When technical competence is just not enough; effective interviewing tips.

By David Leyshon, Managing Director, CBSbutler

Close Move

At CBSbutler we know that staff turnover and new hires cost far more than most people think, so it pays to get your selection interview right- every time.

When recruiting new staff, initially consider the following:

Training; bringing the new recruit up to speed, through formal training and ‘buddying’ by existing employees.
Productivity; the learning curve of the new employee, and the wind-down of the departing employee.

Moreover, get the selection wrong and you'll suffer the following:

Morale; the enthusiasm of the recruit or of existing employees can soon evaporate if there's a misfit in their midst.
Culture; you hire a maverick or wild card candidate, when what you really want is a corporate clone.
Reputation; rid yourself of too many `recruitment errors', and your company may become known as a hire and fire firm.

So what constitutes effective interviewing?

Firstly, you may well be satisfied that the candidate has enough technical knowledge for the job – interview over. But, having the desired technical skills and knowledge is often only half the equation.
Secondly, reeling off a raft of questions machine-gun style is not an interview, it's an interrogation. It won't weed out any weaknesses other than a nervous stammer or garner an in-depth response and it won't leave you any wiser.

At CBSbutler we utilise the following criteria to screen candidates to ensure the desired fit (note the suggested questions):

Approach to work; you want to find out how they work; bureaucrats will focus on the procedure, smart workers will centre on the results:
-“What do you find is the best way to get things done?”
Perseverance; here you have an eye out for the one who falls at the first hurdle; what has been your most challenging project;
-“What difficulties did you meet, and how did you overcome them?”
Achievement; you're looking here for the contribution, quantifiable if possible, they have made to previous employers:
-“What's the most significant impact you've made at your organisation in the last year?”
Values; the aim here is to find the right cultural fit i.e. whether this job meets their underlying needs (unless, of course you're looking for a few black-balls or change agents to liven things up a bit):
-“Someday you'll be looking back and assessing your life - what will be yourachievements?”
Motivation; you need to know what makes the candidate tick e.g. is it money/status/autonomy?
-“Why are you interested in this? Why did you do that?”
Initiative; especially for management positions, you cannot afford a candidate who's still at the spoon feeding stage; you're looking for someone who doesn't wait to be told;
-“What projects or activities have your team undertaken and seen through that were your own idea?”
Balance; watch out for the `all work and no play', or worse still, the `all play and no work' brigade; their productivity will pay the price. To find this out, this is where their outside interests can come into play;
-“What outside activities do you enjoy and why?”
Weaknesses; especially what they've learned from them; don't ask for a list of their faults;
-“Can you tell me about your biggest failures and how you dealt with them?”
Social skills; basically, do they have any? Here you're on the look out for a short fuse, a puffed up sense of pride, or just a general ability to get on with people;
-“Our accounts department is really uptight about margin reports - how would you handle them?”

Summing up, mastering good interviewing skills whether it is applied to permanent or contract staff is essential if you are to avoid costly headaches within the team.

Tips to avoid interviewing pitfalls.

Don’t rely on one person's judgment alone; the final stage should involve several interviews or multiple interviewers - so different perspectives of the company and candidate can be covered. This ensures you don’t just go with ‘gut feel’ or instinct either.
Try not to talk too much; by trying to put the candidate at ease and present the company you don’t give them enough opportunity to speak.
Do your homework on the CV or job to make sure that you don’t end up with someone under-qualified or ill suited to the role.
Don’t stick so rigidly to your questions that you fail to follow-up on or even notice any throwaway comments from your candidate, which can tell you what makes them tick.
Remember to let them ask questions and give the candidate a chance to find out about you. The type of questions the candidate asks can show the kind of criteria they're after in a job.