McGraw-Hill - Briefcase Books - Interviewing Techniques For Managers.pdf - BOOKS - dp12345

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Why Am I

Interviewing?

I think it is important to learn as much as you can about

everything around you. I truly believe that knowledge is

the key to being successful in life.

—Connie Chung

T he first step in interviewing is to ask yourself the question

Behavioral Interviewing

The fastest, most accurate method to gain knowledge from

another person and, incidentally, the easiest way for the other

person to give it is a process called behavioral interviewing .

All of the techniques we present in this book will use this

process. (We argued over whether you’d want to learn slower,

that serves as title of this chapter—Why am I interviewing?

We interview to learn, to gain knowledge. We need to get

information from another person. It’s an interactive process that

takes a certain skill. That’s the purpose of this book, to help

you develop that skill.

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Interviewing Techniques for Managers

less accurate ways of

interviewing and figured

we’d skip those!)

In behavioral interview-

ing, we always ask ques-

tions relating to something

the person has done or

something that happened

to him or her, as opposed

to hypothetical examples.

So, for example, we’d ask, “Tell me what you did when you had

a coworker who didn’t get their part of the project done,” as

opposed to “If a coworker doesn’t get their part of a project

done, what will you do?”

Read the first of the

two questions again: “Tell

me what you did when you

had a coworker who didn’t

get their part of the project

done.” As you’re reading

the question, you’re think-

ing about a coworker who

didn’t get a project done.

It’s immediate. It’s auto-

matic. Our brain thinks in

pictures and as the inter-

viewer is saying the sen-

tence your brain is painting

the picture.

Now read the second of

the two questions again: “If

a coworker doesn’t get their part of a project done, what will you

do?” Nothing. No pictures. While the interviewer is saying the

sentence, your mind is blank. After the interviewer finishes, you

review the question in your mind. Then you think, “Hmmm, when

has something like that happened?” Then you review what hap-

Interview A meeting at

which one person obtains

information from another.

A manager may need to interview

candidates for employment or volun-

teer work, his or her direct employ-

ees, peers, current and potential cus-

tomers, vendors, and managers in

other organizations.

Behavioral interviewing

A process that is based on

the premise that the most

accurate predictor of future perform-

ance is past performance in a similar

situation. Behavioral interviewing

focuses on examples of past behavior

that can be used to predict future

actions, attitudes, and/or needs. It is a

systematic process that is structured

and goal-oriented. Behavioral inter-

viewing was born in the employment

interview arena. It was originally devel-

oped in the 1970s by Development

Dimensions International, Inc. (DDI)

and called Targeted Selection.

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Why Am I Interviewing?

pened. Then you start talking. By this time the interviewer is writ-

ing notes like “slow thinker.”

Or, after reviewing the question in your mind, you think,

“Hmmm, I wonder what they mean. I wonder what they’re look-

ing for. I wonder how I should answer this?” Then, assuming

you’re cool in test situations, you think about what you’re going

to say. Then you start saying what you think they want to hear.

If you’re not good in test situations, you’ll do one of two

things: you’ll start talking without thinking and do a lot of umm-

ming and hmmmming and pausing because you’re thinking and

talking at the same time or you’ll get so flustered you can’t

answer—and then even more flustered because you can’t answer.

Does either of the responses to the second question suggest

that the interview will go well and you’ll get the information you

want? Not really!

The first question, in contrast, makes the other person feel

comfortable. He or she is giving me details, providing the infor-

mation I need fast—at least faster than the person who was

asked the second question and who’s still thinking, fumbling,

and rambling.

You can get the information faster and it’ll be more accurate,

more detailed, and come from someone who’s feeling confident

because you asked a question he or she can answer. It’s about

the person. It’s about something that happened to the person.

It’s not about something hypothetical, something that he or she

Avoid the “I Word”

The word “interview” may provoke a negative gut reac-

tion.We usually think of our experiences trying to get

jobs or of media folks such as Barbara Walters, Diane Sawyer, Connie

Chung, or Sam Donaldson. Does the word “interview” make us feel

comfortable? Probably not. So it’s generally best to avoid using the “I

word” with people. Call it a “talk” or a “conversation” or even a “dis-

cussion.” As much as we may want to believe what Juliet told Romeo,

“That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,”

when you use the “I word” you’re working against years of associa-

tions that may not all be pleasant.

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Interviewing Techniques for Managers

might do or that may happen to him or her.

Make the interview easy and enjoyable and it’ll be easy for

the person you’re interviewing to give you the information you

need. You’ll save time and get more accurate information—and

both of you will feel better about the experience.

You’re sold. Behavioral interviewing—getting people to give

you information about things they’ve done or that have hap-

pened to them—is the way to go. Now, let’s look at the people

with whom you would use behavioral interviewing, some typical

situations, and examples that show how it works.

This will be just a brief introduction to behavioral interview-

ing, to show how you can use it to get information from people

for various purposes, in various situations. In the chapters to fol-

low, we’ll get to all the steps of planning and preparing, con-

ducting, and documenting interviews and then using the results.

Candidates for Employment or Volunteer Work

Situation: When you’re assessing a person for the right fit with

your organization, the tasks, and the method by which the tasks

need to done.

How It Works. You’ve just listened to a voice mail from a candi-

date for the telephone sales position. The process you planned

for finding the right employee starts with candidates telling you

in voice mail why their skills would meet your needs (which

they read on your Web site). This person said all the things you

were looking for, but he paused many times and the quality of

his voice was high-pitched. Was the person nervous because it’s

part of his job interview or is that his normal pace and pitch?

Pauses and a high pitch quality will make prospects for your

company’s services feel less than confident about the salesper-

son, a feeling that translates to the company and your services.

You’ll need to find out whether he can speak without so many

pauses and in a lower-pitched voice. So, when you call, you’ll

be attentive to his pace and pitch.

Here’s what you say:

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Why Am I Interviewing?

Describe a time when you felt nervous during a phone

call with a prospective customer—and tell me the ways

you think you exhibited the nervousness.

( He gives an example. )

I notice you pause frequently within and between sen-

tences. Are you pausing for emphasis, to prepare your

next thought so it’ll come out like you meant it, or for

another reason?

Your Direct Employees

Situation: When you’re conducting the annual performance

appraisal, in day-to-day coaching, and in career development

and planning.

You need to gain information from your employee in order

to know about his or her goals, plans, and needs. In these situa-

tions, you’ll look at examples of past behavior and use them to

predict and plan the future actions, attitudes, and needs that will

allow them to succeed.

How It Works. One of your employees has asked you about her

potential for a promotion in the company. She’s been with you

for a year and a half and from day one she’s clearly communi-

cated her expectation of moving up to manage projects or peo-

ple. Though her next performance appraisal isn’t due for a few

months, you agree to meet with her and discuss her situation.

She is really capable in her current job, when she focuses her

attention, and you feel she has the ambition to succeed as a

manager. The thing that’s holding you back from recommend-

ing her for promotion is that she hurries through most tasks.

Maybe she feels some of the tasks aren’t challenging enough,

so she hurries through them to get to others. Whatever the rea-

son, she makes more mistakes when she’s hurrying than others

in the department who aren’t as capable. You’ll need to find out

why she hurries and what’s causing her to make mistakes on

certain types of work, so you can help her figure out what to do

to be promotable.

McGraw-Hill - Briefcase Books - Interviewing Techniques For Managers.pdf

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