Hiring Someone- Some Keys

Through our work we speak with many people in charge of hiring. One thing I have noticed is that interviewing is treated as an art and not a science. By this I mean, it rare an interviewer actually takes time to prepare for an interview. What then happens is that hiring decisions are made based on "feelings" or intuition. Hard way to ensure you are finding the best available person for your position.

The other issue I see consistently is an interviewer asks the candidate to make stuff up or answer what the interviewer wants to hear. Questions such as, "what are your strengths?", "what can you improve?", "where do you want to be in five years?" really tell you nothing of use. So what should you do?

First, realize that research has shown people are creatures of habit and that 85% of what they have done and how they react to situations in the past is exactly how they will perform and react in the future. So, ask questions about their experiences. Some sample questions:

1) When you found your largest account at your past company, how did you find it?
2) How did you solve a large issue that may have come up at your past company?
3) When you had a disagreement in your past company, what was it and how did you solve it?

Now here is the kicker, when you check references, make sure to check the answers to the above with the reference. Ask the reference the same questions about your candidate. If the answers pan out and are to your liking, you have found a good candidate! Good luck!