Interviewing Skills: How to Recognize & Hire The Best

Conduct interviews with confidence using Behavior Based Interviewing - a proven method for selecting top performers.

Created byMark Fiveman

Last updated 1/2015

English

What you'll learn

Conduct interviews with confidence
Learn interview tips to hire the best
Use science-based interviewing skills
Have a step-by-step interview preparation process – that works
Know which interview techniques work, and which don’t
Design interview questions that determine if the candidate is the right fit for the job
Conduct interview training for others in your organization
Know that you have the interview skills to build an A-player team

Course content

3 sections • 14 lectures • 1h 5m total length

Introduction5:46
Interviewing prospective employees is a tough, time-intensive process, and you want to make sure to do it right the first time!

Behavior Based interviewing will help you make the right choice from the beginning.

It is based on the idea that past and present behavior is the best indicator of future behavior.

Exactly what are the benefits of Behavior Based Interviewing?

It is backed by research

It is based on job competencies

Increased predictability

Greater standardization of process

Performance improvement

Hire more “A” level employees

In the activity at the end of this lecture, you will identify characteristics of your current hiring process.

As a participant in the course, you will have the opportunity to practice, engage and learn at your own pace!
Question Types2:52
There are three basic types of questions.

Closed-ended questions

Open-ended questions

Leading questions

Close-ended questions can be answered with a yes or no response.

Open-ended questions require more detail and information

Leading questions provide an opportunity for elaboration of previous responses to gather more detail.

This lecture includes a short exercise to ensure you can identify the different types of questions.
Review of Traditional Hiring Practices3:55
Traditional hiring practices usually begin with the screening process.

Common elements of the screening process are:

Resume & Application

Online Assessments

Phone/Online Interview

Second Interview
Why Traditional Interview Questions Don't Work4:22
Traditional interviewing relies interview questions that have been proven to be ineffective for identifying and hiring the best candidate.

The traditional screening process evaluates candidates based on work experience, education, references and similar criteria.

Traditional hiring interviews often depend on the interviewer’s “gut” reaction, and are highly subjective, thus prone to poor hiring decisions.

Often, decisions on hiring are made in the first 90 seconds of a traditional interview, and this is entirely subjective.

The two activities in this lecture will assist you in identifying the real and hidden costs of making bad hiring decisions.
The Failure of Traditional Hiring Practices5:11
Study after study and statistic after statistic provide overwhelming evidence that the traditional methods of hiring and interviewing produce poor results, often no better than flipping a coin.

Fundamentals7:49
Forty years ago, the idea of Behavior Based Interviewing was born.

The central idea is that past and present behavior is the best predictor of future behavior. When you ask questions to find out how someone has performed, or behaved, in the past, you can best predict how they will perform, or behave, in the future.

Behavior Based interviewing relies upon linking job competencies with interview questions to drill-down into specific examples and skills that applicants possess, and measuring the applicants response according to those competencies.

This provides more objectivity and consistency to the hiring and interview process.

Companies that use Behavior Based Interviewing report more consistent hiring of top performers.
A Process For Hiring The Best8:44
In this lecture you will learn the key elements of using Behavior Based Interviewing to create a process for hiring the best.

The basis for that process for hiring depends upon four tasks:

Compiling a job profile

Developing Core Competencies for each job

Developing levels for each Core Competency

Creating metrics to measure Core Competence performance

By completing these tasks, you will be able to write effective and objective interview questions.
Defining Job Competencies3:09
Behavior Based Interviewing uses competencies and metrics to write questions for interviews.

In most cases, job competencies used in interviewing and hiring are ranked on a five point scale.

Competency charts for positions in a company allow for a clear path for promotion, performance reviews and salary increases. An example is included here for a Sales Executive position.

It includes specific metrics, an important part of measuring success in a particular position.

In the activity in this lecture you will have the opportunity to create a job profile for a Sales Trainer position.
Creating a Competency Chart5:12
In the previous section you filled out a competency chart for a Sales Trainer.

In this lesson, you will create a competency profile for a position you are hiring for in your own organization.

Writing Behavior-Based Interview Questions6:18
Behavior Based Interviewing uses competencies and metrics to write questions for interviews.

There are 3 parts to the design of every question.

The question construction

The drill-down questions/prompts

What to listen for in the person’s response to the questions

The STAR format is used as a guide to create the initial question.

STAR stands for Situation/Task, Action and Result.

STAR sets up a situation, asks for an action response and provides the interviewer with prompts to listen for in the candidate’s response.

You also use the STAR format to create the drill-down questions, or follow-up questions, in order to elicit more information from the candidate.

All of these questions are elicit actual behavior, the key element to Behavior Based Interviewing.

The activity in this lecture provides you with practice in writing interview questions using the STAR format.
Preparing the Interview3:37
Before you begin the interviewing process, it is best to set up the interview for success:

Consider using a pre-screening process to narrow your list of candidates

Decide on an interview format, whether it will be online, on the phone or in person

Make sure you have a complete applicant file

Select an appropriate location and invite the relevant participant
Best Practices4:25
Behavior Based Interviewing works best when you keep these parameters in mind:

Make sure you have sufficient time for all of the questions AND the responses

Allow time for those follow-up questions

Make sure you include everyone who needs to be involved

Be prepared for things to go off plan

There are several signs your interview has failed. The most common one is a failure by the candidate to fully answer the question(s). This is where the drill down/follow-up questions can remedy the situation.
Scoring and Selecting Candidates2:22
All of the questions in a Behavior Based interview should be scored by the panel of interviewers.

Each question should ideal responses and a rating scale.

Using an objective rating scale greatly increases the likelihood that you’ll make objective decisions and hire the best candidate.
Summary1:18
This course provided you with the essential skills to develop a Behavior Based interviewing program in your company and conduct successful Behavior Based interviews.

Implemented properly, Behavior Based Interviewing will lead you to hiring the right candidate and getting A-players on your team.

Requirements

There are no pre-requisites for this course

Description

Recognize the importance of good talent, but find it difficult to drawn excellent candidates for your organization? Hired major duds in the past?

Hiring is a complicated aspect of building an organization, and something most people get 100% wrong!

But those that do build long-lasting brands, massive empires, and companies that spur innovation.

The difference between hiring right and hiring wrong can be the life or death of an entire organization. Unfortunately, you probably don't know the best practices of hiring.

My name is Mark Forman and I work with Fortune 500 companies to improve their organization, and one area that usually needs improvement is their hiring process.

In this course you will learn:

The failures of the hiring process you are using now
How to hire the best person for the job (not the best interviewer)
Matching candidates with job competencies
How to prepare as the job interviewer
A whole lot more

These are the same strategies that have generated millions in increased efficiency and output of companies all over the world.

Hire the best, be the best.

Enroll now.

Who this course is for:

A person in a hiring position
A member of an organization that hires
A hiring manager
Anyone who has to conduct interviews

Interviewing Skills: How to Recognize & Hire The Best

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Introduction5 lectures • 22min

Define What You're Looking For4 lectures • 25min

How To Conduct Successful Interviews5 lectures • 18min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: