Hi Claudia,
I called a candidate for a scheduled phone interview this evening and after we chatted for a few minutes, I asked the first interview question. She interrupted me suddenly and asked if I would hang on for a moment. I listened as she poured herself a glass of wine (I know this because she offered me some), lit up a cigarette, and picked the phone back up again. Then she said, "Ok, begin". What’s your impression of a candidate like this?
Not Amused
Dear Not Amused,
Give me a second to think this one over. Did she nail the interview? Is she a good fit with the business you’re recruiting for? How can the situation possibly be more complicated than that?
The recruiter interview is a gatekeeper moment, to be sure. You have to know the job, know your hiring manager, and know the business culture you’re screening for. But at the end of the day, you're aiming for the short list of qualified, affordable, and interested candidates, right? And to get there faster, park your personal bias at the door and think like your customer. So it doesn’t really matter if the candidate was building a bomb in the back room during your call, as long as she has the skills and culture-fit to make the cut for that particular business need.
Am I advocating that you disconnect your common sense? Of course not. I’m saying that any unchecked, personal bias you bring to the assessment process will trip you up faster than a pair of 6 inch stilettos. You’re there, in that moment, on a single mission: to match the potential of a candidate with the requirements of a hiring authority. Nothing else. All the more reason to establish a clear set of requirements at the outset of the search to make sure you assess every candidate equally against a specific (and unemotional) list of must-haves. And all the more reason to spend time with the hiring manager along the way to learn about the real biases that will knock out candidates.
Ask yourself this the next time you scratch your head over a
candidate’s interview behavior:
WWHMD?
That’s right: what would my hiring manager do? The emphasis here is the manager’s perspective about job skills and fit with the business culture. If the candidate’s behavior is offensive to you, or she demonstrates poor judgment, test whether it is a recurring theme (that’s just good sense). However, maybe the candidate just doesn’t know any better (we can’t all be
Miss Manners, right?)...if that's the case it’s time to test whether this person can learn new things (like maybe a little
interview etiquette). The point is, don't allow your personal bias to get in the way in the decision process.
Of course, another option may be that I’ve completely over-thought this whole thing, and you should just learn to schedule your interviews so they don’t conflict with happy hour. Your call.
**
In my day job, I’m the head of Products for Improved Experience, where we help employers use feedback to measure and manage engagement for competitive advantage in hiring and retention. Learn more about us
here.
Do you have a question you'd like answered in this weekly forum?
Drop me a line!
You need to be a member of RecruitingBlogs to add comments!
Join RecruitingBlogs