If you want to hire the right person– not just a good candidate, but the best candidate – for the job, you have to be skilled at planning and conducting the interview process. It all starts by building a strong, specific profile of the perfect candidate for this job. Without that profile, you are sunk before you start. However, once you build that profile, the interview will be the key to helping you find the best person to match that profile.
The hiring interview is not strictly a numbers game. Your people skills are equally important. Your interview should be a free-flowing discussion. Your candidate should be encouraged to open up and talk. Since you have a good idea of the type of person you want, listen hard to determine how your candidate's responses fit the criteria you are looking for.
Asking open-ended questions (those that cannot be answered with a simple yes or no) allows you to find out what motivates candidates and what each wants from the job. Make absolutely sure you understand what the candidate expects from you as a A good match between their wants and needs and yours will go a long way toward creating a successful working relationship.
Sample interview questions include:
“Tell me about the most challenging situation you have faced in your career. What was the situation? What did you do? What was the outcome? What did you learn?”
“In your last job, what were your major areas of responsibility? How was your performance measured? What were your results?”
By using these types of questions, you’ll be able to uncover useful information that will improve your chances of really understanding each candidate’s traits and skills, and how they fit with your requirements. It is a good idea to make a list of at least five standard questions that you will ask each candidate. Take good notes so you can compare the answers later.
DOS AND DON’TS FOR INTERVIEWING PROSPECTIVE SALES REPS
DO:
1. Know what questions you want to ask. Prepare a menu of questions that determines if your candidate has the basic ability, work experience, attitude and motivation to perform successfully.
2. Pay close attention to the answers you receive. When you know specifically what you want to achieve, it is easier to recognize the right answers when you hear them.
3. Be aware of their first impression. If you felt comfortable and relaxed by their appearance and body language, it is likely your customers will feel the same way.
4. Establish rapport. Initiate "small talk" about the weather, sports, etc., before you lead into your introductory questions. You should keep the format the same for all interviewees. This allows you to compare how each individual handled the situation and should provide you with a consistent evaluation process.
5. Start with broad, introductory questions, and follow up with specific questions. Keep in mind interviewing is a form of communications. You want an exchange of ideas, opinions and feelings between two people.
6. Give them the ball, and let them run with it. Provide lots of room to show you who they are, whether or not they did homework before the interview and whether they are the person to best meet your needs
7. Be sure to ask questions about their previous job-related experiences, especially focusing on what they feel are their strengths. Make sure you receive an up-to-date list of references who have firsthand knowledge of their work habits. This means supervisors, in most cases.
DON'T
1. Prejudge too quickly. Keep your mind open to the idea that each candidate might be the right person. Do keep first impressions in mind.
2. Overlook the characteristics that allow people to excel in unique and unexpected ways. Try to uncover these characteristics by asking candidates to describe their last two years of work in detail. Listen for key requirements of past jobs, even if they are exhibited in an unexpected or unorthodox way.
3. Rely just on tests. Tests are often poor indicators of sales aptitude. Tests often tend to measure interests instead of abilities.
4. Consider anyone who is unable to look you directly in the eye. Nervousness is acceptable, but evasiveness in work or manner is not.
5. Rely on your intuition alone.
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November Management Quick Tip of the Month – Focus on Problem Solving
If you have been in management for very long, maybe you have already heard this piece of advice: Fix the problem and not the blame. Fixing (or placing) blame is often the first thing that jumps into our minds when an unexpected problem develops. These bad surprises often trigger anxiety or even anger in a manager, who now has one more problem to solve, and solve quickly, to avoid a potential disaster. Anxiety and anger can lead to a need to lash out and punish someone for the pain and frustration you are now feeling. However, lashing out is the wrong approach to take. First of all, the problem may have been an inadvertent mistake, a training issue, a process problem; who knows? Second, lashing out just wastes precious time. Most important of all, the person you are lashing out at may very well be someone who will be involved in helping to solve the problem; someone who is already shaken because of the mistake they have made. You need this person to function at their best in order to help solve the problem. Blaming and putting down others is a waste of time and emotional energy that needs to be devoted to finding a solution.
