Interview tips: How to smash the mask

1. When you interview someone for a job, you need to find out as much as you can from him. You want the truth.

2. A candidate who interviews with you will want to present herself in the most favorable light. She may want to hide her truths and will most assuredly wear a mask.

3. What people have done in their lives tends to be a good predictor of what they'll do in the future.

4. You have an opportunity, in your interviews, to smash the mask, to get the truth, to improve the probability you're making a good decision for your company.

Preparing for the Interview.

1. Have a structure and format that you memorize and rigidly follow: "Tell me about your work background, school, and, interests."

2. Draw up a list of criteria and job duties. You'll want to match them with what the person tells you.

3. Study the resume.

4. The interview structure: No brainer first question, complex opening question (so the interviewee will pay attention), prompts as he goes along.

Conducting the Interview.

1. Let someone else do the interview for you while you observe and jump in with your questions. You'll be amazed at what you see when you're not on the interviewer hot seat.

2. Don't take notes and don't pay attention to the facts. You'll make the interviewee more careful; pay attention to what you see and sense more than what you hear. You'll be amazed how many facts you'll remember. (Actually, I take random notes. The interviewee ignores me after awhile.)

3. Listen with your gut. It's your best management tool.

4. Assume a permissive manner - it'll bring out the inforomation you want. Sit back, be attentive, smile, have warm eyes, use non-confrontive language, say "Hmm" approvingly, raise your eyebrows, wait 9 seconds when the answer ends to see if she'll say more. Most often, interviewees just keep talking!

5. Always keep control. You structure the information flow (and don't let the interviewee get you to deviate). Cut off the rambling response by breaking eye contact or interrupting with a new question when he pauses for breath.

6. Answer interviewee questions last. If done earlier, she can intuit the "right" response and will give it to you. She'll also use up valuable time and you'll lose control.

7. Cross the barrier. Everyone resists exposure. Your questions, your few words, your smiles and manner will lower the person's protective gard. Generally, though, you must go one step further. Tell them something personal about yourself.

8. Shut up and let the interviewee talk.

9. Probe. This can't be learned from an article. If you sell, you already know how to do it. Keeping your structure, follow hunches, look for experiences and behaviors that confirm whether they do (or don't) meet the items on the check list. Be gentle about it but go after negatives. Ask what motivated them. Ask them to self-assess. If you believe they don't have something, like confidence, ask if they do, or would they like more of it? How do they know?

10. Take the time. You can do a good job in 45 minutes; you can have an excellent profile in an hour and a half. If you have less time, focus on the work and school.

Interpreting the Interview

1. Write down your impressions immediately. They're critical. You'll remember 70%. If you wait till later, you'll forget 70%.

2. Reflect on what you're looking for: mental ability, motivation and maturity. Your check list of criteria. How does the candidate measure up?

3. Forget what you've heard about the dangers of the halo effect. I dutifully ignored the feelings of "like me", "how he'll fit in here" because I'd been taught to go strictly on qualifications. Once I said "Bull" and began considering their personal "fit" along with their qualifications I hired more people who lasted longer and were productive. Man, woman, minority or not, they need to fit.

4. Questions to ask yourself: What did you believe or not and why? What did you like/not? What facts/what behaviors emerged? What hunches do you have and why?

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Rose Jonas, Ph.D.
The Job Doctor
jobdoc@aol.com
www.jobdoctoronline.com