find good answers for these types of questions particularly because they were probably not liked by their team or their boss.

Lesson Three: Listen to their language in the interview.  If you asked them, what salary package they are looking for and they say well I am worth this, or I would not start for anything less than X, then be very careful. All highly profitable personnel really want the positions they applied for and would do anything to prove their worth before requesting a high salary.

Lesson Four: If you have got one of these people in your work place I can guarantee you and your team are not as profitable and productive as they could be.

“Ask not what the company must pay for you, but prove what you can do for your company and great rewards will follow, for both you and the business” 

 Committed to hiring the right person the first time round and recovering all the costs of the campaign!

 

 

David Osborne

www.profitablepersonnel.com