When I lead half-day interviewing classes for job seekers, I often end by saying that they now have received more training in interviewing than many of the people who will be trying to hire them.

This is not a story I made up to boost the confidence of job seekers. In truth, interviewing is just one of many tasks managers perform every day without training or supervision. Human resource professionals are an exception to that rule, although not every company has an HR department.

If you are one of those managers with hiring authority but no blueprint for the interview, these strategies may help:

1Decide what you want to know about your candidate. These questions generally fall into one of three categories: skills or knowledge, character or personality, and experience.

2 Rank your hiring criteria. What do you absolutely need in this position, with no exceptions? What could you be flexible about? For example, if you are hiring a customer service person, a certain demeanor may be more important than related experience. You can always provide extra training, but it’s nearly impossible to cheer up a crabby person.

3 Compare your two lists to create your questions. Why not just use the list you came up with in Step 1? Those are your “raw” questions, and they need to be refined. You might want to know, for example, if this person will be able to handle stress. But you can’t just ask, “Can you handle stress?” Who’s going to answer “no” to that? And, who knows if your definition of stress is the same as the candidate’s?

In general, you’ll get better information if you ask open-ended questions because they require a more extensive answer than “yes” or “no.” Compare these two questions:

A. “Are you an organized person?” (The answer is almost certain to be “yes” – you didn’t get much information, did you?)

B. “Tell me how you set priorities.” (The answer this time could surprise you.)

Another style of question to use is situational. This is especially important for helping you see elements of a person’s character.

Here’s a question used by a friend of mine who hires frequently: “Give me an example of a situation where you did something that was criticized. How did you react to that?” A question I have used in interviews is, “Tell me about a mistake you made in your last job and what you did to correct it.”

One of the most difficult things for an interviewer to judge is a candidate’s motivation for taking the job. Another tough area to evaluate is “fit.” Will this person mesh well with others on the team?

To get at these answers, you can ask some of the standards, such as, “Why do you want this job?” and “What do others say about you?” Surprisingly, there are still job candidates who have not practiced the answers to these old standbys and who will respond without guile.

To up the ante, however, try some of these more interesting queries:

“Is there something missing in your current job that you want in your next job?” “What type of people do you find it difficult to work with? Have you successfully worked with this type of person?” “What makes you mad at work?” “What results could we expect to see from you in the first 90 days of your employment?”

In addition to the questions you might ask a candidate for any job, you will need to ask specifically about the skills needed for the position at hand.

Can this person operate a cash register? Which software packages can s/he use? This is a good time to ask for work samples or to administer a test to measure the candidate’s skill level.

The interview is only part of the hiring process. You started the ball rolling by writing some kind of job description, perhaps placing an ad.

After your initial interviews, you may decide on second interviews. Or you may have other staff members meet with the candidate. Reference checking is still ahead of you as well.

Without question, hiring is one of the most complex and important tasks on any manager’s plate. It is no wonder job seekers spend so much time preparing for the interview. Now it’s your turn.

—

(Amy Lindgren, the owner of a career-consulting firm in St. Paul, Minn., can be reached at alindgrenpioneerpress.com.)

—

(c) 2004, Saint Paul Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minn.).

Visit PioneerPlanet, the World Wide Web site of the Pioneer Press, at http://www.pioneerplanet.com

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.

AP-NY-02-10-04 0622EST