Do you rely too much on your gut reaction when interviewing potential employees? "Traditional interviews don't help you select top talent. In fact, a large study conducted by John and Rhonda Hunter at the University of Michigan on the predictors of job performance found that a typical job interview increased the likelihood of choosing the best candidate by less than 2 percent," according to David Meyer of the Galliard Group, family business consultants. Indeed, in my experience of thousands of interviews, the candidate that interviews well is not necessarily the successful employee.
I've had to fire employees over the years because their on-the-job behavior and contributions did not live up to their interview hype. You can make your interviews a better selection tool. Using your favorite interview questions and assessing their value in successful employee selection over time is one way.
But, you need to rely on other aspects of recruiting such as background checking, testing, and even, trying your candidate out on the actual job or part-time on a team. Seth Godin offers several novel ideas for attracting the best employees through interviewing the potential employee in unusual ways.
He says create a great company story (assuming there is a great story) and have a person who is a good story teller tell it to all potential hires. He also suggests offering the candidate a weekend job so you can check out their work style and cultural fit. (On the other hand, you can also have employees who love their products, their company, and their jobs enough so that they tell a great story, too - and with notable sincerity.)
More About Interviewing Potential Employees
- Job Interview Questions and Answers
- Job Interview Tips: How to Interview
- Unusual Job Interview Questions Help Select
- Best Practices in Interviewing Employees
- Telephone Interviewing Potential Employees
Image Copyright Lisa F. Young