Poor hiring decisions are costing businesses millions of dollars each year! Let our interviewing tips help.

• Is your teams performance a casualty of high turnover?
  
• Are you disappointed when what appears to be a good hire becomes a discontented troublemaker?
  
• Does it take two people to do the work of one? 
  
• Are you facing a labor shortage, or could it be you are facing a shortage of skills?

The costs of bad hiring decisions sneak up on an organization and ambush profits, competitiveness, and market share, not to mention affecting employee retention and morale. 

It's no secret costs increase when the same hiring errors are made repeatedly. Although we hope to learn from our mistakes, unfortunately that's not always the case. When it comes to bad hiring decisions, the cost to replace a misfit can be astronomical.

 How confident are you in your selection process?

Hire Right the First Time - by asking great interview Questions 

You become a valuable contributor to the corporate balance sheet by hiring quality people the first time. 

If you control the costs of a bad hiring decision, you can impact the bottom line in your organization.

Mistakes go beyond losing the services of one person. There are administrative expenses and indirect costs to the business, including diminished productivity in the weeks before the employee leaves. Increased workloads, and the disruption in operational flow for the people who remain, reduce the effectiveness of everyone.

Interviewing tip 1

In preparing for the interview, decide what you want to know. 

Ask each candidate the same or similar questions. It is much easier to compare candidates if you measure everyone against the same criteria. 

If you develop your interview questions before the interview, based on the information you need to know, you can increase your confidence. Its  true you'll probe for additional information based on individual responses, but you'll still initially ask each candidate the same or similar interview questions. 
(See Interview Questions Generator Software for
help creating your Interview Questions) 

Interview questions on employment application forms and those asked during pre-employment interviews have traditionally been instruments for early elimination of "unsuited" or "unqualified" people from consideration for employment.

Interviewing Tips 2

 They are also used to restrict or deny employment opportunities for women and minorities. Therefore, be sure you ask only job-related questions. Some of my favorites include behavior-based questions. Ask the candidate to share past successes and failures.

Because your number one job as a hiring manager is to determine the candidate's  weaknesses, you might want to ask some of the following questions when you interview:

• Give me two examples of things you have done in previous jobs that demonstrate your willingness to work hard.
• What could your past employers count on you for without fail?
• Tell me about the last time you lost your temper at work.
• In your last job, what problems did you identify that had previously been overlooked?
• Tell me about a time when you were disappointed in your work performance.

Fine-Tune Interviewing Skills

Most schools and organizations do not teach their managers how to interview. 

Often we hire people for the wrong reasons and wind up with employees that are a bad fit for the job and the department. Many people hire only those people they think are like them.

Key mistakes Managers Make During the Interview Process

• Going with your "gut" reaction

• Turning the interview into a social conversation

• Asking candidates different questions

• Asking "yes" and "no" interview questions.

• Depending too much on the resume and application

• Asking candidates illegal questions

• Hiring people like you

• Lack of preparation

Avoid Legal Problems

Asking the right interview questions helps insure legally compliant interviews. 

Great interview questions keep you focused and help you maintain control of the interview. 

The best questions are probing, and require the candidate explain the "who," "what," "when," "where," "why," and "how" of their skills and work experience. 

Candidates can easily answer the "what" questions. But the "how" questions require candidates to explain in detail how they did something. If they have not done it, they won't be able to fake it. It is nearly impossible to answer the "how" question and show depth and knowledge without having performed the task.

Some managers hire purely on "gut feelings" or intuition.

That can also lead to disastrous results. They both play a role in the hiring process, but should be used as a confirmation after a series of pre-planned questions are asked during the interview. Beyond the questioning, hire for attitude--everything else is secondary. Then if necessary, train for required skills. There is a prophetic axiom that applies here: "People are hired for aptitude and fired for attitude."

Because of the keen competition for talent, recruiting and hiring people who are eager to learn may be your best strategy. It is important to note most organizations grow their own talent through training.

You have the power to prevent a job interview from becoming a hiring disaster! 

You are the gatekeeper. 

• Ask the RIGHT interview questions. 
  
• Listen carefully to the answers. 
  
• Gather versus give information; 
  
• Follow the 80/20 rule - listen 80% of the time and speak only 20%. It is the best way to find out if the candidate matches your job requirements.

'From Hiring Top Performers' by Carol Hacker. Highly recommended for all interviewers