Prepared forr; AMES 2.9.12 SMART HIRING Interview Skills

prepared forr; AMES 2.9.12

SMART HIRINGInterview Skills

Today’s Objectives

In this session we will:

Get alignment on WHO we are looking for – a shared definition of Top Talent

Discuss preparation and key resources

Review the Interview process and roles

Learn how to distinguish A players from the rest

Access tools and resources

Today’s Context

“ The challenge of business today is to provide more with fewer people, for customers who demand more for less.”

-Bill Bonnstetter

The right talent in today’s complex knowledge-based economy has never been more critical to an organization’s survival – nor more difficult to obtain.

SMART Hiring Overview

Interview and Select

• Who do you need on your team to achieve R2 results?

• How do you define an “A” player

• Are you committed to avoiding the costs of bad hires as well as the costs of mediocrity?

A - Players

• A candidate who has at least a 90% chance of achieving a set of outcomes (key accountabilities) that only 10% of possible canidates could achieve.

As defined by Geoff Smart in WHO

Cost of Bad Hires

• Search Agencies

• Advertising

• Time spent plowing through resumes

• Hours/days in interviewing

• Time in carefully preparing offers

• Training new people

• Compensation for under-performers

• Time develoming unsuitable people

• Lost productivity from poor performance

• Legal problem avoidance (firing)

• Morale impact from turnover

• Potential liabilities of bad hires

• Opportunity costs of bad hires

$$$8-15x Salary !

$$$8-15x Salary !

Preparing for the Interview

• Key Accountabilities front and center

• Review competencies required for success in benchmark, compare to candidate (Gap report)

• Review and print: resume, new-hire app and phone screen notes

• Create/review interview questions

Interview Roles and Objectives

• HOST: Make Candidate feel welcome, Build rapport

• SLEUTH: Determine fit for role, as well as potential

• MARKETEER: Build desire to work at Ames, open up possibilities

The Four Interviews

• Screening interview (Phone/Skype)

• Career Pattern (tograding) interview

• Competency (focused) interview

• Reference interview

Screening Interview Questions

• What are your career goals?

• What are you really good at professionally?

• What are you not good at or not interested in doing professionally?

• Why are you looking for a new position? (determine if employed currently)

• What do you consider to be the 3 “top performer characteristics” of a great Job Title?

• What was your last salary? What is your target salary?

HIRING MANAGERHIRING MANAGER

Get Curious

• What?

• How?

• Tell me more?

• What do you mean?

• What did that look like?

• What happened

• What is a good example of that

• What was your role?

• What did you do?

Career Pattern InterviewChronological Walk Thru of Candidates

Career• What were the highs and lows of your educational experience

For each job in last 15 years ask:

• What were you hired to do?

• What accomplishments are you most proud of?

• What were some low points during that job?

• Who were the people you worked with?

• What will Mr. Smith say are your biggest strengths and areas for improvement

• Why did you leave that job?

HIRING MANAGER in Tandem with otherHIRING MANAGER in Tandem with other

Competency Interview (45 min)Use Benchmark to ID questions

• Evaluate Gap report

• Select specific questions from Benchmark report

• Split between team members

Referral InterviewsTesting What You’ve Learned

• In what context did you work with the person?

• What were the persons biggest strengths?

• What were the person’s biggest areas for improvement back then

• How would you rate their overall performance on a scale 1-10? What about their performance causes you to give that rating?

• The person mentioned that they strugggled with x in that job. Can you tell me more about that?

Five Master Tactics

• Interrupt- Own the conversation

• The three Ps: How did your performance compare to preivous years, to the plan, to peers

• Check for push/pull

• Have they painted a picture

• Look for non-verbal cues, probe

Evaluating Candidates

• For each Key accountability and each competency you are checking for, score A where you have 90% confidence that they can get the job done.

Debriefing Session

• Must do! Schedule it in advance, don’t leave to chance

• Facilitate for STRONG ASSERTIONS

• Capture pros/cons/need to know more

• No A candidates? Have the organizational courage to go back to Source!

Tools and Resources

• WHO: The A Method For Hiring

• Job Specific Benchmark and interview questions

• Role Definition (Phase 1 Process doc)

• Let’s Talk Interviews: http://www.new-hire.com/Newsletter/11/

• Playing by the rules: What you can and cannot ask.

• This list can be found on a BaseCamp writeboard in staffing project for ez access