By this point in the hiring process, you’ve spent lots of time and resources to set up your employer brand, write your job description, review incoming resumes, and now you are finally ready to invite a handful of candidates to an interview.
No matter what route you take to get here, make sure your energy tank is full when you meet your prospective interviewee.
Make sure you are present, you are focused, prepared, and in the right interviewing mindset. Also, it’s key to allow each interviewee to shine on their own merit, and not let any history of previous bad hires impact this new person and this new opportunity.
It’s imperative that you or your lead interviewer are not tired, hungry, or rushed and instead are at your best to represent your brand in the proper way and make a good impression.
If your hiring mindset is wrong, it can lead to a wrong hire!
Interviewing is both an art and a skill and it involves curiosity, empathy, and authenticity to become a skillful interviewer. In order to conduct your most perfect interview, consider the following pointers to transform your interviewing mindset.
The perfect interview starts with
- Your preparation
- Managing your energy
- How do you build rapport
- Staying present and focused
- Creating engagement
- Create a true human connection
- And building trust
Skilled interviewers have an equal balance of questions to determine IQ, EQ & AQ.
IQ-focused interview questions as about technical skills and expertise, certifications, education, awards, and the specifics of how to do the required tasks.
And while skills-based questions are critical in assessing a candidate’s ability to do the job right, they only paint a partial picture of overall fit within the company.
Equally vital are the interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence (EQ) of a candidate, which reviews alignment, culture fit, values, communication skills, and overall compatibility within the team.
Add to the mix an opportunity to assess for AQ, or adaptability quotient that highlights a candidate’s ability to handle change, leadership, decision-making, stress-management skills, and navigating the unknown!
This can be extremely valuable if you are launching a new product, are a start-up, or going through some changes within your organization or if all your processes and SOPs are not quite solid.
Assessing EQ and AQ skills requires asking open-ended, values-based, and situational interview questions which enable you to delve into a prospective candidate’s empathy, conflict resolution, and problem-solving capabilities.
Open-ended questions also allow your candidate to dive deeper into a topic and expand their answers, highlight their reasoning, thought processing, and communication skills
For example, you can glean so much information by asking:
- Share a time when you successfully diffused a misunderstanding between two colleagues.
- Provide an example of fostering a sense of belonging and teamwork among your peers.
- What leadership qualities do you admire most about yourself or your current boss?
Values-based questions tie the interview questions back to your company’s values.
For example, if your company’s core value is Agility, then a line of questions that focus on agility will give you a glimpse into how that core value shows up for your candidate:
- Tell me more about when you had to juggle multiple projects.
- How do you handle change and unexpected interruptions?
- Can you explain your approach to prioritizing and planning your day?
If Accountability is your company’s core value, then ask:
- What do deadlines mean to you, and how do they impact teamwork?
- How do you motivate yourself to stay accountable and achieve your tasks?
- Describe a situation where you rallied your team members to accomplish a task.
While hard skills can be acquired or taught through various educational resources, assessing a candidate’s cognitive and emotional intelligence requires that you actively listen, be present, and be focused.
Asking follow-up questions, and observing their body language and communication style. This approach ensures a thorough evaluation and helps identify candidates who possess the right blend of technical as well as interpersonal skills that may align with your company culture.
Let’s do a Pulse Check
How are you currently interviewing for IQ, EQ, and AQ?
Watch the previous episodes in this series:
Episode 1: Transforming Your Hiring Mindset
Episode 2: Writing Impactful Job Descriptions