Beyond the Hiring Basics

Key Topics Covered in This Chapter
• Recruiting online
• Deciding when to use a professional recruiter
• Using the "case"interview technique
• Identifying "embedded personal interests" in order to evaluate candidates
• The importance of organizational culture in matching people to jobs
• The pros and cons of psychological testing for candidates
T he previous chapter described several key steps in the hiring process.This chapter will dig more deeply into three of those steps: recruiting, interviewing, and evaluating candidates. In further exploring the recruiting step, we will examine the recruiting opportunities offered by the Internet and by professional search firms.We will next examine the applica- tion of the "case" interview technique in the interviewing process. Lastly,we will delve into the process of evaluating how well a person will fit into a job and the work environment through an examina- tion of "embedded personal interests," microculture compatibility, and psychological testing of candidates.
Online Recruiting
The Internet is transforming corporate recruiting.
1 Monster.com alone hosts 18 million résumés (13 percent of the U.S. labor force), and on any given day, several million people are busily combing its site.And Monster.com is not alone;there are now thousands of Web sites offering job listings. Some 90 percent of U.S. companies now recruit online—and for very hardheaded reasons. Online recruiting lets firms target many qualified candidates for a job, screen them in seconds, and contact the best ones immediately. It is only one-twentieth the cost of want ad hiring and slices fifteen days off the usual forty-three day hiring cycle.
The Web allows managers to reach larger numbers of potential candidates, and in venues that weren’t available in the past. It also allows companies to pinpoint their recruiting efforts and to set themselves apart from competitors through creative electronic tac- tics. But companies that use the Internet solely as an extension of paper-based recruiting practices fail to exploit the power of the new medium.Here are some tips—and some cautions:
1. Broaden the pool of candidates. In a drum-tight labor market, companies must use the Internet to reach both "active"and "passive"candidates.Active candidates are those who post their résumés on online job boards.Passive candidates—qualified workers happily employed elsewhere—make up a larger and more appealing pool. To reach passive candidates,some experts recommend that one or more HR personnel be dedicated to visiting and search- ing through the Web sites frequented by prime candidates.For example,if your company needs Java programmers,consider their probable age and preferences.Mostly between twenty-two and twenty-nine years old,they surf the Web heavily and are likely to visit several sites for information on Java—JavaWorld .com, Java Developer’s Journal.www.javadevelopersjournal.com/ java),and Gamelan.com.These same people might check CN@Pnet.com for technology news,CNet.com for technol- ogy reviews,Tunes.com for music downloads and purchases, ESPN.com for sports,and CNN.com for news.Every one of these URLs accepts banner advertisements—banners that could be used to recruit candidates who hadn’t given much thought to leaving their current jobs.
2. Focus on the best sources. One lesson people are learning as they pursue online recruiting is that simply posting job open- ings on your company Web site or on big commercial boards, such as Monster.com ,Hotjobs.com ,or Career-Path.com,is unlikely to yield the right candidates quickly—or at all.The reason is that your message is likely to be lost in the crowd. One way to boost the odds of success is to target smaller sites—
specifically,the increasing number of Web sites that focus on particular types of jobs in specific locales.Careers.wsj.com ,for example,positions itself as the number-one site for mid- to senior-level executives. For technical personnel,many recruiters are unaware of the existence of Usenet,a global system of discussion groups.Its bulletin boards can be extremely specific regarding job function and location (for example,fl.jobs.computers.programming lists only job openings in Florida for computer programmers).A moderator even ensures that job postings meet site criteria.
3. Set yourself apart. When talent is in short supply,an employer must adapt marketing logic to its recruiting effort.In effect,it must approach qualified potential recruits as "customers."And the first step in marketing is differentiation. Employers are coming up with clever uses of the Internet to differentiate themselves from competitors.Some companies add a link to Datamasters.com on their Web sites,encouraging potential applicants in other regions to compare costs of living and to estimate relocation costs.Others sport résumé builders on their sites.Caterpillar,for example,offers a fill-in-the-blank résumé form on its site () that encourages appli- cants to file on the spot rather than go through the more com- plicated process of writing,printing,and mailing a traditional résumé and cover letter.The form also allows Caterpillar to specify the information it wants from job seekers by inserting, for example,a field for "technical,manufacturing,or computer- based skills."A regularly updated list of available positions at Caterpillar,sorted by location,function,and division,is linked to the résumé-building page.One enterprising company,an IT marketing agency in New York City,went so far as to install a Web camera in its offices so that potential recruits could get a look at the company’s creative workspace.
4. Use recruiting software to avoid being drowned in data. Lack- ing an effective filtering mechanism,your recruiters could easily be overwhelmed by the résumés found on the Web or e-mailed directly to them.Fortunately,several companies have developed recruiting software that allows companies to search the Web and download relevant prospects to a database,where they can be managed and evaluated.Thanks to this type of software,recruiters and HR personnel can spend more time posting jobs,reviewing online résumés,and matching up appli- cants with specific positions,rather than slogging through irrelevant material.
Keep Web Hiring in Perspective
Although two to three million résumés are posted online today, remember that this is a small fraction of the 140 million people in the American labor force. So, from the recruiting company’s view- point, it may be seeing just a small fraction of qualified individuals in its search.And in terms of individuals picking up your company on their radar, the numbers are not entirely encouraging either. Market research firm Odyssey, in San Francisco, estimates that only 12 percent of the 102 million households in the United States include anyone who has hunted for a job online. Nevertheless, many of the "right" people from your recruitment perspective may have posted their résumé online.And as more companies and indi- viduals get onboard, the online recruiting proportions will become more favorable. In terms of quality of recruits, remember that online recruiting is a broadly cast net. Unlike job postings in targeted trade publica- tions, online postings are available to all, regardless of qualifications. Thus, a posting on one of the mega job sites might yield little more than a pile of résumés that will take you hours and hours to screen. This reality underscores the fact that the best source of good people is often referrals from your current employees.
Four Steps
Peter Cappelli,a professor at The Wharton School,advocates a four- step approach to online recruiting:
Step 1. Attract candidates. Many applicants choose potential employers based on the firm’s image.Consequently,Cappelli urges companies to integrate their recruiting efforts with their other marketing campaigns.Here are some tips for that integration and for generating a broader pool of candidates: • Build a recognizable brand by using a recognizable "look"in both recruiting and product ads. • Design your Web page to woo potential recruits:Cite work- place awards you’ve received (for example,Fortune’s "100 Best Companies to Work For") and highlight links to information about your firm’s perks and values. • Encourage employees to e-mail job ads to qualified friends.
Step 2. Sort applicants. Online recruiting can produce a huge number of résumés.The challenge is to sort through these quickly without tossing out the choice candidates.Per Cap- pelli’s findings,here are some solutions: • Electronically screen applicants with simple online questions, such as,"Are you willing to relocate?"or "When could you start work?"Questions like these can screen out the obvious mismatches.(See "A Legal Caveat"for more about screening questions.) • Use online tests and games to elicit information about appli- cants’interests,attitudes,and abilities.
Step 3. Make contact. Online recruiting operates in a different time frame than that to which traditional HR departments are accustomed.It’s very fast! Recruiters not only must rec- ognize this different pace,but must adapt to it.Cappelli offers a few tips for doing this: • Connect a "live"person with a desirable applicant imme- diately. • Get your recruiters to think and act like entrepreneurs.Thus, it may be advisable to take online recruiting out of the hands of old-line HR managers,who may be unused to moving quickly. • Give line managers a larger say in hiring.Decentralization allows candidate-seeking business units to go directly to online job boards to seek their own candidates.
Step 4. Close the deal. Once you’ve made contact,the Inter- net connection should move to the background,and good old-fashioned person-to-person contacts should move front and center.In this step,the people doing the hiring need to concentrate on the traditional business of getting to know potential hires and acquainting them with the organization.If they don’t,too many good applicants will slip through their fingers. Recruiters in this stage should build personal relationships with candidates and let the best of those candidates know that they are wanted.To assure that this happens,one expert cited by Cappelli advocates that recruiters spend only one hour per day on the Web, and the rest of their time in personal contact with qualified candi- dates. Others suggest that one group of recruiters concentrates on finding qualified people and another handles offline interactions. Antidiscrimination regulations are as big a minefield for online recruiters as they are for traditional recruiters. Thus, if you "screen" online applicants with particular questions, psycholog- ical tests, or credit checks you must be sure that these screening elements are job-related—and you must be prepared to prove it! (More about this under "Personality Testing.") Outsourcing online recruiting to an independent vendor does not let you off the hook. In the United States, courts have held firms liable for antidiscrimination violations resulting from their vendors’screening techniques.
When to Use a Professional Recruiter
Rapid economic growth and high employee turnover over the last decade have created a minor industry out of matchmaking between companies and job seekers. These "matchmakers" go by various names, including employment agencies, technical re- cruiters, and executive search firms (or "head-hunters"). Some are very generalized while others specialize in particular fields, such as accounting, information technology, or pharmaceuticals. Most charge on a contingency basis—that is,they only get paid if an indi- vidual is hired. Payment is generally about 30 percent of the new hire’s first year compensation. Those engaged directly by firms to round up a handful of qualified candidates—particularly for senior management posts—charge a nonrefundable retainer, or a contin- gency fee, and expect to be reimbursed for their expenses. So the costs add up. Used effectively, these recruiting companies can save you the time and expense you would otherwise expend in generating and initially screening your own pool of qualified job candidates.And in many cases they do a better job of it. For example, specialized firms generally have very active networks of key people in the industries they serve.If you have a notable vacancy—say for a vice president of business development—head-hunters will get the word out quickly and confidentially to qualified people who would otherwise never know of your vacancy. They also screen respondents so that only qualified candidates are presented for evaluation. Lastly, they can do some of the negotiating that might sour an eventual company- employee relationship.You must determine, however, whether their services are worth the cost. Obviously, you don’t have to enlist professional services when your board is acquainted with the right external candidates or when it plans to hire from within. In his advice to readers of the Harvard Business Review, Claudio Fernández-Araóz, himself an executive search professional, cites other instances when these services are not needed:
• when the candidate pool is small and known to management • when the requirements of the open position and the compe- tencies of the successful candidate are clear • when the position seeking to be filled is highly technical and demands very specialized knowledge and expertise (those hard competencies,per Fernández-Araóz,are easier to evaluate than "soft"managerial and leadership abilities) • when it is a low-level position But he makes a case for calling in a professional search firm in many other situations.The first is when a company is hiring for a very high-level position that has a great impact on the bottom line."Even if an executive search firm finds a candidate who generates only 1% more profits than an alternative candidate does,"he says,"it has paid for itself many times over.Moreover,professional firms are often bet- ter than in-house staff at conducting the fast and confidential searches often required in high-level situations." 4 Outside help also makes sense when diversification or joint ventures create new job categories that the hiring organization doesn’t really understand, or when it needs to bring in some- one from another industry with skills the hiring company lacks. Fernández-Araóz cites the case of a stodgy investment company that decided to look for a new marketing director with experience in consumer product branding—something quite foreign (at the time) to investment marketers. Its search firm had experience in that area and quickly generated a list of excellent candidates from the automobile,breakfast cereal,and clothing industries."The com- pany ended up hiring the breakfast cereal marketing executive,who did indeed rejuvenate the company’s brand," writes Fernández- Araóz. Turning over the job to a head-hunter doesn’t mean that the hiring company and its executives can detach themselves from responsibility.They must stay involved.Fernández-Araóz’s advice for staying involved is to:
• Select a consultant, not just a firm. Hire the consultant as you would a job candidate, through interviews with the person responsible for the search, and check references from past clients. How happy were they with his or her services? And since no one can do the entire job alone, try to ascertain something about the consultant’s supporting staff and their stability as a team.Will that team stay intact while it’s working for you?
• Be aware of potential conflicts of interest. A commission-paid search firm usually doesn’t get paid if the winning candidate is a current employee.That may influence the search firm to exclude your personnel from the pool of candidates,even though their job is to find you the best candidate.A fee-based compensation plan can eliminate this type of conflict.
• Work as a team. Finally,Fernández-Araóz advocates teamwork between the hiring company and the search firm."Your full involvement is critical,"he says,"starting with the problem definition,through the homework stage,and into the final offer.While consultants can add value throughout this process, nobody knows the job and the organization better than its own executives."
5 Case Interviewing
General guidelines for conducting a hiring interview were offered in the previous chapter.Following those guidelines will help you get an accurate fix on the job candidate.Having many people interview the candidate and ask questions from their individual perspectives can improve accuracy even more. Some companies go further, employing "case interviewing"to get a deeper understanding of the applicant and how he or she approaches problems. Case interviewing is a method that subjects a job applicant to a scenario and business problem similar to those encountered on the job. The candidate is expected to respond with one or more 40 Hiring and Keeping the Best People well-reasoned solutions to the problem. For example, in a case designed for evaluating a marketing manager candidate, the inter- viewer might describe the general characteristics of an industry and its customer market and then ask the candidate what strategy he or she would use to establish a new product line in that market.The candidate’s description would reveal something about the candi- date’s ability to deal with ambiguity, identify possible solutions, and organize his or her thinking on strategic questions. Management consulting firms, which are continually recruiting new members (the typical turnover rate in that industry is around 22 percent) have used the case interviewing method for many years, and for obvious reasons.They need people who can develop a strate- gic viewpoint. Other leading firms have picked up the technique— Frito-Lay, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft, Microsoft, Staples, and Dell among them.As cited in a Harvard Management Update article on this subject,a Staples manager said that:"Case interviewing enables us to see first-hand how a candidate tackles a strategic question and com- municates possible solutions . . . .It also pinpoints those who can see the big picture." 6 According to Melissa Raffoni, author of that article, case interviewing has traditionally focused on testing problem-solving abilities. Interviewers who use it can observe how candidates approach a problem, the logic they apply, and their choice of questions. However, she notes that interviewers can also test job-specific skills:for example,by asking candidates for market man- agement jobs how they would approach pricing and sales forecasting. According to Raffoni,the power of case interviewing is threefold: 1. It gets as close to real-life situations as possible.It’s a chance to see someone’s mind work with little or no preparation.This allows you to evaluate interviewees who have well-polished answers to conven- tional questions such as "Where do you want to be in five years?" 2. It helps candidates gain a better understanding of the job.I have had many candidates end a case and say,"I was a little unclear about the job before the interview;this gave me a better sense of what’s involved." 3. It tests a variety of skills.Case interviewing can test competen- cies such as strategic thinking,analytical ability,and judgment,along with a variety of communication skills,including active listening, questioning,and dealing with confrontation.Particularly for positions where there is no "right"background or "typical"candidate—that is, no requirement for specific degrees or experience—case interviewing allows you to put everyone on the same footing. 7 The case interviewing technique has some drawbacks. For starters, it requires substantial time, perhaps more than a company has available.This argues in favor of applying case interviewing to higher-level applicants only. It also favors individuals who are natu- rally "fast on their feet" over others who process and respond to information in different ways. Nor is this method useful in testing motivation,leadership,or a person’s ability to work with others.For these reasons, Raffoni urges that case interviewing be used in con- junction with traditional methods.
Hiring Based on Embedded Personal Interests
The previous chapter discussed the importance of identifying the "personal characteristics" that a candidate needs to possess in order to fulfill the requirements of any given job—characteristics such as motivation, intelligence, and interpersonal skills. People who are deeply and passionately interested in the activities that define their jobs, and are more skilled at executing them, are more likely to be successful in their work.Therefore we will explore the important role of personal characteristics here in more depth. Based on interviews with some 650 professionals in many indus- tries over a ten-year period,psychologists Timothy Butler and James Waldroop developed a conceptual framework that outlines eight "embedded life interests" through which people generally find per- sonal expression: 8 1. application of technology 2. quantitative analysis 3. theory development and conceptual thinking
4. creative production 5. counseling and mentoring 6. managing people and relationships 7. enterprise control 8. influence through language and ideas These core interests are grouped into three main categories in tables 2-1,2-2,and 2-3:application of expertise,working with people,and control and influence. Since these interests can be very useful in evaluating the "fit" between job candidates and the positions they aspire to,let’s consider each of them in turn. Application of Technology People with a life interest in the application of technology are intrigued by how things work and are curious about finding better ways to use technology to solve business problems. As Butler and Waldroop write, "People with [this] life interest often enjoy work that involves planning and analyzing production and operations sys- tems and redesigning business processes." 9 They cite the example of a money manager who acts as his company’s unofficial computer consultant because he loves the challenge of this type of work more than he does his regular job. How do you spot people with this interest? See who gets excited when plans are hatched for a new computer system or a process reengineering project. Quantitative Analysis "Some people aren’t just good at running the numbers,they excel at it.They see it as the best, and sometimes the only, way to figure out business solutions.Similarly,they see mathematical work as fun . . . . Not all ‘quant jocks’are in jobs that reflect that deeply embedded life interest," write Butler and Waldroop. In fact, more than a few find themselves in other kinds of work for the wrong reason: because
they were told that following their true passion would narrow their career prospects. To identify people with this particular interest,look for individu- als who are intrigued by cash-flow analysis, methods for forecasting sales,and other numbers-based activities.If a market manager is more
interested in the analysis of customer data than in what’s said in a cus- tomer focus group,he’s probably a quantitative analysis person. Theory Development and Conceptual Thinking "For some people, nothing brings more enjoyment than thinking and talking about abstract ideas," say Butler and Waldroop."People with this interest can be excited by building business models that explain competition within a given industry or by analyzing the competitive position of a business with a particular market." To spot a theory and concept person, look for someone who could easily have followed an academic career, who subscribes to academic publications, and who enjoys conversations about abstract concepts. Creative Production These people are imaginative,"out-of-the-box" thinkers.They are comfortable and engaged during brainstorming sessions.Write But- ler and Waldroop,"[M]any entrepreneurs,R&D scientists,and engi- neers have this life interest. Many of them have an interest in the
arts. . . . Many people with this interest gravitate toward creative industries such as entertainment." These individuals, say the authors, are easy to identify. Uncon- ventional clothing is a giveaway.Also, they are less interested in the features of current products than in whatever is new. Counseling and Mentoring Individuals bitten by this bug like to teach. In business, teaching takes the forms of coaching and mentoring.Many like feeling useful to others;some genuinely take satisfaction from the success of those they counsel.To spot a counselor/mentor, simply observe how they interact with their direct reports. Managing People and Relationships Individuals with this life interest enjoy dealing with people on a day-to-day basis.They derive satisfaction from workplace relation- ships, but they focus much more on outcomes than do people in counseling/mentoring category. For this life interest, look for people who like to motivate, organize,and direct others. Enterprise Control These are the people who like to be in charge, whether it’s their high school class or a division of a corporation.They are happiest when they have decision-making authority over their little piece of the universe. How do you spot them? Per Butler and Waldroop: "These individuals . . . ask for as much responsibility as possible in any work situation. . . .A person with this life interest wants to be the CEO,not the COO." Influence through Language and Ideas These people enjoy storytelling, negotiating, and persuading.They are most fulfilled through writing, speaking, or both, and are often drawn to careers—such as public relations,journalism,and advertis- ing—where these are viewed as regular and important skills. These people tend to be the volunteers who write up the proj- ect proposal or make the new product presentation to the company sales force. Because many people have more than one interest, these categories of life interests may overlap in an individual. For example, a financial manager who enjoys using her special quantitative skills may be a very good "people person" and want to work with marketing personnel. So don’t try to pigeonhole individuals too narrowly. Hiring primarily for interests is far more potent than hiring for skills and values for several reasons: • A job that satisfies someone’s deepest interests will keep that person’s attention and inspire him or her to perform and achieve.For example,Sarah had no formal training in biology
or environmental science,yet her passion for bird-watching led through several levels of self-study and field experience. Initially hired as an intern by a state chapter of a major environmental organization,she eventually rose to the rank of Chief Ornithologist. • A person may be good at a particular job (that is,possess the perfect skills),but if the job doesn’t let that individual express core interests,he or she won’t be happy with the work for long. For example,Phil earned his Ph.D.in chemistry and took a job in the R&D unit of a global chemical firm.As a bench scien- tist,he did an outstanding job and earned regular promotions. So when Phil quit his job to take a management position with another company,his boss was very surprised.When asked why he had made this choice,Phil replied:"I’m really not that inter- ested in science." • It’s far easier to help someone acquire or strengthen skills than to make that person feel an enduring passion for his or her work. Certainly,skills play an important role in matching the right per- son to the right job.And new hires must have enough of the appro- priate background, experience, and ability to perform well on the job fairly quickly. Nevertheless, a perfect "interests match" increases the likelihood that the employee will stay with the company more than a perfect "skills match"will. Southwest Airlines provides a striking example of a successful company that puts attitude and interest at the top of its hiring agenda.Southwest is the most profitable company in its industry and enjoys a personnel turnover rate that is about half the industry aver- age. Its hiring practices have a great deal to do with this. Southwest only hires people who are disposed to providing the friendly service that its customers expect and appreciate.With the exception of jobs that require technical skills, such as pilot, mechanic, and attorney, Southwest is less concerned with an applicant’s toolkit of skills than with his or her attitude. Southwest’s approach to hiring is part of the corporate DNA created by its founder and retired CEO,Herb Kelleher."If you don’t have a good attitude,"according to Kelleher,"we don’t want you,no matter how skilled you are.We can change skill levels through train- ing. We can’t change attitude." 10 For Southwest, a good attitude means a sense of humor, a sense of teamwork, and a desire to make customers happy. To determine a job candidate’s core interests, try asking these questions during the interview: • What have you most liked doing in your other jobs? • What do you like to read? Or,if you’re glancing at a newspaper or magazine,what kinds of articles and advertisements are most likely to catch your eye? • What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? • What stage of a project really excites you the most? You can also show the candidate tables 2-1,2-2,and 2-3 and ask him or her which one or more of the eight core business interests seem particularly appealing. Once you’ve determined where the job can- didate’s interests lie,you can determine whether those interests are a good fit for the open position. Hiring for Microculture Beyond matching the right person to the right job, finding the "right fit" has a cultural component. Jobs within organizations have cultural contexts, and you want to make sure that the person you’re thinking of hiring will strengthen these contexts,not seriously con- flict with them. Consultant Dwight Gertz once described how a national chain of mall-based cookie shops inadvertently fell afoul of the "right fit" issue many years ago when its human resource department encour- aged very self-directed people to apply for shop manager positions. "We want independent people who want to be their own bosses," the recruiting literature stated. Once these people were hired and placed in the company’s training program, however, they quickly discovered that everything from what to bake, when to bake it, and in which quantities was strictly determined by the company’s oper- ating manual. In reality, the company did not want entrepreneurs; it wanted people who could follow its time-tested procedures for run- ning a mall cookie shop.It neither had nor encouraged an entrepre- neurial culture. Not surprisingly, few of the new managers lasted more than a year. 11 There was a cultural mismatch between the company and the people it recruited. Large and small companies alike have macro- and microcultures, and it’s important that a job candidate can work effectively in each. A macroculture is an organization’s way of doing things, its general values,the ways in which people relate to one another,and so forth. These same companies are likely to have microcultures as well—cul- tures that characterize different departments or job functions. For example, to the outside world, a particular organization may appear to have a very formal macroculture, with employees in serious- looking business suits and adhering to strict rules of conduct.Yet within this same organization there are likely to be many different microcultures: the software product-design department, for exam- ple,may be home to shaggy-haired engineers who dress in jeans and sneakers and who routinely play practical jokes on one another.The people and culture of the R&D department are probably very dif- ferent from the "suits"who work in marketing and finance. Your firm almost certainly has microcultures. Do you know what they are? The key to hiring right is to understand those micro- cultures and to choose people who will fit into, enjoy, and enrich them. So, if a job candidate truly enjoys wearing a formal suit to work every day and keeping conversations with colleagues strictly professional, she’s probably not the right candidate for the funky, friendly little software group just down the hall! If you find it difficult to define the culture of your unit or work group, the questionnaire in figure 2-1 can help you figure it out. Knowledge of the existing culture can help you hire new employees who will fit in and thrive.
Psychological Testing MANAGER WANTED:A department of ISTPs (introverted sensing thinking perceivers) seeks an experienced ENTP (extraverted intuitive thinking perceiver) manager for a long-term and profitable relationship.No control-freaks or heavy judging types,please. The use of psychological testing to screen job applicants is growing. In a 1998 American Management Association survey, 45 percent of 1,085 member companies reported administering one or more tests to job applicants,up from 35 percent in the previous year.Because of the time and expense involved, these tests are more often given to prospective managers than to lower-level employees,for whom tests of job skills are often more appropriate. 12 Should you and your company use psychological testing? On the one hand, experts counsel caution. Unlike college-entrance exams, pre-employment tests aren’t a rubber ruler for arbitrarily weeding out candidates.They can’t provide a magic solution to your company’s turnover problems. What’s more, if you use the wrong test—or ask even a single inappropriate question—you expose your company to the threat of a lawsuit. So why give these tests at all? One big reason: Used properly, psychological tests may predict success on the job better than any other measure.Among psychological tests, cognitive ability tests are the best.And personality tests, once generally viewed as worthless, have lately won some support from academic researchers. Testing has some built-in advantages over other means of selection, such as a lack of bias. A test asks the same questions and applies the same standards to everyone, and can thus counterbalance an interviewer’s stereotypes. For example, a hiring executive may have a bias against people who are overweight or who didn’t go to the "right" schools. A person’s weight and school affiliation are not good predictors of success. But everyone involved in hiring deci- sions has biases—including some of which they may be unaware. Testing helps remove these biases. Psychological tests can also give a sense of how a prospective employee would fare within a company’s culture. Here are some tips from experts on how to make pre-employ- ment testing work for your organization: 1. Specify your hiring needs. American Golf Corporation, head- quartered in Santa Monica, California, has 1,000 managers overseeing more than 14,000 other employees in 270 locations across the country.American Golf has for years required all prospective managers to fill out a commercially available personality measure called the Predictive Index."It has been useful," says Tom Norton, director of recruiting. "What we’re careful of is matching [an applicant’s] personality or work style to the supervisor they’d be working for. If some- one really likes working with people and requires a lot of supervision, he or she probably wouldn’t work well with an introvert." 13 American Golf’s approach illustrates one of the main requirements (and advantages) of psychological tests:knowing what you’re looking for."It’s important to look at what charac- teristics are being used in the job.That helps to guide what tests should be used,"says William Harris,executive director of the Association of Test Publishers,a trade association based in Washington,D.C. 14 Before administering tests,the hiring firm should understand the specific requirements of the job in ques- tion and the values and behaviors that define the workplace’s culture.Indeed,some think that the self-study a company must undergo in preparation for using pre-employment tests is the most valuable component of the process. 2. Don’t rely on tests alone. Think of testing as just one leg of a three-legged stool,with the candidate’s record and conven- tional interviews being the other two.At American Golf,the personality measure "is one piece of many,many things we look at for each candidate,"according to Norton."It can vali- date other opinions we gather from things like interviews and references.It can sometimes raise an issue to look further into. [The test] is never anything we base a hiring decision on by itself."
3. More is better (up to a point). Tests aren’t one-size-fits-all.To test for personality traits,experts advise instruments such as the Personality Research Form,WAIS-R,or the Executive Profile Survey.To examine a candidate’s interests,try the Jackson Voca- tional Interest Survey.To measure cognitive ability (the term that has replaced IQ),a test such as the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal may be in order.It’s not uncommon for companies and their consultants to give candidates several different tests at one sitting—one each for personality,interests, integrity,and cognitive ability,for example.A battery of tests in which each has some variance increases predictive power.Be warned,however,that the cost of testing will rise as more tests are administered.But given the costs involved in living with or firing a bad hiring choice,money spent on additional testing may be well spent—particularly when dealing with a top- management position. 4. Psychological testing is not for amateurs. Proper interpretation of results, even results of an off-the-shelf test, takes doctoral- level training in statistics, testing, and assessment. In fact, you cannot even get your hands on the test since distribution of the most powerful tests is strictly controlled to prevent misuse. Tests such as the Jackson Personality Inventory, the 16PF Per- sonality Profile, and the Guilford-Zimmerman Temperament Survey are available only to members of organizations such as the American Psychological Association.Although there are no licensing requirements for test-givers and test consultants, the APA serves as a de facto licensing board, and psychologists found to have applied tests improperly can be decertified. The services of a consulting psychologist typically run about $1,500 to $2,000 per senior-level candidate,and the more extensive a screening,the higher the cost.A CEO screening may run somewhat higher. 5. Beware of pitfalls. Employment lawsuits are forcing testers to be very,very careful.Several laws and regulations of recent years—the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s rules,Congress’s prohibition of lie detectors,and,most signifi- cantly,the American Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)—sharply restrict the content of pre-employment tests.One veteran of the testing business claims that his firm can now use only about 10 percent of the tests they once used;the remainder fall afoul of the rules.Retail chain Target Stores,for instance,goofed by giving job applicants its own test,which included questions from two standard tests that predated the ADA.The test included a few now-taboo questions on health,sexual prefer- ence,and religious beliefs.Target was sued in 1991 for employ- ment discrimination and settled out of court for $2 million. To be legally bulletproof,all questions on a pre-employ- ment test must have predictive validity.That is,the test-giver must be able to show not only that a test accurately measures the traits it seeks to measure but also that it predicts behavior in the specific job in question.That’s no small task,so test developers routinely spend millions of dollars and months or years on large-scale field studies before releasing a test.And every firm that uses them needs to validate the tests it uses with data from its own employees in order to be protected from litigation.It helps to have evidence that the tests work else- where,but the real key is to show that they work for you! It is feasible for companies to construct their own tests, complete with predictive validity. For example, Procter & Gamble has designed a test that meets validation criteria for distinguishing the potential performance of a brand manager. Few companies, how- ever, have the money and expertise to invest in the design of their own tests.Instead,they rely on testing consultants. Summing Up This chapter has elaborated on several specialized techniques that can improve your hiring process: • Online recruiting is fast,inexpensive,and can increase your pool of candidates.Recruiting software can help you with this and make the material found on the Web more manageable. • Professional recruiters can save you time.Although they come at a price,if you engage a competent one,your money will be well spent.Specialized firms have active networks of key people in the industries they serve and can get the word out quickly and confidentially to qualified people.They also screen respondents so that only qualified candidates are presented for evaluation. • We considered the use of the "case interview" method—a useful way to measure a candidate’s problem-solving ability. This method subjects a job applicant to a scenario and business problem similar to those encountered on the job. If you use this method, look for how candidates approach the problem, identify alternative solutions, and organize their thinking. • Evaluating job applicants on the basis of embedded life interests is a macro approach to matching people up with jobs at which they will excel.Unless specific technical training is a prerequi- site,many companies are better off hiring based on embedded interests than basing candidate choices on skills,which can often be easily taught. • Hiring for cultural fit may be just as important as any other evaluation parameter.Culture defines an organization’s ways of doing things,general values,and the ways in which people relate to one another.You want to avoid trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. • Many companies are using psychological tests to learn more about people in the final candidates’pool.But exercise caution: Only deal with tests—and testing consultants—that can safely pass muster on the antidiscrimination front.

The Hiring Process

Key Topics Covered in This Chapter
• Defining job requirements
• Recruiting promising candidates
• Interviewing
• Evaluating candidates
• Making the decision and offer
L ike many other activities undertaken by organiza- tions, hiring is a business process—a set of activities that turn inputs into outputs.This process compiles informa- tion about job requirements, the applications of various candidates, and the deliberations of decision makers,and produces an outcome: new people on the payroll.This chapter describes a five-step hiring process. Execute these steps well, and not only will the quality of your hires improve,but you will also be more confident that you are hiring the right people.
Defining Job Requirements
Before you can make a good hire, you need to know what you are hiring for.You also need to determine which skills and personal attributes will be a good "fit" with the requirements of the job and the organization. To define the job and its requirements,you need to understand:
• the primary responsibilities and tasks involved in the job;
• the background characteristics needed to perform the job (education and experience);
• the personal characteristics required (for example,does the individual need to have strong interpersonal skills? Be highly intelligent?);
• the key features of your organization’s culture (for example, team-orientation,degree of conformity,reward systems);and
• your managerial style (for example,authoritative,coercive, democratic) and its implications for an effective working relationship.
Primary Responsibilities and Tasks
If you’re looking to rehire for an existing job, take a look what the current incumbent is now doing and evaluate their job description, if one exists. But don’t simply accept either of these perspectives as definitive. Use the hiring opportunity to reevaluate the primary responsibilities and tasks of the job. Make sure you can answer the question,"What does the employee have to do in this job?"
Education and Experience
Education and experience are the two most critical background characteristics to consider when evaluating candidates.In the case of education,you may wish to specify a certain type of degree or a cer- tain level. Be sure to ask yourself whether a specific educational background is truly necessary. Can you be flexible in this area, or can relevant experience be substituted for a certain educational background? Experience requirements should be based on a thorough analy- sis of the specific tasks and responsibilities of the position.Which would be most desirable:
• Industry experience?
• Functional experience?
• Large- versus small-company experience?
Industry and functional experience are particularly important for externally oriented positions requiring knowledge of products and competitors. However, if a good candidate has not been exposed to
everything required, consider whether he or she can learn what is needed and how long that learning will take.Various tests, for ex- ample,are available to measure an individual’s dexterity with numer- ical data,spatial acumen,mechanical ability,and so forth.Also,deter- mine whether the organization can afford the time needed for on-the-job learning.
Personal Characteristics
Personal characteristics can indicate how the candidate will ap- proach the job and how he or she might relate to coworkers (see "Create Consensus on Personal Characteristics"). Evaluate the following personal characteristics relative to the tasks and responsi- bilities you’ve listed for the job opening:
• Analytical and creative abilities. A candidate’s abilities in these two areas determine how he or she assesses problems and comes up with new approaches to solving them.
• Decision-making style. Decision-making style is very individ- ual. Some people are extremely structured, analytical, and fact- based; others rely more on intuition. Some make decisions quickly,while others ponder them for a long time.Some depend on consensus, while others seek their own counsel. It is critical to determine whether a particular style is required for success in the job and,if so,what it is.
• Interpersonal skills. Since interpersonal skills and behavior are intimately connected, understanding a candidate’s interpersonal skills is an important part of the hiring decision process. To determine which interpersonal skills are most appropriate for a given position, think about the set of tasks that will be per- formed in the position.Which traits will translate into good per- formance, especially in view of the superiors, peers, and direct reports with whom the person will interact? For example, a controller should ideally be patient and formal, demonstrating careful, cautious, detail-oriented behavior. For a sales manager, high extroversion and low formality may be desirable.
• Motivation. The candidate’s personal goals, interests, energy level,and job progression often demonstrate their level of moti- vation.So ask yourself,"Does this job match the candidate’s per- sonal aspirations? Would he or she do the job with enthusiasm and energy?
Develop a Job Description
Once you understand the position’s requirements, you are ready to create a job description.A job description is a profile of the job, its essential functions, reporting relationships, hours, and required cre- dentials.This description will make it possible for you to explain the job both to potential candidates and to any recruiters you may be using to help identify candidates. In some cases, your organization may have a required format or a standard job description to use as a model. A clearly written,results-oriented job description can shape the beginning of the employee relationship, and can help everyone understand the mission, culture, needs, and goals of the company. It can also form the basis of a legal termination of employment should that become necessary.Your job description should include the following:
• job title,business unit,and the name of the organization
• job responsibilities and tasks
• hiring manager and reporting manager
• summary of the job tasks,responsibilities,and objectives
• compensation,hours,and location
• background characteristics required
• personal characteristics required
Many of these items will have to be cleared with the human re- source department. Developing the job description can be an opportunity to redesign a job, instead of just filling the one you already have. For Many hiring decisions start off on the wrong foot because the company hasn’t clarified exactly what it wants in the new hire. For example,the different people with whom the new hire will interact (or who have a say in the hiring decision) may have their own ideas about the perfect job candidate. Consider the hypothetical case of a company that wants to fill a product-designer position but hasn’t reached a consensus about key hiring factors.The design director wants a seasoned individual who has gained extensive design experience at one of the firm’s toughest competitors.The head of finance prefers a bright new (and more affordable) college graduate.The market- ing director is pressing for someone with marketing experience in the kinds of product lines the company currently offers. Meanwhile, the new hire’s immediate supervisor is looking for someone with "people skills." Pity the poor job applicant who walks into this situation! To avoid this type of confusion,try this procedure:
• Ask everyone who’ll interact with the new hire to privately write down exactly what they would consider the attributes of the ideal candidate.
• Meet and openly discuss differences in the various wish lists.
• Decide together which requirements have priority.
• Create a new list of requirements that everyone agrees on.
• Stick to that list when evaluating candidates.
Create Consensus on Personal Characteristics example, the last person who held the position may have had a strong strategic focus, but if you decide that a more hands-on man- ager is now needed, then recreate the job description accordingly. As you go through the exercise of describing the job, observe the following:
• Distinguish between knowledge,skills,and abilities.Some jobs require advanced degrees.Some require special skills,such as knowing how to program in Java.Others require physical abilities,such as hand-eye coordination,or mental abilities,such as the ability to work with numbers.Figure out what you need in each area.
• Take the time needed to do it right.Yes,you need that new employee to start next week,but the cost of getting rid of the wrong employee more than outweighs the cost of time spent finding the right one.
• Be sure to comply with all legal restrictions.Your stated job requirements must be clearly related to getting the job done and must not unfairly prevent racial minorities,women,people with disabilities,or other "protected classes"from getting hired. 1 (U.S. readers should see Appendix C,"Legal Landmines in Hiring.") For a sample job description,see Appendix A at the end of this book.
Recruiting Promising Candidates
Gaining access to qualified candidates is critical to the success of your hiring effort (see "Tips for Finding the Right Person").That means creating a pool of qualified applicants.You can accomplish this by getting the word out through as many channels as possible. However, the word "qualified" is important. A large pool of med- iocre candidates isn’t nearly as valuable as a small pool of qualified candidates. Utilizing targeted, relevant channels to get the word out about your position can help ensure that the proportion of qualified candidates in your pool is as high as possible.
Typical channels include recruiting agencies, newspaper ads, referrals from colleagues, trade publications, professional associa- tions, networking, campus recruiting, and the Internet. In addition, you can enhance the pipeline of qualified candidates through pro- grams such as internships and partnerships with colleges, universi- ties,and community organizations.
Personal referrals from current employees are another favored method of expanding the candidate pool, and many companies encourage this through the payment of "rewards" to employees whose referrals are actually hired. In general, this practice is much less costly than others and often produces more satisfactory new hires since it’s unlikely that current employees will suggest a candi- date who is unqualified or likely to be a bad employee.
Screening Résumés
A sizeable pool of applicants assures that you will have choices in the hiring process;it also means that you’ll have more sifting to do in finding the best choice.And that sifting begins with résumé screen- ing (see "Tips for Screening Résumés"). • Consider current employees. • Look outside your organization to bring in new outlooks, skills,and experiences. • Know what kind of person you’re looking for in order to locate a good fit. • Remember that a person’s past job performance is the surest guide to future performance. • Remember that the right education + the right experience + a compatible personality = a good fit. • Beware of the "just like me"trap.This trap encourages man- agers to favor candidates who share similar education back- grounds,are of the same age,gender,or race,and who enjoy the same pastimes.To avoid the trap,focus on the objective requirements of the job and the candidate’s qualifications.
The cover letter and résumé are the candidate’s first introduction to you. In order to merit your further attention, they should convey the qualities you are looking for.When you have a large number of résumés to review, use a two-pass process to make your task more manageable.In the first pass,eliminate the résumés of candidates who do not meet the basic requirements of the job. In the second pass, look for résumés that include:
• signs of achievement and results—for example,a profit orienta- tion,stability,or progressive career momentum;
• a career goal in line with the job being offered (be on your guard here,as applicants are often coached to tailor their pur- ported career goals to match those of jobs to which they’re applying);and
• attractive overall construction and appearance. In this pass,also consider the subtler differences among qualified can- didates—for example,years and quality of experience,technical ver- sus managerial backgrounds, the quality of the companies they have worked for in the past, and so forth. Then develop a list of the strongest candidates. When reviewing résumés, be on the alert for red flags that can indicate areas of weakness such as:
• lengthy description of education (possibly not much job experience);
• employment gaps (what was the applicant doing during these gaps?);
• a pattern of short-term employment,especially after the appli- cant has been in the work force for more than a few years;
• no logical job progression;
• too much personal information (possibly not much job experi- ence);and
• descriptions of jobs and positions only,with no descriptions of results or accomplishments.
Interviewing
A hiring interview has one primary purpose:To provide both the interviewer and the job candidate with an opportunity to obtain the information they need to make the best possible decision. Since the time spent with any particular job candidate is limited, a well- organized approach helps make the most of that time,yielding more and better information. When you are selecting someone for an important position,you will probably go through at least two of the following stages for every job opening.In some cases,you may even go through all three.
1. Telephone-screening interview. This may be done by you,a recruiting agency,your HR department,or someone else in • Spend the least amount of your time eliminating the least- likely candidates and the greatest amount of your time care- fully considering the most-likely candidates.
• Separate fluff from substance.Get right to the core of the candidate’s accomplishments.
• Avoid comparing candidates to each other.Instead,compare each candidate to the high-performer candidate profile and look for a match.
• If you have great numbers of incoming résumés,or tap Inter- net résumé postings,consider using résumé screening soft- ware to automatically identify suitable applicants (more on this in Chapter 2).
your own department.Its purpose is to confirm that the candi- date meets the qualifications stated in the ad or other recruiting material,and it can be as short as necessary to accomplish that goal.It is a good opportunity to get some initial impressions of the candidate:Does she call you back at the specified time? Does she communicate well?
2. Initial in-person interview. Try to narrow the field to four to seven candidates before holding an initial interview.This inter- view will probably last 30 to 60 minutes.For less demanding positions,you may find out everything you need to know about the candidate in this interview.Otherwise,you will need to see the person again.
3. Second interview. Be very selective about who rates a second interview.At this point,other people with a stake in the process may participate,for example,direct reports,potential peers,or other managers.This interview often brings out more of the "real"person.
Structured versus Unstructured Interviews
In a structured interview, you ask all the candidates the same ques- tions so you can compare answers.Structured interviews are used in order to be fair and objective,but they may not elicit as much infor- mation from the candidates. Unstructured interviews are individual conversations that do not necessarily cover all the same questions with every candidate. Instead, they follow lines of inquiry that appear promising.You may learn more about the candidates, but it will be more difficult to compare their responses.And you may miss key information you need in order to make a decision. It’s probably a good idea to steer a middle path between these two approaches—i.e., be flexible in your line of inquiry, but be sure that all interviewees respond to a core set of questions.By preparing those core questions in advance, you can assure yourself and the decision-making team that all key points are covered, and that all candidates respond to them. The unstructured element of the interview opens the door to productive areas of inquiry that neither you nor your colleagues may have anticipated.
Be Prepared
Would you go into a meeting with a vendor to discuss a $500,000 to $1 million custom software package without preparation? Hope- fully, you would not. You’d give lots of thought to what you expected the software to do and the features you needed. You’d probably formulate a list of key issues to discuss. Chances are your hiring decisions are costing you something in this same range. So, should you walk into a job interview with notes and prior prepara- tion,or should you simply wing it? You will gather more of the information you need to make a good hiring decision if you take the time and trouble to prepare.To prepare for a hiring interview, review the job description and make a list of the key responsibilities and tasks of the job, associated train- ing and experience needed, and personal attributes required to do the job well. For each of the areas you need to explore with the candidate, prepare several questions in advance. Figure 1-1, the Interview Preparation Form, is a handy way to organize your- self and gives you something you can take into the interview itself. For consistency, other interview- ers should use the same form but ask their own questions. There are three phases to the interview: the opening, the body, and the close.Let’s consider each in detail.
The Opening
Generally, this should take about 10 percent of the allotted time. Your goal in this phase is to make the candidate feel sufficiently comfortable to open up.There are several things you can do to cre- ate this sense of comfort.Be on time.Be friendly.Introduce yourself and tell the candidate something about yourself. Explain the struc- ture of the interview:
"I’m going to ask you about your experience." "I’m interested in finding out about you as an individual." "We’re interested in finding out whether there is a good fit between your interests and abilities and our organizational needs."
"I will give you information about our organization." "I’ll be glad to take your questions at the end of the interview." You should also use this interview phase to establish rapport with the candidate.Acknowledge some of the difficulties or awkwardness of being interviewed, such as meeting a lot of new people or being tired at the end of the day.A little humor is generally effective in dis- pelling the tension that undermines communication. Find informa- tion on the résumé that will help you build rapport, or compliment the person on some aspect of his experience.Acknowledge that you have something in common, such as having lived in the same city, a mutual acquaintance,or the same outside interest.
The Body
Plan to use 80 percent of your allotted time in this phase. Use that time to gather the information you will need to evaluate the candi- date and to "sell" your organization. During the body of the inter- view, you need to assess the candidate’s qualifications, skills, knowl- edge, and experience and compare those to the job description you have created. Pursue a direct line of questioning based on the résumé.Identify similarities and patterns of behavior consistent with your ideal profile.Ask for samples of work and references to review after the interview. Samples, if they are not confidential or propri- etary, may include a sales brochure, product, customer survey, or training course designed by the candidate.These samples can tell you a great deal about a candidate’s capabilities. It is sometimes difficult to get a candidate to be specific about the accomplishments listed on their résumé. But don’t allow difficulty to stand between you and the information you require.Remember,a mistake in a hiring deci- sion can be costly and difficult to undo,and enormously expensive if the person is applying for a key decision-making post.So ask directly for details,and probe for tangible measures of success.Table 1-1 pro- vides some examples of typical résumé statements and how you can respond in order to get more detail. You are also assessing the candidate’s personal qualities during this phase, such as leadership, problem-solving ability, communication, teamwork skills, and motivation. Use scenario-based questions to determine how people tend to handle situations, such as:
• For a process manager candidate: "Suppose that the loan processing department you’d be managing in this position was taking two days more than its competitors to make its decisions and notify customers.How would you approach that type of problem?"
• For a sales manager candidate: "Let’s say that one of the people in your sales district was well liked by customers and company personnel,had great potential,but wasn’t pulling her weight after two years on the job.How would you deal with a situation like that?" Responses to scenario questions like these will give you an idea about how the candidate approaches problems. Also, ask the candidate about how he or she handled past situa- tions similar to those he or she would likely encounter as one of your employees: "Tell me about a time when you had to [fire an employee/handle a key customer whose business you’d just lost/lead a process improvement team/etc.]." Be on guard, though, as some
people have developed canned responses to some of the more likely scenario-based questions. Maintaining control of the interview is very important (see "Tips for Conducting the Interview" and "Case Study:A Take-No- Prisoners Interviewer"). The key to maintaining control is to ask most of the questions and do most of the listening.You should be lis- tening 80 percent of the time.You can also maintain control by fol- lowing a logical line of inquiry.If the candidate strays from this line, return him or her to it. Be sure to take notes during the interview. Notes will help you recall significant facts about the candidate. But be unobtrusive about it,and tell the candidate up front that you will be taking notes. Remember that your interview notes will become part of the employment file. Avoid writing anything down that could be construed as inconsistent with equal opportunity employment laws.
The Close
Plan on 10 percent of your allotted interview time to wrap things up.The close is your opportunity to:
• Thank the candidate for coming in.
• Explain how and when the person will hear about follow-up interviews or decisions,depending upon your company’s policy and your interest in him or her.
• Ask if the candidate has questions,especially those that might affect his or her decision to participate in the next step of the process.If you have reached the interview’s time limit,invite the person to call you later with further questions.
• Ask whether there is anything that has not been covered or is unclear.
• Promote your organization.Remember to target the features of your organization that are most likely to appeal to the candidate.
Brad Smart is an industrial psychologist who specializes in a "chronological in-depth structure" interview, or CIDS, and "topgrading," his term for a lengthy, rigorous executive grading process applied to both incumbent managers and job applicants. As described in a Fortune interview, Smart’s goal is to identify "A" players, whom he defines as individuals who represent the best-in-class in their job categories. a These, he says, are the top 10 percent of the talent available within particular categories. Smart’s interview methodology is more intense than what usually passes for good practice.For example,he asks every seri- ous candidate hundreds of questions about his or her life and career, going back to the person’s school years. He inquires about every job and every boss the candidate has had. And to insure that the responses he gets are truthful, Smart lets them know in advance that he will speak with every one of the person’s bosses over the previous ten years,as well as many of their direct reports.So when he asks them,"What would your former bosses describe as your strengths, weaknesses, and overall perform- ance?"they know they must be absolutely truthful. Smart was motivated to develop his detailed method by an experience he had observing traditional interviews. As he explained to Fortune: I got an epiphany while working for a human resources manage- ment consulting firm 28 years ago. One day my boss asked me to sit in on a job interview to screen a candidate for a client looking to hire a vice president of marketing. I noticed the interview was an hour and a half of general scattergun questions, none of which probed the patterns of how this person developed competencies throughout his career.Things like: "Tell me about yourself" and "How would you handle this?" I immediately saw flaws in the process. Six executives of the client had different opinions about what the job was.They really hadn’t analyzed it. I realized most companies hire this way.So I decided to attack the problem. b
• Shake hands and make eye contact.
• Walk the person to the door or to the next destination.
Some candidates will have questions about salary or benefits at this stage. In some organizations, the human resource department ad- dresses these questions. Others allow the interviewer to disclose the salary or salary range. Once the candidate has departed, immediately write down any additional notes or observations while they are still fresh in your mind.
Asking Questions
We’ve already given examples of some typical interview questions. Questions put to the candidate are both a means of controlling the interview and eliciting the information you need to effectively eval- uate the prospective employee. It is important to remember, how- ever, that there are good questions, there are aimless questions, and there are outright bad questions.A good question has a purpose, is tied to your decision-making criteria,encourages communication,is job-related, and is nonthreatening. Good questions reflect favorably on you and demonstrate your interest and your preparation. Good questions include:
• Self-appraisal questions that require the candidate to give some thought to his or her interpersonal skills and abilities.These allow the candidate,rather than you,to interpret the facts example:"Why do you think you were selected to lead the task force?")
• Accomplishment questions that ask for evidence of the candi- date’s demonstrated qualities.They help you learn why and how something was accomplished,and reveal a candidate’s level of involvement in past accomplishments.(For example:"Tell me about your contribution to that team effort.") • Broad-brush questions that make the candidate think about a big topic,choose an answer,and organize his or her thoughts. (For example:"Tell me about your experience as a project manager with the fiber optics group.")
• Comparison questions that reveal a candidate’s analytical and reasoning abilities.(For example:"How would you compare working with the fiber optics group to working with the poly- mer group?")
Bad questions include:
• Leading questions that direct the candidate to the answer you want.(For example:"Would you say you have the motivation required for this job?"Would you expect anyone to say "no"to this?)
• Irrelevant questions that waste everyone’s time.(For example,"I see that you are a University of Minnesota alumnus.My daugh- ter may apply there.What are its best programs?") Appendix B at the end of this book includes suggested interview questions organized around key issues such as the candidate’s most recent job,work experience,and skills.
Questions to Avoid
United States laws and regulations are clear about which questions are illegal. If you are not familiar with these laws and regulations,
• Control the situation.It’s your show.
• Don’t buy first impressions.Most people make up their minds about an applicant within the first ten minutes.This can be a big mistake.You may miss the real person.
• Help interviewees feel at ease.They’ll open up and talk more freely.
• Spend more time listening than talking.Interviewers mistak- enly talk about half of the time.Get the candidate to do 80 percent of the talking.The person asking questions and listening is the person who’s in control of the interview.
• Have a purpose for every question,otherwise you’re wasting valuable time with the applicant—and if that person is a hot commodity,he’ll think less of you and your organization.
• Take notes.Put candidates at ease by telling them you will be taking notes before you begin writing. • Don’t make assumptions.Look for repeat patterns of behav- ior to draw conclusions about the candidate.
• Don’t telegraph the right response to the applicant.Author William Swan advises against statements like this one:"[I]t’s critical that anyone in this position be able to work on a small project team....Tell me about your experience and interest in working in such a setting." a Ask this question and your applicant will know exactly what you want to hear.
• Be systematic.If you’re interviewing several candidates,be sure to query each on the same general set of issues:for example,their backgrounds,what they would bring to the position,their long-term career objectives,and so forth.Their responses to this common set of queries will put you in a better position to compare the candidates.
consult your human resources specialist or legal counsel. Prohibited questions in the United State include the following:
How old are you?
Are you married?
What is your citizenship?
What is your sexual orientation?
How much do you weigh?
Are you disabled?
When did you graduate from high school?
Do you have children?
What country are you from?
Where were you born?
Have you ever been arrested?
Would your religion prevent you from working on weekends?
For a more complete discussion of legal and illegal interview questions, see Appendix C,"Legal Landmines in Hiring," at the end of this book.
Evaluating the Candidates Once you’ve interviewed all the candidates,you and others involved in the hiring decision must conduct an objective evaluation of each one. A decision-making matrix such as the one shown in figure 1-2 can be a helpful tool for comparing the candidates to one another.Complete this form after you inter- view each job candidate for a particular position,entering a score for each of the key areas.By tallying the total scores and reviewing your notes from the interviews, you will reduce the chance of making a nonobjective evaluation.
Common Evaluation Mistakes Even though you may take a structured, methodical approach to evaluating your candidates, the evaluation process is still, in the end, subjective.You can neutralize some of that subjectivity by avoiding:
• being overly impressed with maturity or experience,or overly unimpressed by youth and immaturity;
• mistaking a quiet,reserved,or calm demeanor for lack of motivation;
• mistaking the person’s ability to play "the interview game,"or his or her ability to talk easily,for intelligence or competence;
• allowing personal biases to influence your assessment (for example,you might be tempted to judge someone harshly because she reminds you of someone you dislike);
• looking for a friend or for a reflection of yourself in the candidate;
• assuming that graduates of certain institutions or employees of certain organizations are automatically better qualified;
• giving too much weight to familiarity with the jargon of your business;
• focusing only on one or two key strengths and overlooking the absence of others;and
• failing to value motivation to get ahead.
References Checks
Reference checks verify claims made by the candidate during the interview process and fill in information gaps.They can also provide valuable outside perspectives on the candidate and his or her potential fit with the position. Check references when you are near the end of your recruiting process and close to making a decision. But be sure to obtain permission from the candidates first to avoid affecting someone’s current employment—for example, the applicant’s com- pany may have no idea that he or she is interviewing for a job else- where. In checking references you have two aims.The first is to verify what the applicant has told you about his or her work experience: where, how long, last position held, and particular assignments.The second aim is learn about the applicant’s successes and failures,work habits,strengths and weaknesses,and so forth. The business of reference checking is critically important since it helps assure the hiring company that the job candidate has truthfully represented his position,work experience,and accomplishments.The comments of a reference can also provide another slant on the candi- date’s persona.Unfortunately,particularly in the United States,many companies are wary of saying much of anything about a current or former employee for fear of being sued for libel or slander if the employee fails to get a job because of something they said.So getting straightforward comments from some references may be difficult. Here are some tips for checking references:
• Use the telephone to check references.Since nothing is written down,a person who might be wary of being sued for saying something negative about the applicant is more likely to give you a candid response.Don’t check references via letter;you probably won’t get much information.
• Take a little time to build rapport with the reference;that will make him or her more comfortable with sharing information with you.
• Briefly describe the job that the candidate is applying for and ask if this is something for which the person would be well suited.
• Ask about the candidate’s style,character,strengths,and weaknesses.
• Avoid asking vague questions,such as:"Did Jack do a good job managing his department?"Instead,ask more specific ques- tions,such as:"What was Jack best at?";"What did his subordi- nates like best about him?";"What did they like least?";"Are there any jobs that would be inappropriate for Jack?";"What kind of organizational environment would suit Jack best?"
• Let one reference lead to another.If a reference gives you some information,ask,"Do you know anyone who could tell me about Jack’s experience in this area?"The more people you talk to,the clearer a picture you will get. Many people find reference checking a distasteful chore and give the task limited attention. Checking references for candidates "is about as appetizing as eating fish eyes,"says Pierre Mornell. 2 But the stakes are so high that you must make the effort and be persistent in digging out the information—even though people may be unwilling to share it. In his book, Hiring Smart!, Mornell offers this fast and legal hint for reference checking:
Call references at what you assume will be their lunchtime—you want to reach an assistant or voice mail.If it’s voice mail,leave this simple message.If it’s an assistant,be sure that he or she understands the last sentence of your message.You say "John (or Jane) Jones is a candidate for (the position) in our company.Your name has been given as a refer- ence.
Please call me back if the candidate was outstanding." 3 The results, says Mornell, are both immediate and revealing."If the candidate is outstanding or excellent, I guarantee that eight out of ten people will respond quickly and want to help." In contrast, if very few or no references return your call, their silence speaks vol- umes about the candidate without making any derogatory or libelous statements.
Making the Decision and Offer
Résumés, interviews, and reference checks all inform the decision- making process.At some point, you must ask yourself,"Do we have enough information to make a good decision?" If the answer is "yes,"then it’s time to move ahead with making the hiring decision. Rank your top three candidates, and then ask this question of each: "Do we want this person to work for us?" Remember that the goal of the hiring process is not to simply choose the "most qualified"of the existing applicants,but to hire a person who can help the organ- ization meet its objectives (see "Avoid These Two Hiring Mistakes"). Once you’ve answered both questions affirmatively, make an offer to the candidate who is most able and most likely to help your company meet its goals.If you do not have sufficient information to make a good decision, then determine exactly what additional information you and your colleagues need, how you will obtain it, and what uncertainties you can reasonably expect to reduce. To reduce important uncertainties you may need to call a candidate back for yet another interview, or you may need to do more refer- ence checking.
The Job Offer
Be sure that you understand your organization’s policy on who makes the job offer.In some organizations,the immediate supervisor or manager makes the offer. In others, it’s the job of the human resource department. Job offers are usually made in person or by telephone. After extending a verbal offer, you should also send a written confirma- tion. In both cases, make the offer with enthusiasm and a personal touch, perhaps by referring to something positive that you recall from the interview. Even as you make the offer, continue to gather information from the candidate regarding his or her concerns, the timing of the decision, and other organizations he or she may be considering.
The Offer Letter
An offer letter is an official document,so be sure to seek advice from the appropriate channels before sending it. Do not imply that the offer is an employment contract. Include important facts in the letter,such as:
Watch out for these commonly made mistakes when you make your hiring choices:
Desperately seeking the "hottest" prospects. Don’t assume that that your firm has to hire the hottest,best,and brightest job candidates on the market.Why not?
• Winning them may cost your firm more than it can comfortably afford.
• Their educational or professional background may be more than what the job in question actually requires.
• They may be so confident of their desirability that they won’t bring a healthy dose of appreciation and gratitude to their new job at your firm—and they’ll always have one eye out for the "bigger,better deal."
Hiring in your own image. Another all-too-common mistake is to hire people who are just like you.Many managers assume that they can build strong departments or teams by gathering people who all have the same strengths and personalities—those defined by the managers themselves.But remember:Diversity in personality,work styles,and decision-making approaches
• creates richness in a department’s or team’s culture,
• increases the group’s chances of generating creative ideas and solutions,and
• lets members complement one another’s strengths and make up for one another’s weaknesses.
• starting date
• job title
• expected responsibilities
• compensation
• benefits summary
• time limit for responding to the offer
Don’t Forget Process Improvement
This chapter has described hiring as a process with a number of identifiable steps. In this sense hiring is similar to other business processes:billing,order fulfillment,manufacturing,customer service, and so forth. Like other processes, hiring should be the focus of continual improvement.Every major hiring experience should be followed by a postmortem in which participants evaluate the effectiveness of each process step, pinpoint weaknesses and seek their root causes, and identify opportunities for improvement. The individuals involved in hiring should ask:
• How effective is our approach to defining job requirements? Are the right people in the company involved? Are we more concerned with how the job has been designed than with how it should be designed?
• Is our current mix of recruiting methods producing an attrac- tive mix of candidates? If it isn’t,what can we do to attract more and better-qualified candidates? • Is our method of screening applicants efficient and effective? What are best practices in this area?
• Does our interview process produce the information we need to make good hiring decisions? Is there consistent quality across interviewers and interview sessions? Do some interviewers need more training?
• Is our candidate evaluation process objective,rigorous,and consistent? How could we make it better?
• When we make a job offer,is the offer clear and compelling? When we strike out with a job offer,do we find out why our offer was rejected?
When an effort is made to improve the hiring process,the quality of your hires will likewise improve.
Summing Up
This chapter has described hiring as a process with a number of key steps:
• Defining job requirements. You have to know very clearly what you’re hiring for,and the package of skills,experience, attitude,and personal characteristics that you and other people involved in the hiring process require.
• Recruiting. This step involves casting your net strategically in order to create a pool of qualified candidates.Screening résumés is part of this step.
• Interviewing. The interview process aims to provide both the interviewer and the job candidate with an opportunity to obtain the information they need to make the best possible decision.The best interviews have a core of questions asked to all candidates,and these provide a common base of comparison and evaluation later.
• Evaluating the candidates. Once all candidates have been inter- viewed,the people involved in the hiring decision must con- duct an objective evaluation of each.Here,a decision-making matrix can help to organize the interview notes and recollec- tions of many people.
• Making a decision and offer. The last step of the hiring process is making the decision and extending a job offer.Always aim for the individual who can contribute the most to your organi- zation’s success. Like any process, hiring is amenable to continual improvement.You and the organization as a whole can become more effective at hiring if you treat each encounter as a learning experience. Reflect on what you did well and what you did poorly.Then incorporate that learning into your next hiring experience.