Interviewing is the primary process we use to access the skills, abilities, compatabilities, etc., of the people we are trying to hire. Like buying a car, everyone thinks they know how to do it better than the other guy. What makes the process so interesting is that there is no one perfect way to do it. Hiring is subjective, since we hire based on personality, and the process can become very personal. The process should account for personal preferences, but should never supercede the basic objective assessment of skills, abilities and compatabilities of the candidate. In fact, the difference between who gets hired and who comes in second or third should really come down to relatively intangible terms, like who we like best, who best fits into our group etc.
Even though personality traits and compatability may help make the final decision, all of the reasons to include or exclude certain candidates into the finalist group must be as objective as possible. Over the years we have found that the best employers we work with maintain their objectivity by the use of a series of "Patterned Interviews." Patterned interviews are simply interviews where exactly the same questions are asked of every candidate. If this sounds simple, it is.
Patterned Interviews
First of all in patterned interviewing we cover all the ground by making sure that we ask everyone all the questions pertaining to the job. Often, fette interviews get side tracked by certain answers candidates give and goes off on a tangent never remembering to come back to the basic questions. After the candidate leaves, the employer reviewing certain aspects about the candidate discovers he has gaps because he simply forgot to ask the questions.
Secondly, a patterned interview insures comparative evaluation. Since everyone answered the same questions and notes were taken their answers can be easily compared. Which brings us to the third and probably most important reason for a patterned interview; it keeps us from having to rely on our memories. The Interviewing and hiring process usually lasts a lot longer than most of us anticipate. In fact, statistics show that even an "immediate" need type hire takes an average of six weeks. We have known employers, using patterned interviews, to go back as much as a year and remember certain candidates for a position and wind up hiring them, not having to repeat the long process of interviewing.
Simple Questions
Patterned interviewing can begin with simple questions in the initial interviews and even complicated ones as the interviews progess. Setting particular objectives for each first, second and subsequent interviews is most effective. The major objective is to qualify the candidates who can do the job. Specific quantity questions can do this: such as "how long" and "how much" experience, specific duties and responsibilities etc. are appropriate. Initial interviews should be brief and to the point: ten or twelve quick qualifying questions will work. The type of job will dictate the questions. If you are looking for an accountant then simple questions of where and what kind of accounting was done by the candidate are in order. Intricate, technical questions are not. For a sales position, simple questions of sold to whom, kinds of products, territories, quotas, etc., are fine for starters. With good notes on the answers, comparison of candidates is very simple.
Objectivity
This process makes interviewing more objective. It forces us to take our personal feelings out of the initial interview and to gain enough factual knowledge to objectively compare our candidates. The initial interview establishes the ability of the candidates to do the job. Now the objective becomes to establish the depth of the experience and ability, in detail. Well prepared questions will keep the interviewer on track.
As the interview process progresses, patterned questions can become more and more qualitative. How a person gets along with his peers, how he liked the jobs he has had in the past, what he has liked about previous bosses and peers will be subjective indications of how he will feel about his future employers and peers.
Structured, patterned interviews are not easy to devise. Careful, thoughtful development of them will take most of the mystery out of interviewing and hiring.
