How Job Interviews Can Spot Poor Performers
Careful planning and a systematic approach to questions for job candidates can prevent years of headaches. Here's how.
By
Del J. Still
originally posted
March 2007
at Kiplinger.com
Taking the time to make sure job screening and interviews are done right may be the best investment of time a company can make. Misreading a candidate and making the hire can mean years of managerial headaches, poor morale and low productivity. But even if you know bad hires are bad news, what's your best bet for avoiding them?
Use Behavior-based Interviewing, says Del Still, author of High Impact Hiring: How to Interview and Select Outstanding Employees. Still explains how to determine both the technical and personal skills a given job will require and how to ask a candidate to describe on-the-job experiences he or she has had that tested those skills. Ultimately, understanding how candidates behaved in handling key duties will offer the best glimpse of how they might operate in your firm.
Once these new interview skills are honed, Still says, "You will be better equipped to make your hiring decision with confidence, having a surer sense that the person you select will be able to hit the ground running and will become a valued contributor within a short period of time."
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