Interviewer Tip #4

How Can You Tell Whether a Job Candidate Will Take the Actions to Produce Results?

Even employees with poor performance histories can claim some successes in the workplace. They can tell you about times when they completed a noteworthy project or accomplished a major goal.
But anyone can produce results when there are no roadblocks. Alternately, high performers are different because they can talk about times when they produced results by overcoming major obstacles. High performers consistently work longer and try harder to solve problems when the going gets tough. The key word here is consistently.

To determine how a candidate will perform in the future under situations of hardship, you as the interviewer must look for a candidate’s pattern of sustained effort.

You want to hire someone who will consistently initiate action and persist long enough to fulfill the stated objective - not someone who tends to give spurts of effort for just long enough to show that he tried and the objective can’t be accomplished.
During an interview, ask candidates questions that expose their level of sustained effort toward overcoming obstacles. Ask them to tell you about a time when they encountered an obstacle, and then ask how they responded and what the results were. Then listen for answers that reveal the amount of sustained action a candidate took or did not take. You’re likely to run into one of three scenarios:

1. The applicant has a “can-do” attitude and backs that up with examples of specific, detailed accounts of sustained effort to reach goals, meet objectives or deliver results. The words don’t just have a positive spin but are supported with substance. Since patterns of behavior, both good and bad, generally repeat, this pattern is a strong indicator of a person who will produce more results. Even if he or she lacks prior experience and skills for the job, this candidate may be worth training.
2. The applicant seems to have a positive attitude and uses “I can!” action words and phrases. However, he can’t provide specifics about his efforts because he doesn’t have any. He has not produced results through sustained efforts. You will hear him give generic filler answers and speak in terms of how he would handle a situation perfectly if he encountered it. Watch out: This person could be an imposter posing as a high performer!
3. The applicant openly reveals his lack of effort in accomplishing goals but blames it on someone or something other than himself. He can’t tell you specifics about his actions, but he is eager to give excuses, place blame elsewhere and point fingers. This person isn’t likely to do what it takes when the achievement involves a difficult challenge.

Remember, you’re looking for a pattern and you won’t get that from one or even two answers. You must listen and look for the clues during the entire interview that will divulge the most prevalent pattern of behavior.

Interviewing Tips & Techniques are provided by Hire Authority, Inc. Remember, if the time you spend interviewing doesn’t help you to accurately predict future performance, it’s a waste of time. This information and much more can be found in the book Don’t Hire Anyone Without Me! or in our web course or Instructor-led training. For more information, visit our website at www.HireAuthority.com.

Writing the most effective interview questions is a skill that will help you make better hires. To learn more about how to gather better candidate information, please visit our Learning Center at www.HireAuthority.com. Just click on “Learning Center” to get started.