Spending as much time on the road traveling as I do, I visit more than my fair share of coffee shops and cafes. Earlier this week I visited one of my favorite coffee chains and happened to sit down at a table next to the manager of the shop who was conducting interviews for an open shift supervisor position at her coffee shop.
As a talent management consultant specializing in helping clients make more informed and effective hiring decisions my ears naturally perked up a bit to observe how well this manager did evaluating her candidates. What I observed and overheard over the course of the next hour and half was intriguing to say the least...
During this time, the manager interviewed three individuals for the open position and spoke for at least 75 of the 90 minutes that she was interviewing these candidates. That equates to a 5:1 ratio for each interview. Yikes!
What blew my mind was that during this verbal filibuster of an interview the hiring manager seemed to talk about anything and everything but the job she was trying to fill... The weather, the candidate's home town, local sports, why the manager enjoyed working at the coffee shop, anything it seemed but a meaningful discussion about the position being filled.
Now, I understand that building rapport and making a candidate comfortable is important, don't get me wrong. It is essential to help a candidate open up and provide honest and useful responses to interview questions. However, one must draw the line between building rapport and allowing small talk and personal questions to become the focus of the interview.
The most disturbing thing I witnessed was that after each of these three interviews (if you can call them that), the manager was somehow able to make a decision as to who to invite back for a second interview. Two candidates were informed that they were early in the hiring process and had a number of additional candidates to meet with before a second round of interviews would be conducted and that she would get back to them if they were selected (essentially thanks, but no thanks). One candidate (the second to be interviewed) was informed that he was a great candidate and was asked back for a second interview.
Looking at these three interviews, I was able to identify several reasons, in my humble opinion, the interviews were so ineffective:
- Lack of interview training - Interviewing is both a science and an art that requires targeted training and considerable practice to master. A well trained interviewer is skilled at asking questions targeted at provide useful information as to how well a candidate will be able to perform the job and then asking probing questions to reveal further information. This manager clearly lacked the proper training to conduct an effective job interview
- Lack of focus - The three interviews were all over the place and completely lacked focus. It seemed that every response the candidate attempted to make reminded the manager of a personal vignette or story that warranted sharing. Again, building rapport is important, but should only be relied on as an ice-breaker. After the ice has been broken, the focus of the interview should shift to the needs of the position and how well the candidate is able to meet these needs.
- Little opportunity for the candidate to speak - Silence is golden, especially during a job interview. If you ever want your candidates to elaborate further on a question the easiest thing to do is to simply shut your mouth. Most candidates will feel compelled to fill the silence and provide you with further valuable information you may not have otherwise discovered.
- Behavioral / Communication style differences - As a Certified Professional Behaviors Analyst, I was able to quickly identify the manager's behavioral / communication style. While there is nothing inherently wrong with her behavioral style, her high people focus and outgoing personality has the tendency to drive conversations off course and into personal matters and this manager lacked the self awareness to know that she was doing so.
This can be very off-putting to individuals who do not share this behavioral style. Unfortunately, this was the case for the two candidates who were not invited back for a second interview. The behavioral style of the candidate who was asked back for a second interview was much more similar to the manager's style. As a result the two "clicked" as this candidate was unphased by the manager's line of personal questions and the unfocused nature of the interview. I am confident that much of the reason this candidate was asked back was the result of his behavioral style being similar to that of the managers.
- Lack of emotional intelligence - While the manager was very friendly and outgoing, she clearly lacked a high degree of emotional intelligence. Several times during the interview it was easy to sense the candidate's frustration with the direction of the conversation.
This was especially noticeable when the manager would ask personal questions of the two candidates whose behavioral styles were markedly different than the manager's. Despite receiving short, blunt, and somewhat cold answers to personal questions (do you have children?) the manager was unable to pick up on the verbal and non-verbal clues that the candidate felt the line of questioning was inappropriate (not to mention potentially illegal).
I've never been a fan of the job interview as a primary means of making a hiring decision. Research from Michigan State University has shown the job interview to be only 14% effective in hiring the right person for the job. The truth is that interviewing is both a science and an art form and very few managers ever master it to the point of being able to make a predictive and reliable hiring decision from a job interview alone.
The three interviews I overheard are a prime example of why this number is so low. With all do fairness these were only the first round of interviews. However, they serve as a good indication of how this particular manager approaches the job interview process.
If I can give managers one piece of hiring advice to improve the employee selection process based on my observations at this coffee shop it would be this: Give your candidates a chance to speak and refrain from dominating the interview!
Now go Maximize Possibility!
Other blog posts you may be interested in:
Four Employee Engagement Drives of Passion for One's Job
The Top 10 Attributes to Look for When Hiring a Telecommuter
Four Tips for Hiring During a Recession
Chris Young helps organizations Maximize Possibility through talent management, cultural transformation, and strategic intervention. Bring Chris in today!
