In part one of this article, I focused on the need to dedicate enough time to ensure that you are properly prepared for the interview. To read this article, click here.
In part two I will take you through the interview questionnaire and in particular what should be included to ensure you are in the best position to get the information you need from the candidate to make a proper assessment of their suitability.
Interview questionnaires can be divided into three parts:
The first part is the candidate background, including career history, educational qualifications, industry participation including memberships of associations, candidate interests including hobbies and community involvement.
Most of this information should be readily found in the candidates’ CV. An easy way for you to commence the interview is to ask questions about the candidate’s choice of career and how they chose each of the roles they have had to date.
From there you can readily move to the other areas asking a lot of why questions and address the level of their participation when talking about community participation and so on.
The second part is to drill into the detail of each role. It is useful to focus on the last ten years of the career history as going back further is like reading an historical novel; while it might be interesting, it often yields little more than some filler to the discussion.
You need to draw out the candidate as to the scope of the roles held and the achievements in each role. It is advisable to be very specific in your questioning asking them about their input in to projects.
I have come across candidates that have claimed responsibility for a major project and yet when I asked them to take me through the details of the various stages of the project management stumbled in their responses. The more you drill down in to the detail the more the candidate is able to confirm their claims as to their role.
While on the issue of detail, you should ask the candidate to confirm not only the scope of each role but the dates of commencement. It is not uncommon for candidates to ‘smooth’ dates filing gaps when they weren’t working.
Where there is a gap make sure you know what it is about. Was it a redundancy or termination for a matter of which you should be made aware?
You should ask questions about the role in terms of responsibilities and if the candidate had managerial responsibilities ascertain the size of the team and the roles in the team. You can always ask the candidate what he thinks his team thought of him/her if they were to be asked.
Most achievements are quantifiable i.e. new clients brought on board, dollar targets met/not met in terms of sales or cost control and you should ask questions specifically to draw out details of these achievements.
Those achievements that are not quantifiable may need some discussion around the candidate’s role in delivery. If, for instance they were responsible for instigating a cultural change program, you might want to ask them about how they implemented the program and was it considered a success by management and the employees themselves.
The third part of the questionnaire is the behavioural section where you can explore how the candidate handles certain situations and their outlook on various issues.
These questions start with ‘tell me a time’ or ‘give me an example’. Some of the most effective behavioural questions can be disarming. One that is constantly used consistently is ‘Tell me a mistake that you have made and what you learnt from it?’
I know of a senior executive search consultant who asked all candidates the question ‘If you were made Prime Minister tomorrow, what is the first thing you would do’. Evidently one executive asked this question replied ‘launch an attack on Indonesia’. Needless to say he wasn’t offered the role.
Behavioural questions add meat to the bone of an interview questionnaire, strengthening your understanding of the candidate’s behaviours and motivations. This is particularly relevant where you have a work place culture that will be conducive to certain types of individuals.
For example, the culture may be suited to those who are focused on achievement but not on making a lot of noise about it. The behavioural interview questions can be tailored to draw out those who would be a fit to this culture.
Above anything else, it is important to invest time in thinking through how you will put together the interview questionnaire and what should be included. If you think that you may need some help, then you should consider speaking to an HR/recruitment consultant who can provide you with suitable advice.
