Three Thoughts on Striking the Right Match

You have the authority to hire. You’ve filtered through the resumes and invited some candidates to interview. What do you plan to ask them? How will you find the right match?

During the interview process, a lot of attention is paid to what candidates should do and say. Some emphasis is put on what employers should not say, especially about topics that are illegal to discuss.  However, not many interviewers are coached on how to conduct an interview. Employers are often underprepared to interview candidates, because they haven’t decided what they need to discover about the candidates.

Some companies have very organized and comprehensive processes for evaluating and comparing candidates. Many employers have a more ad hoc approach which often fails to benefit the company or the candidates.

Ideally, the process of deciding what to ask candidates begins long before an interview takes place. The first discussion about what to ask candidates should occur when the position description is being drafted. How you describe what you want someone to do, and what prior experiences and credentials they need to have causes people to pursue the opportunity (or not).

Next, give some thought to how you will discover which candidate will be right for your position. Resumes, the interview and references can confirm facts about a candidate’s past. But if the past is all you focus on, you will miss the chance to learn about a candidate’s aptitude, which can also be discerned from their resume, the interview and their references.

Here are three thoughts on what interviewers should ask candidates (and candidates need to answer) to strike the right match.

1.    Technical Skills, Experience and Credentials

For most jobs, technical skills, experience and credentials matter a little, and sometimes they matter a lot. I want my doctor, lawyer, accountant, plumber and electrician to all be technically trained, licensed, and somewhat experienced. For other jobs, good judgement and general experience is enough.

The point of evaluating technical skills, experience and credentials is so you can distinguish what the candidates know from what they don’t know. Decide which technical skills and credentials are must-haves, and decide how candidates will prove them. Ask for proof before the interview, to screen out candidates who don’t have the required credentials.

It is advisable to weigh what the candidate currently knows against their aptitude to learn more in the future. Are you hiring this person today for the only job they will ever have at your company? Or are you selecting someone today that you hope will grow to take on other responsibilities and perhaps be promoted?

How can you assess their aptitude? Talk to candidates about how they have learned what they currently know. Do they take the initiative to improve their skills or have they only learned what prior bosses demanded they learn? What else have they learned on their own time or for their own purposes? A person who is learning a new language (spoken or computer) or has taken up a new instrument will most likely be willing to learn new skills for their job.

2.    Behavioral Questions

Once you’ve established what a candidate knows, you will want to assess how they will likely behave in your role. One method for assessing behavior is the STAR method (situation, task, action and result). There is a lot of available information on how to apply the STAR method and I recommend interviewers and candidates review it.

Most interview questions focus on WHAT the candidate has done. It is also important to understand HOW they got it done. Focus on the specific accomplishments they recount on their resume. Who directed them to do it? Who helped them? What resources (internal and external) did they use? Did they meet budget expectations? Did they make money or lose money? Was it a profitable idea or venture?

Also ask questions based on the position description. Every job has three main components or deliverables. Ask questions that verify the candidate has previously successfully performed those components. If they haven’t done those exact things before, decide what alternatives are acceptable substitutes, or who you will assess their aptitude in the absence of specific prior experience.

Who did they lead or manage in the process? How was their team, business unit or the company affected by the result of the candidate’s work? Did the candidate deliver the desired results? Were the results worth the pain of change? If personnel changes were part of the fall out, who left? The people the company was happy to see go, or the people you worked hard to recruit and would have preferred to have stay?

Ask candidates (and their references) what happens when the answer is NO. What happens when they don’t get their way? Can they accept it and support the decision made? Can they enthusiastically perform the work as asked, even if they thought their idea was better? Or does their lack of support for the boss’ decision seep out? Identifying behind the scenes behaviors can be as important as understanding front line behavior.

3.    Culture, Fit and Trust

Culture and fit are difficult to define and assess. Humans have a tendency to assess fit based on personal preferences. We like people who are most like us. In the hiring process, both for fairness and for diversity, it’s important to look beyond the mirror to assess fit.

Be open-minded, but also be realistic. Align the facts. If you ask a person to describe themselves and they tell you they are always late for everything, perhaps they aren’t a good fit for a deadline-driven role. If they tell you they are not a people-person, perhaps you should not choose them for a front line client service role.

The best way to remain open-minded about fit and to ensure opportunities for diverse candidates to receive full consideration is to focus on the obvious indicators of a misfit, instead of looking for fit.

The key elements of fit are about values. Does the candidate share the company’s values? Do they support the company’s mission? Does the candidate share the company’s view on ethics and integrity? As their manager, do you operate against bright lines of right and wrong, or are they blurry? How does the candidate express their personal ethical standards?

A great question related to assessing fit is WHY? Why does the candidate want to do this work at your firm? Why does this work matter to the candidate? Why does this job at this time align with the candidate’s long term goals? Is this just another job to the candidate, or is this a key stop on their career path?

Broken down to its basics, culture and fit is really a question of trust. It is hard to decide if you trust someone after meeting with them for only an hour or two, but that’s exactly what happens in most hiring situations. When you choose to hire someone, you are deciding to trust them. Don’t ignore red flags that call trust into question. If you find yourself questioning your trust in a candidate, set aside the resume and credentials and really examine what has made you distrustful. Hiring someone you fundamentally mistrust, no matter how great their credentials are, will seldom result in a productive working relationship.

What do you need to know about a candidate to decide if they can do the job? How will you assess their technical skills? How have they successfully performed in the past? What’s their aptitude and desire to grow in the role? What kind of learner are they? How does their sense of ethics and integrity match your own and the organization’s? Do you trust them?

Think of how you will ask those questions and assess the answers before the interview. You will have more insightful conversations with potential candidates if you plan in advance for what to ask them and how to evaluate the answers.

Cheryl Bedard represents the best interests of candidates and clients. She identifies opportunities for success for talented executives and companies and reconciles hopes and dreams with reality.