Making a great impression in the first 20 seconds of an interview could be one of the most important goals for the applicant. On the other hand, the first 20 seconds should not discover a “winner” for the job. This isn’t a horse race, and if it were, you wouldn’t know the outcome unless you stayed around long enough to see who’s in first place when crossing the finish line.
It’s true. Some applicants start out strong; great personality, dazzling smile, and teeth so bright they light the midnight sky. And yes, they have handshakes that say, “You’re in great hands with me as your choice.” They answer every question in the affirmative. Can I manage? “You betcha.” Can I lead? “Absolutely!” Can I deal with a crisis? Negotiate change? Be the best that ever could be? “Yes, yes, and yes!” What’s not to like?
“Hire that applicant!” you state with the assurance of someone who just found the next superhero.
A few months later you find, much to your surprise, disappointment, and embarrassment, that the person you hired, based upon his razzle-dazzle and your insistence that all it takes is twenty seconds to “size’em up,” was a bad fit.
You don’t want to repeat your leap-of-faith-bad-outcome performance, yet wonder how you can improve your ability to separate size from lies and good fit from bad?
Take more time. Twenty seconds or twenty minutes and twenty seconds isn’t enough time to make a reasonable assessment of the person sitting across from you. Set aside an hour for each networking meeting or interview. Outline the questions that are must-asks regarding technical expertise and must-haves regarding interpersonal behaviors.
Ask open-ended questions and stay away from black and white, close-ended questions. They latter yield black and white close-ended responses that end an inquiry rather than open one. The former enable you to probe, explore, and examine responses to gain the information you need that determines the degree to which an applicant can or cannot meet the requirements of the job.
(Examples of close-ended questions: How many years did you work at your position? Did you like your former job? Were you successful at your job? Examples of open-ended questions are: Describe your biggest job challenge and how did you resolve it? If you were unable to resolve it, describe the actions you took and the consequences that followed.)
If you are interviewing someone for a position that requires structure, order, and organization, a majority of your questions should be predicated on the applicant’s real-time experience. If you are interviewing someone for a position that requires vision, innovation, strategy, and creativity, ask a combination of fact based and hypothetical questions based upon situations that enable the candidate to demonstrate proven ability to lead and drive change, as well as an ability to anticipate when change is preferred to status quo.
Learn how to interview applicants as they are, rather than how you wish they would be. For example, extraverted interviewers who aren’t sufficiently self and other-aware tend to believe that when asked a question, applicants should be as spontaneous in their responses as extraverts are in theirs; and that an immediate, animated response, even if off target, is somehow better than response made after hesitation and reflection. Introverted interviewers who are lacking in self and other awareness, can be off put by extraverted applicants who talk a lot and take a while getting to the point they want to make.
If you’re an interviewer, patience, tact, organization, and open-mindedness pays off. Good process results in good outcome. If you want to bet on the horses, go to the track.
