10 Most Common Interviewing Errors

We would like to start this discussion from the book “How to Hire & Develop Your Next Top Performer: The Five Qualities That Make Salespeople Great” coauthored by Herb Greenberg, Harold Weinstein and Patrick Sweeny. This book identified 10 errors committed by employers interviewing:

1. Don’t be afraid to ask tough questions
The first mistake occurs almost immediately, when the interviewer does not pursue why the applicant was dismissed from a previous job. If you uncover anything during the reference checking or employment history review process that warrants tough questioning, do not be afraid to ask about it during the interview. It is important that you begin your relationship with a new hire on a frank bases.

2. Don’t oversell your company.
The interviewer makes his second mistake by bragging about how things are booming, while not giving specifics to back up his claim. He follows this up with pat statements like, “since the company was founded a little over a decade ago, we’ve been on the right path and that road is now smoother than ever.” An adept interviewer will lay out the strengths and weaknesses of the firm, putting them in perspective. Do not paint an unrealistic picture of your company in order to lure an applicant on board.

3. Don’t ask for information you already have.
The interviewer asks, “Why don’t you tell me about yourself? Let’s see, how long ago did you start your current position?” This shows a lack of interest in the candidate since this information was obtained earlier. The interview should be used to obtain new information or to confirm or reject tentative information already acquired.

4. Don’t allow yourself to be interrupted unless there is an emergency.
The interview is interrupted twice, first by a salesperson sticking his head in the door and then by a telephone call. Too many interviewers allow the interview to become disjointed by not taking steps to prevent interruptions. Your office door should be closed. Put calls and messages on hold.

5. Don’t talk too much.
The interviewer tells the applicant, “Well, I’m sure you have a lot of questions about the company and the job. Let me try to anticipate some of them for you.” This is a classic case of an interviewer who loves to hear his/her own voice. At the most, an interviewer should say one word for every four spoken by the person being interviewed.

6. Don’t use the interview as your therapy.
As part of his need to hear himself talk, the interviewer told a confidential story about some of the problems he encounters in his position. Too many interviewers use their sessions to spout out their concerns about the company. When an interviewer vents emotions in an interview, he or she may feel better, but may lose a prospective employer in the bargain.

7. Don’t be afraid to spell out in detail the requirements of the position.
When the applicant got a word in edgewise and asked about the specific requirements of the job, she was brushed off with the pat answer, “But then, I wouldn’t be concerned about that if I were you. I’ve always believed that if you can sell, you can sell.” It is imperative that people know what is required of them before beginning a job. The interview is the time to outline the job’s requirements, as well as your criteria for evaluating success in the role.

8. Don’t gossip or swap war stories.
Many interviewers try to find familiar ground they can tread over with the applicant. Though this might seem like a comfortable way to get an interview under way, inquiring about friends and relatives can get things sidetracked, wasting a huge amount of time. The interview should be devoted to obtaining as much information as possible in order to make a sound hiring decision.

9. Don’t put the applicant on the defensive.
There is no point in creating unnecessary tension during the interview. Knowing an applicant’s personality strengths and weaknesses is vital to making the best hiring decision. Openly discussing Ms. Moore’s statement about detail on her former job might provide valuable insight, particularly if the test results provided evidence that there was indeed a sufficiently strong dislike of detail to create concern. A speech embodying a long-held philosophy is inappropriate, but a frank discussion of the importance of detail in the job, and how Ms. Moore might deal with the detail aspect of the job, would be constructive and would allow both people to make a more reasoned decision

10. Don’t be afraid to make the interview as long, or as short, as you deem necessary.
The final mistake was that the interview was concluded in an unnecessary rush. As the interviewer noticed the time, he realized he was late for another appointment and excused himself hurriedly. To be effective, the interview should make the fullest use of everyone’s valuable time. There are no set guidelines on length, so long as you clearly spell out the anticipated length of the interviews and so long as the time is spent wisely.

Interview Questions

Listed below are questions we have found effective in interviewing. After the candidate answers a question, put a plus or minus immediately in the right column. Add up the pluses and minus’s after the interview, and give the candidate an overall rating.
 

	QUESTION	RATE +/ -
1	Please take me back to your 11th grade year in High School and tell me about your mom and dad, brothers and sisters, and what type of activities you were involved in (sports, band, etc.) and also, tell me about your grades.
2	What has been your proudest achievement?
3	Have you ever had to go out on a limb in order to do something you thought was right? Please tell me about this.
4	Who has made the most significant contribution in the development of the person you are today? What was the nature of the contribution?
5	How do you feel about working with extremely bright and capable people? (If positive: What are the benefits of working with these people?)
6	What kind of a relationship do you want to have with your co-workers?
7	What do you like about being in (engineering, sales, etc)
8	What number of hours do you think it takes to be a good (engineer, salesman, etc)?
9	How would you feel if a co-worker wanted to share a family concern with you?
10	Your manager is convinced that the best way to (engineer, sell, etc) is by (doing it a little the wrong way). How do you feel about such an approach?
11	How do you persuade a reluctant (employer, prospect, etc.)?
12	You’re working under a manager who has great ideas but is very poor with detail planning. How could you best work with this kind of person?
13	How do you feel about being asked to address a large audience?
14	Why do you want to come to work for this company?
15	Some people feel it’s more important to do their best rather than win or lose. How do you feel about this?
16	If you had only three adjectives to use to describe yourself, what would they be?
17	How do you feel when someone questions the truth of what you have to say?
18	What would you be doing if you were not in (engineering, sales, etc)?
19	Some people seem able to see a total situation very quickly and visualize it as clearly as though it were on a television screen. Do you frequently find yourself able to do this?
20	Would you say that you are a generous person?
21	What kind of boss do you work most effectively with?
22	What are your favorite leisure time activities?
23	What have you found to be the most effective way to change someone else’s mind?
24	Some people like to plan their day’s activities in advance. How do you do this?
25	Do you communicate more effectively as a speaker or a writer?
26	What is the most important goal around which you organize your life?
27	What is the best way to develop your specific life goal?
28	You have a prospect who has the resource and wants to buy your product immediately but you have concern whether your product will actually satisfy the customer. What would you do?
29	Some (engineers, salesmen, etc.) want to know a great deal about the technical aspects of their products. How do you feel about this?
30	Can you portray self-confidence to others?
31	What’s the biggest career mistake you’ve made so far?
32	A technical question that digs at their knowledge of your industry.
33	You are obviously successful where you’re at, why the change?
34	Are/Were there any issues between you and your manager that I should be aware of?
35	Picture yourself five years down the road and you are enjoying your job. A managerial position opens up. What would you do?
36	What would your former employer say you needed to improve upon?
37	What kind of wage would you expect?
38	Are you under in non-compete clauses with the company you are working for now?
39	What would you like to know about our company?

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