Interviewing U-MAN Candidates
by Neil I. Clark
One of the most frustrating tasks a manager must perform is the
interviewing candidates prior to hiring them.
Who's Behind the Mask?
What goes through your mind when you interview a candidate? If all
you have to go on is their CV, do you wonder:-
- Are they really what they seem, or are they hiding behind a "mask"?
- Can they really produce the results I want in this job?
- Are they just giving me a big PR front?
- Are they simply telling me what I want to hear?
- Have they been schooled in how to handle an interview?
Of course, this applies only when you have unknown candidates. (We
have a document to help you out in this area: "Interviewing".
If you don’t have a copy, we’ll send you one.) Note,
however, that when you are interviewing your U-MAN
candidates, these
questions have been answered, so the approach is quite different.
U-MAN Candidates
When you use our unique process, known as "ScreenService",
you receive a full rundown on each candidate. So, before you even
start to interview, you not only have their CV, you also know:-
- Their Personality
- Their Motivation
- The result of their Reference Checks
- Their Performance Summary
You are already streets ahead, so you need to take this into account.
You can now eliminate a lot of the things you used to do
when interviewing. You have the luxury of knowing exactly who you
are talking to,
so the steps of the process are now quite different.
Here are some suggestions on how to take advantage of this unique
position.
Follow these steps for a more effective, focused and decisive hiring
decision with each of your U-MAN candidates.
Step 1 - Use the U-MAN Reports
The real value in using U-MAN is the wealth of accurate information
you receive about each of the candidates. Before you interview them,
read all the material again.
- Familiarise yourself with every aspect of their personality and
how it aligns with your job.
- Look again at the motivation data. Does this fit with your work
environment?
- Go over the Candidate’s Performance Analysis Form (the
one they filled out). Can you see how this aligns with your own
job specification?
- Review their CV and decide on any specific points you may want
to check with them regarding technical abilities.
Since you are now dealing with a known
quantity (even though you
have not met them yet), the whole flavour of the interview and preparation
is different.
Step 2 - Orient Them to the Job
The first thing you should do in the interview is give each candidate
a good understanding of the job, and your organisation. It is important
to get across to them what the job is and who they will report to.
With unknown candidates, you often don’t have time for this
step.
Take them around and show them the work environment.
- Show them the good aspects as well as the bad ones.
- Point out the challenges.
- Give them a clear idea of the pace and expectation.
When you have done this, ask them if they are now more motivated
about the job, or less. You want a positive answer here, of course.
But a negative one is just as valuable — better find out now,
rather than later.
Having presented the physical aspects of the job to them, along
with the reality of the challenges, does the candidate still want
to produce results for you?
Now, if you ask this straight, you may simply get the answer they
think you want to hear. The best approach is something like:
"So, what do you think of all that?"
"What do you feel is the most challenging part of this job,
now you know more about it?"
Make sure they are open-ended questions — ones requiring more
than a "yes" or "no" answer.
Step 3 - Job Basics
Get down to the basis of your employment contract:
- Remuneration
- Benefits
- Probation periods, etc.
A top performer may not have these things as their main criteria
for wanting to take your job, but you still need to know if there
are any glitches here.
Step 4 - Technical Testing
This is not always applicable, of course, but if there are aspects
of the job which require particular technical skills, now is the
time to check them out. U-MAN does not actually test a secretary’s
typing speed, for instance, or a technician’s dexterity with
a soldering iron. To be absolutely sure, you should have them type
a page of text or solder a joint, etc.
Step 5 - U-MAN Back-Up Service
Take notes during the interview. The candidates won’t be put
off. It indicates interest. After the interview, call your U-MAN
Evaluator and go over your notes with them. This is all part of the
service.
Your Evaluator will then check back with the candidates to get their
reaction to the interview.
With the same skill and thoroughness which was applied to the original
analysis, your Evaluator will find out how the candidate feels about
the job, now they have much more detail about it. This is an important
part of the process. The candidate views the Evaluator as an independent
contact, so will tend to open up more to them on how they feel. The
Evaluator will then get back to you with some reliable feedback.
If there are any concerns which have to be taken into account, you
will learn of them before you make your hiring decision. In most
cases, however, this additional feedback simply strengthens your
decision to hire.
Interviewing takes on a whole new look when you know so
much about
the candidate before you start the process. Take advantage of this
unique situation. Use it to strengthen your hiring decisions.
Hiring has never been easier.
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