• Direct all your calls to another team member or voice mail.
• Provide a private place so that the applicant can speak freely without interruptions.
• Avoid displaying family photos or other objects that might lead the conversation in a personal and sometimes illegal direction.
• Begin the interview on time and personally greet the applicant in the lobby.

The SAD REFS acronym features “sad references” or topic areas that are illegal or potentially illegal.

Sex—gender or sexual orientation
Age
Disability—medical conditions, mental or physical disability
Race or religion
Ethnic heritage, national origin or citizenship
Family status, marital status, children, pregnancy or credit history
Some others—veteran’s status, convictions, arrest records

During the information gathering stage of an interview you will ask questions that are critical to discovering the applicant’s knowledge and skill levels.  The following questioning techniques can be helpful:

• Past Behavior-based questions refer to situations the applicant has handled in the past.  Rather than asking, “What would you do if…?” questions, try “Tell me about a time when…” This helps separate those who know the answers from those who know how to implement their knowledge.
• Contrary Evidence questions are those that help you learn about the applicant’s not-so-perfect experiences.  If during the past behavior-based questioning the applicant provides only great experiences, you might ask, “Tell me about a time when your actions produced a less than desirable outcome.  How did you handle the situation?  What did you learn from the experience?”
• Open-ended questions are those that cannot be answered with a simple yes or no.  They help you get details from the applicant, as well as offering an opportunity to evaluate communication skills.

With companies downsizing and rightsizing it is more important than ever that we practice due diligence when filling valuable open job slots.  There are three important components of an effective selection process:

1. Preparation—to include identifying essential job functions, both discipline-specific (technical skills) and performance skills such as adaptability, communication skills, effective relationship building skills and problem-solving skills.  This step also includes developing interview questions, which must be consistent for each applicant.

2. The Interview—to include the following stages: rapport building, information gathering (the longest stage), providing information and a closing or wrap-up.

3. The Evaluation—includes written evaluations and a matrix to highlight the applicants’ strengths and weaknesses based on the pre-determined essential job functions and the applicants’ responses to consistently posed interview questions.

Is your interview process based on “gut feelings” or is it a well-crafted method using all three stages? Doing so will increase the changes that you hire the best possible candidate each and every time.