As a professional trainer my job is to teach managers how to hire great people. I’m not exaggerating when I say I’ve read more than 100 books over 20 years, and I’m beginning to realize that not much has changed. If you didn’t know the dates the books were published you’d have great difficulty identifying those written in 1995 vs. 2015. It’s the same old interviewing game. Job candidates tell the employer what they think they want to hear, and the employer is trying to uncover the truth. The game has become a little more sophisticated, but it’s still the same.
Maybe job interviewing is one of those things that just doesn’t need to change. It’s like H2O. The symbol for water will be H2O forever. I’m sorry, I can’t get comfortable with the idea that the job interviewing process can’t change, and it can’t be better. It should.
My first inclination is to suggest employers have the primary responsibility to change the process because they decide who gets interviewed and who will be hired. This seems to make sense until we begin to examine what causes bad hiring decisions. The employer makes the decision, but it is based on how the candidate performs in the interview. I carefully chose the word “performs” because bad hiring decisions are the result of hiring impostors. The candidate did an excellent job of telling the interviewer what he wanted to hear, and he believed everything the candidate told him. Six months later the employer realizes what he heard in the interview wasn’t the truth.
Enough with the blame game. It’s time to change the process, and this requires the participation of both parties. It starts with the employer who establishes the ground rules for the interview. Here’s a script I wish would be adopted:
“Our mutual goal today is to determine if your strengths match the requirements of the job. I say mutual goal because if we hire you today and six months later we both realize this job is not a good fit, then this is a lose/lose proposition. Please help us avoid this mistake.
“We need to understand what you’re really good at and what tasks you don’t enjoy. Our mutual commitment is to understand if your strengths are a good fit for this job. If they’re not, let’s acknowledge that now and direct you toward a job that is a good fit. This outcome is a win/win proposition.”
You may assume the above description is implied before the job interview begins, but I’m here to tell you that’s not true. My daughter recently had an interview, and when I asked her how things went her immediate response was, “Oh, I blew it. My answers weren’t as good as they could have been, and I wish I would have prepared better.” We didn’t discuss whether the job was a good fit. It was all about her performance in the job interview. Employers end up hiring the people who perform best in the interview, and that’s not the goal.
When a candidate struggles with answers, it’s in everyone’s best interest to stop the interview, help the candidate relax and try to engage in an authentic dialogue.
Before I go any further, I understand if you’re unemployed your goal is to get hired. I get it. But, if you have a job and you’re looking for a better job, please don’t jump at the first opportunity and don’t take a job that’s a bad fit.
In a previous column I mentioned that my sister intentionally set up stressful situations to see how her boyfriends would react. Her goal was to avoid surprises just in case the relationship got serious and marriage became a possibility. We should do the same in job interviews. Let’s unveil the good, the bad and the ugly. That’s best for both parties.
It’s hard to avoid your natural instincts to do whatever is required to get a job offer. But, the short-term benefits will disappear quickly if you join an organization that is not a good fit. Be honest, be authentic, and be true to who you are. Do this right and you’ll reap the benefits for decades. So will your employer.
Kaminski is president of Stone Associates Training. He is an HR consultant with 35 years of experience in the employment field, teaching managers the art of hiring great employees. He also is an adjunct instructor at Keuka College. You can contact him with your questions, suggestions and comments at bill@stone associatestraining.com.
