When you are the interviewer, do unto the candidates as you’d do to yourself!
I’ve spent recent weeks focusing on interview advice for candidates, so I thought it would be a good idea to comment on the other side of the equation. Why? Because I keep hearing about the interview experiences of my mentees that sound, well, pretty mechanical –?actually, in many cases, downright discourteous. Clearly, the standards of interviewing out there are not as good as they should be.
To be clear, I’m focusing on shortlist interviews, not preliminary screenings.
Overall, I’m not impressed. To begin with, not enough consideration is shown for interviewees’ feelings. Shortlist interviews are not stress meetings – they exist to establish which one of the final group of three, maybe four, candidates represents the best ‘fit’ with the company. If this proves impossible, then the preliminary interviews haven’t been done sufficiently thoroughly.
I’ve emphasised this before and I’ll say it again: shortlist meetings with candidates are conversations. In too many cases, HR and/or line managers don’t get that. And when it comes to the final meeting with a CEO, either the CEO hasn’t been briefed on the outcome of the previous round of interviews; or they haven’t prepared for it; or they’ve allocated insufficient time to properly establish whether this potential senior colleague will fit with the organisation. I have a case right now where a CEO has allocated 15 minutes to meet the lead candidate for a senior role!
Let’s go back to basics. Typically, employers or their representatives approach candidates who are already working –?i.e., they are not unemployed. They put out feelers to potential contenders see whether they might be interested in a role with a given company. The opportunity on offer is usually better than the approached person’s current role. Obviously, even the coolest heads will be excited by the possibilities a new role may bring – not just for them, but for their families, too. Why are so few interviewers mindful of this? Time and time again, I witness candidates leaving interviews without being properly briefed, and then being kept waiting far too long for feedback or a progress report. In the worst cases, they never hear from either the search firm or the potential employer again! This is appalling.
Recruitment is intrusive, and interviewers should respect this, but they don’t. An interview is not a form of combat, yet there are clever dicks out there who think it is and flex their muscles accordingly. If any of my mentees are confronted with this behaviour, I tell them to walk away.
As regards screen interviews, I’m clear on this: perfectly okay for preliminary assessments but thereafter only face-to-face meetings will do. Employers need to allocate the time and resources to accommodate this.
Job changes and career moves are life-changing. Throughout the recruitment process, show candidates that you understand this in the way you treat them. Then apply the time-honoured litmus test: ask yourself how you would feel if you were being interviewed using the techniques deployed by you and your company.? ???
Andrew Garner is an executive senior management and C-suite mentor. He is the author of the career management manual: ‘Your Career Satnav… Switch It on!’ Get your copy here.