How to Judge Applicants

"The trouble with doing something right the first time is that nobody appreciates how difficult it was"
Walt West

Most employers are still using the interview as their primary screening device. While the interview is an important aspect of the process, it is very
subjective. Studies show that using an interview alone gives you only a 14% chance of the employee being successful.

By doing background checks and checking references this percentage increases to 26%, or about 1 out of 4 people you hire will ultimately be successful in the position.

What Works?
It is important to look at the steps leading to a hiring decision and to limit personal biases as much as possible.

Today, employers have proven scientific ways to make the hiring decision a less emotional one. For instance, many people have told me they can know in 30 seconds if a person is right to hire. Unless you are a psychic, this is a very unproductive and
dangerous way to make hiring decisions. Decisions based primarily on personal biases upon first impression typically backfire.

The more scientific the screening process, the better opportunity you have of hiring the best person for the right position in your company.

What works is extensive recruiting and testing. Broader recruitment increases the talent pool. Let's look at what integrated processes can do to increase employee success and lower turnover. Turnover in a company is extremely expensive and disruptive to production.

Self Screening Devices
A supplemental questionnaire to your normal application that asks pertinent questions specifically related to the skills, knowledge abilities and duties
for this specific position is important.

Candidates often determine that they do not have the appropriate skills or would not like the specific duties that are critical to the position.

Personality Characteristics
Measuring personality characteristics needed for the position improve the hiring process success rate to 38%.

Abilities
When applicants are assessed for abilities as well as personality, employers found they hired the right people approximately 54% percent of the time.

Interests
Using more sophisticated assessments that measure the interests of the candidate compared to the position raises the bar to 66%.


Job Match
The most impressive assessments to date are integrated assessments that measure a combination of factors, as well as introduce the component of "job match."

This cutting-edge technology combined with empirical data evaluate "The Total Person" in a way that measures how candidates match the exemplary employees in the position.

These assessments have increased an employer's ability to identify potentially excellent employees better than 75% of the time; a far cry from the rate of 14% rate using interviews only.

The Payoff
Doing it right really pays off! Take the time and make the small upfront investment to learn about the position being filled, what type of behavior it requires and what type of person best fits the job. The rewards are great; your business is more successful since your company is only as good as your employees.

I try to do the right thing at the right time. They may just be little things, but usually they make the difference between winning
and losing.”
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar , LA Lakers

Interviews: Rambling Candidates Can Be Risky

Strong interviewing skills enable hiring managers to avoid crossing the "too much information" (TMI) line and to rein an interview back in when a job candidate oversteps that boundary.

Interviewers who are not skilled in the process sometimes ask questions or make comments that are inappropriate or irrelevant. They intentionally or unintentionally broach certain topics that are off-limits during an interview, including marital status, personal companionship practices, the Candidate's medical history, and religious affiliations, and they sometimes use that information when making hiring decisions.

Similarly, some interviewers are not adept at reining in an interview when an Candidate goes off on a tangent or reveals personal information. That's a problem, because interviewees who cross the TMI line reveal information that employers could--purposely or inadvertently--factor in when making an employment decision.

If the information relates to the candidate's ethnic background or religious affiliation, for example, that could lead to a claim of discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

In addition, allowing an interviewee to ramble about irrelevant information, provide details about his or her personal life, or complain about a previous job, takes away from the purpose of the interview---to determine whether the candidate is the best match for the job.

Skilled interviewers are able to focus on the requirements of a particular job and how closely a candidate matches those requirements, she says.

Many employees with interviewing responsibilities need more training. Training should cover the topics that can--and can't--be addressed during the interview process, as well as effective interviewing techniques.

To minimize your risk:

Know what the job entails. Before starting an interview, interviewers need to understand the requirements of the particular job and what skills and competencies the successful candidate should have.

Prepare interview questions. This helps ensure consistency with all Candidate interviews and keep focus on getting the information you need to make a good assessment of the Candidate.

Rein in the interview when necessary. Interviewees who are nervous or who don't have a good response to a question may ramble, she says. "The onus is on the interviewer to rein it in and help the candidate get back on track." That often can be accomplished by rephrasing a question, and not allowing the Candidate to evade the question. The goal of an interview is to get the best essence of someone you can, relative to what you're interviewing them for.

Making objective personnel decisions. If an interviewee reveals personal information, the interviewer must not let his or her own biases factor into the employment decision, she says. "Bias has to be kept out of the decision-making process. It's hard. It's natural for all of us to interject our bias."