Interviewing Tips for Hiring Managers

Editor's Notes

• #2: Welcome! - Christine Assaf - current HR Manager at a local retail and wholesale company - author of hrtact.com a professional HR website - been in the HR field for over 5 years - certification from LSU in HR Management. - married to William Assaf the organizer of SQLSaturday so that’s how I got roped into doing this
• #3: Interview process is the first REAL slide…
• #4: HR people LOVE process/procedure – it’s like a warm blanketRECRUITMENT/SCREENING1. job opening job description, - job description should say Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities - how many of you have actually read a job description? Written? portion that says “Skills Needed:”? That’s the most important part. Postings/advertisements Resume Review, MEET or EXCEED the SKAs as outlined in the job description,At this point you’re ready to start contacting applicants so you start with PRELIMINARY INTERVIEWSOnce you’ve gone through the preliminary interviewing and have your applicants down to a good handful you’re ready for SECONDARY INTERVIEWS Structured: set questioning, pre-determined outline (Pros: same questions for each applicant) Unstructured: allows open-ended questions to be asked, comfortable atmosphere Stress: Hostile or Antagonistic questioning an atmosphere, detect emotional state Panel/Group: can be in structured or unstructured environment, highly recommended for hiring new managers or supervisors or employees who need to work in close-knit group settingOnce done usually a candidate is found. ThenREFERNCE CHECK/EVALUATION/HIRINGImportant to note that will be subject to all laws and regulations. Any communication made to an applicant can be liable. So be careful! either of these interviews Preliminary interviewing (detail) is next…
• #5: Usually conducted by HR prior to being sent to you, Preliminary interviews are usually phone calls, chance to down widdle the applicants down to a handful, Short, ExploratorySKASthe preliminary is a determination of SKAs (from that job description)DETAILSGives a brief explanation to the candidate the details of the job (pay scale, hours worked, expectations)WEED OUT THE RUBBISH, CATCH EM OFF GUARD, INFORMAL, NO LONGER THAN, Weed out the unqualified or uninterested, Calling them on the phone to hear the TV on in the background or weird voicemail messagesAre they informal or are they able to think on their feet?Good question to ask (after giving details of the position) “So since you’ve applied here I’m sure you’ve applied elsewhere looking for a job, what is it that you’re looking for?” TESTING TOOLAuto-response for “review our website and give m a brief summary of why you want to work for our company”Now you’re ready to schedule the interview – what are you gonna ask? Types of interview questions is next…
• #6: Personality = “your greatest asset” “biggest weakness” “office setting preference” “see yourself in 5 years”Great for getting them talking, bad for getting a good pictureBehavioral = appropriate level of experience or qualifications,basic problem scenario, recall past experience, “Tell me about a time” “Give me an example of a time” “Describe when you” Looking for SITUATION / ACTION / RESULT Best results, imo. Should be explained on front end and practice the delivery.Job Qualification = questions can come straight from the job description, “Have you ever managed a team before?” “Do you have any experience with conflict resolution?” “Have you ever given a presentation to external customers?” Good for getting details of if they qualify, bad for getting personality, might get spoon fed answersSituational Approach = “Lets say you have this situation happen” “What would you do if a customer…” “How would you handle an angry vendor?” see how they think, performance methods, problem solving skills, great questions for sales people, customers service, or simply trying to gauge their problem solving skills. Technical = these are used for finding out the level of expertise in a hardware, software or application. “What is clustering and describe its use?” “How do you enforce relational integrity in database design?” “When is it appropriate to denormalize database design?” … yeah I don’t know what any of that means my DBA husband told me to ask those. Shows the integrity of their certs, abilities, if they truly have the knowledge and on what level, Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced? Stress Questions = If you’ve never been on an interview and given a stress question, you haven’t lived. “If I called your boss up right now and asked about you what would they tell me?” “Tell me about a time you failed a project.” “What are some things you find difficult to do?” I find them to be a necessity. Shows a true aspect of the individual, most of the time get honest answersBest practice, Start with personality based, include behavioral, then end with job qualifications (for skills purposes). Situational for customer service or salesmanship. Technical applicable where needed or to determine skill level. Use Stress Questions 3 at max, don’t frighten them away, but just shake things up. TAILOR TO YOUR STYLEDO recommend you outline PRIOR to interview and use same set for each interviewee. It prevents you form rambling and possibly leading yourself into a situation where you may ask something legally questionable. This is not a place to “shoot from the hip.” Objective view of each applicant and asking the same questions across the board is going to give you better data to make your determination. Basic interview guidelines is next…
• #7: Welcome:“Hi how are ya?” “Thank you for coming in” Hand shake.Bring them to the interview area… “Can I get you anything? Water? Soda?” A good trick “If you’ll excuse me for a moment, I’ll be right back.” – allows the person to get settled and calm before being questioned. Casual conversation “Did you find the place ok?” “How about this hot weather!” Summary of who we are, what we do, why we do it. Sell! Sell! Sell! (even if you don’t walk away with a new hire, you may walk away with a word-of mouth advocate.)Explain how the interview will go, personal questions? Technical? Behavioral (situation, action, result) and then stick to your outline.AT THIS POINT YOU SHOULD NOT BE TALKING! Pausing and awkward silence is the best way to get an applicant to talk. Let THEM fill the void. - You can ask additional clarification like “Tell me more about that.” “How did that end up working out?” “Can you explain that a little further?” Always referring back to their response. - TAKE NOTES! HR people love notes, plus when you interview so many its easy to get hazy. Explain the next steps and time frame. “We’re interviewing a few more people… trying to make a decision by next week” “We will let you know either way” “We may call you in for another interview or some job tests”“Do you have any questions?”THANK YOU! “Great to meet you”Cordiality is key! The more relaxed you make them, the better you will get clear, straight, honest data.Common Errors is next…
• #8: Beware of the common errors in interviewing…TALK TOO MUCHYou should be doing most of the talking in the beginning (details of job) and end (on what happens next) If an interview is about an hour long, you should only say about 20 minutes of words. 2/3 is the applicant talking. Get comfortable with the silence, don’t create filler talk. REVIEW RESUMEDon’t fumble over reviewing who they worked for, what skills they do or do not have before the interview. The point of meeting them is not to review their resume face-to-face but to ask questions that you wouldn’t know by reading their resume. EYE CONTACTRegular, but varied, occasionally looking up from your notes to watch them talking. NO REASSURANCEA smile, a “yes I understand” or when they are talking about good things they’ve done saying “that sounds like great work” Letting them know the interview is going well. INTIMIDATIONAsking questions abruptly, interrupting, condescendingINAPPROPRIATENo matter what rapport is built while interviewing or whether you feel you can “joke around” with this person remember that what you say can potentially be taken the wrong way. Keep it as professional as you can. SOLER is next…
• #9: To help you out with some of these Common Errors remember SOLER and Active Listening skillSquarely face the applicantOpen your postureLean towards the applicantEye contactRelaxLegal Guidelines is next…
• #10: There’s many laws and regulations out there on recruitment. EEO, ADA, etc. Surprisingly you can technically ask any question during an interview religion, age, national origin, etc. THE KEY POINT: that you CANNOT discriminate based upon whatever answer you get. REPEATTHIS is why we recommend to not even ask!Legal Charts are next…
• #11: Gender – generally stay away from any question that may insinuate being married, divorced, having children, or sexual orientation. Age – Over the age of 40 is a protected class Handicap – even if it is visually apparent, best to steer clear of any questioning that would lead you possibly discriminate.
• #12: Origin – any questioning that could lead you towards ethnicity or family history may pose a discrimination hazard. Religion – a no-no topic at the Thanksgiving table so why bring it hereMilitary – laws against not hiring based upon military dischargeCitizenship – a person doesn’t have to be a citizen to work in the U.S. Work Visas, employment authorizations, etc. Types of Testing is next…
• #13: Finished with the interview but you want to do some testing on the applicant…Aptitude = IQ Tests, verbal or numerical ability, reasoning, EEOC discourages as they’re not related to the job and the qualifications for the job most of the time. Interest Test = areas of work the applicant is most interested in, not very reliable. Personality = personality characteristics, not very reliableJob Knowledge Tests = differentiate between less experienced to high experienced, helpful in getting best qualified, Beginner Intermediate or AdvancedProficiency Test = give a sample of work to be done, how able to complete work, can be done onsite or offered off siteOn the Job Testing = Or a Job Try Out, this can be setup as a one day trial, a specific project, or perhaps a 90 day period. Work carefully with your HR department or supervisor, but it allows the applicant time to prove their skills and you the opportunity to see them in action. Lots of testing companies out there…Testing companies that I recommend is SHL a global leader in people intelligence and SHRM (Society for Human resources) has some wonderful tools (as a cost, of course). New Trends slide is next…
• #14: NEW TRENDS!VIRTUAL INTERVIEWS – Ocean Spray implementedSurvey by Aberdeen group in 2011 said 42% of surveyed companies have done or do web-based interviewing and that’s up from only 10 percent in 2010Good things about them… listCareful!obtain written permission from candidates beforehand, taped interviews should be retained or discarded in the same way resumes or interview notes are taped interviews can be admissible as evidence in court, so interviewers should be especially wary of avoiding questions that are inappropriate or that may reflect poorly on the company.GLOBAL HIRINGFinally - State Street Corp., a multinational financial services provider,  29,000 employees in 26 countries, adopted a flex plan to increase talent pool Flex plans offer a wider pool of applicants. With remote based technology it’s possible to live in one city but work for another. Increasing as business infrastructure grows globally. Questions slide is next…
• #16: Thank you for attending!Again my name is Christine Assaf and you can find more information on my blog hrtact.com or locate me on twitter at @hrtactPresentation uploaded to sqlsaturday.comIf you are at all interested in any more information or items mentioned in this presentation, please email me. If anyone has any questions please let me know. Please be sure to fill out your surveys on today’s presentation. Thank you again!