Do this right, and your team will shine, and you will be able to consistently deliver results! Short change it, and you’ll be playing catch-up for the rest of your career…

• During your interviews, ask numerous questions designed to identify the key core character traits and competencies that the best candidates MUST bring to this role when they join your team.  Listen intently to the answers to these questions and observe the facial expressions and candidates to gauge the authenticity in their answers.  Ask follow-up questions to get examples that prove the answers are genuine.
• Determine how each candidate feels about and handles a little failure and how they view and handle mistakes.  Use that question to learn whether they’re the type to quickly point fingers or to lay down the “Victim Card.”  Avoid victims like the plague.
• Get the candidates to tell you what they consider “success”.  This wonderful technique will reveal a tremendous amount of helpful information to you.  My favorite way to ask this question is; “Suppose we decide you’re perfect for this job, offer it to you and you accept the position.  Fast forward ahead for a year and tell me what’s going on.  What will success look like for you?”
• Ask at least one question to each candidate that forces him or her to role-play to see how he or she really handles things.  One good example would be to have them imagine that they have a customer who is livid and wants to return something to our company and you know that there is nothing wrong with it.  You play the customer and have the candidate play him or herself and have them show you how they are going to handle the situation.
• This next one may seem funny but trust me; it’s an essential ingredient.  Take good notes during the interviews and take ten minutes after the interview to review the notes and add more so you won’t forget the content of the interview.  If you don’t do it now, you might forget later.  This will pay off big time when it comes time to recap four back-to-back interviews.  Schedule all interviews with a little time afterward to document the discussion.
• Send your candidates a personalized note of thanks after each interview.  What better way to inspire confidence in your organization and in your own character?

We’ll have more on recruiting Best Practices again next time we blog. Til then, remember that every interview leaves an impression upon the person you interview, make it count! Enjoy the journey!