Structuring interviews

This post came out from The Straits Times (17 September 2011)
Title - Take the guesswork out of hiring

Some pointers that I've got are:
1. Questioning skills
2. Avoid leading questions
3. Use your instincts

On Questioning skills

• Closed and open ended questions, used appropriately, will elicit the information required. In general, asking questions about real experience rather than hypothetical questions will help the manager collect evidence about the candidate's ability.
• Good questions typically start with "Tell me about a time when...", "Describe a situation when you had to..", and "Give us an example of when you had to...". 
• Mangers should learn to ask probing and specific questions, focusing in on the candidate's own tasks, actions and results. Ask for more examples and hone in on the details.
• Sometimes it is good to ask about failures too, or situations when they did not achieve the desired results. This will help the manager to get a more detailed view of what the candidate can do well, as well as what they don't do well. 
• Broad open-ended question - Tell me abut your biggest deal last year.
• Task oriented question - What was your role in the crafting of this deal?
• Action oriented question - What specific action did you do to help the team clinch the deal?
• Question about results - How much was the deal worth in relation to the company's revenue?

On Avoid leading questions

• Avoid questions starting with 'What would you do if...' These questions are of little use as the candidate can easily second-guess the intention of the question. Leading questions are also fairly useless as the candidate will easily tell you what they think you want to hear.
• Avoid asking overly broad questions - What are you most proud of?
• Avoid asking psychology questions - If you were an animal, what would you be and why?
• Avoid asking self assessment questions - How good are you at handling a difficult person?
• Avoid asking discriminatory question - When do you intent to start a family?

On Use your instinct

• While objectivity is important, instinct and gut feel also have a role to play.
• If the interviewer has a negative impression of the candidate, perhaps his instinct is telling him that there are potential problems and it is important for the interviewer to probe further.
• With a list of competencies and a set of standard questions, the manager will be able to compare each candidate in a more objective manner, assessed based on the competencies required for the job and not on other subjective variables. 

Yours,
Something Small Thinking Big