Performance-based Interviewing
May 14, 2008 by Phil Gerbyshak
Filed under Business
This is a guest-post from Stephen Smith, who is the editor of Productivity in Context, a resource for articles on Productivity and Leadership, New Media Studies, and tools for organizing. Click here to read more about improving your life and work through increased mindfulness, education, and workflow practices.
If you’re going to be a Slacker Manager, you had better have a plan. Otherwise, you’re going to wind up in the unemployment line. One of the most frequently-asked questions that I get about management and interviewing is, “How do you screen people in the interview process? How can you be sure that you are hiring the right one?” 
Interviews are an opportunity for some people to shine. Some are not comfortable in an interview setting, choke, or crash-and-burn. Find out about this before the interview, in a telephone pre-screen. Ask the candidate about their favorite interview memory, or a funny interview story. Based on the answer, be prepared to change your interviewing style or format. Just don’t look like you’re being crafty and manipulative. That’s the Slacker Key. Key interviewing skills include some of these less-well-known tips:
- Use the power of anticipation. Be ready early, but make the candidate wait a little bit. Appear unprepared. Ask them to talk about themselves. This will set the stage.
- Ask open-ended, “sales-like” questions about past experiences. Push for real-life examples. Past behavior is a better indicator of future performance than pie-in-the-sky theorizing about possible solutions to theoretical problems. If they do not have a real-life example of how to handle a situation that this position may encounter, they may not be the best candidate.
- Remove them from their comfort zone (if they are a strong interviewee) You want to re-establish the power arrangement with a strong candidate who may attempt to enhance her own prestige at your expense.
- Make them very comfortable (if they “failed” the pre-screen call)… A “weak” candidate that does not interview well may be a talented and valuable addition to your team. This type of applicant already knows that you are in charge and you can take this time to build rapport.
- Ask specific questions about training needs and flexibility. One of my personal favorites is, “Tell me about a time when you were asked to change your approach or the way you do something at work”.
- Ask a pointed question about Values. The ethics and values of today’s employees are of the utmost importance. I always ask them to, “Describe a time when you were not treated fairly by an employer. What happened and how did you respond?”
Being a Slacker Manager is all about constantly improving your position by building a competent team beneath you, making sure that you don’t have to do all of the work.
All images courtesy of Productivity in Context
Excellent advice! As a long time interviewer I’m with you on this. The real life and values points are golden. Being in a profession that requires presentation to execs and ones nerves, I cannot subscribe to the nurturing approach however. Maybe if I had different roles to fill it would be different. Thanks.
That is why it is important to be flexible. Some roles don’t call for a nurturing approach.
Sage advice – thanks for sharing!
i think this sounds like crap. i give credit for some of the understandings but you sound like a manipulative boss that is afraid of doing work and having to assert authority. i think this is a weak method that does not promote leadership. maybe this is the essence of a method that has worked for you but it might backfire in a less experienced manager like some i have had.
i think this sounds like crap. i give credit for some of the understandings but you sound like a manipulative boss that is afraid of doing work and has to resort to asserting authority. i think this is a weak method that does not promote leadership. maybe this is the essence of a method that has worked for you but it might backfire in a less experienced manager like some i have had.
I like the point on asking values based questions. it is always a good idea to find out if the the potential hire shares the same values of the working environment. more importantly do they share values that are leading in the direction that organization is or needs to be moving?
>>Brooks – You are half-right. It is about manipulation, to an extent. But it is important that you – as the inteviewer – do not get manipulated. I have hired people that talk a good game, but can’t produce.
>>Rocky – Thanks for that. As my own experience with being responsible for “the direction that [the] organization is or needs to be moving” grows, it becomes much more important to bring the right people on board. You can train procedures, you can’t train drive.
I especially like how you push for real life examples, because often times, potential employees craft together a cookie cutter answer. By asking them to provide a real life example it allows the manager to know if they are all talk, or if they have experience with what they are saying.