Change Up Your Approach to Candidate Interviews!

If you haven’t noticed, we are all competing for talent in a candidate-driven market. If your approach to candidate interviewing is the standard behind the desk approach, then you may find substantial benefit in changing up where and how you interview. As Marshall Goldsmith says, “What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There.”

Being on the frontline of the hiring process, we have found that greater effort is needed to engage passive talent. More often than not, the strongest talent is the most jaded in terms of being bombarded by recruiters attempting to get their attention. Getting candidate’s attention and engagement is yet another challenge for another newsletter. Rest assured that once you get your desired candidate interested and engaged, you can’t just turn off the charm during the interview and assessment process. You also can’t overdo the charm at the expense of shortcutting your assessment process because the most exceptional hire for one organization can be a liability for another organization if the fit isn’t right.

We find that changing up where and how you interview can pay dividends in both candidate engagement, your employer brand as well as gaining deeper insights into the candidate’s fit for your organization. Here are some basics to consider:

Get Creative. There’s a wealth of candidate preparatory information about standard interview questions and processes which can translate into candidate behavior that’s scripted and less than natural. Getting out from behind your desk and changing up your interview questions can help you find new ways to better understand how a person thinks. Taking candidates on an unannounced tour of your offices or the factory floor or even sharing a meal can provide you with an opportunity to observe their behavior. Are they genuinely interested in your organization’s mission or the products they produce or sell? How do they treat others they meet outside of your office or conference room? If sharing a meal, how do they treat those who serve them? Can they keep a conversation moving with intelligent questions?

Build in a Challenge. Most candidates are well prepared for the usual interview questions lobbied across a desk top. We find many are also equipped with pre-scripted ways to turn negatives into positives which denies the hiring manager an opportunity to see the real person. When they are laced into a walking tour, it may help develop a natural conversation that gives you greater insights into who you are meeting with. Depending on your mandate, perhaps think about some unusual questions you can ask that will prompt a natural and unrehearsed response. For example:

What is the biggest misperception that people have about you?  There is obviously no right or wrong answer, however a person’s response can give you insights into their honesty as well as their level of self-awareness.

What is your greatest natural strength?  Soliciting a response to this question deviates away from the functional aspects of the role they are interviewing for and allows hiring managers an opportunity to learn what makes that person tick. Observe how the candidate responds for insights into their level of self-awareness.  Do they respond quickly or do they contemplate the question before responding? Does their response seem sincere or an attempt at telling you what they think you want to hear?

Enlist others to help. You most likely have others in your organization whose opinions you respect and trust. In addition to getting key stakeholders in interviews, perhaps vary your tour to include an impromptu stop in someone’s office or workspace whom the prospective hire would be working or interfacing with. Make the introduction and watch to see how the candidate engages with them. Do they ask intelligent questions that indicate knowledge and interest? Does their body language and conversation reflect interest or simply polite discourse?

If you are interested in changing up your candidate interview process and would like to explore more creative ways to do so, please reach out to us to learn other ways we are supporting our clients in securing the talent they need. We have been adept at change since our founding in 1999. We understand and live Marshall Goldsmith’s adage that “What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There. 

Carlos Acosta is the Senior Managing Partner and Practice Leader of The QualiFind Group. The QualiFind Group is specialized in finding, engaging, assessing and securing desired talent at the specialist to managerial level. Carlos can be reached at: cacosta@qualifindgroup.com or 619-240-2638.