By John Boring, CEO Accelerate Mobile Apps, Inc. Talentron.com
Most people agree that behavioral interview questions lead to tougher interviews. Until now a tougher interview meant your employer might be a pain in the ass.
In a recent study published by Glassdoor.com it was revealed that there is a statistical link between tough interviews and higher employee satisfaction. It was found that across the six countries surveyed, U.S., Canada, Australia, U.K., Germany and France, that a 10% more difficult interview process led to an average of 2.6% higher employee satisfaction score.
Hard interviews make for happier employees and behavioral interview questions makes for harder interviews.
A tougher interview would include such things as brainteasers, business problems, skill tests and most importantly behavioral questions. Behavioral interview questions ask the candidate to reach back into the recent past to describe how they have handled a given situation. By doing this the interviewer can draw out specific examples of their past behavior.
After asking the behavioral question, the interviewer seeks to uncover the problem the candidate faced, the actions that they took, and the results that were achieved. It is clear to see that it would not take long answering questions like this, for it to become a challenging interview for the candidate.
My Personal Experience with This
All of this was brought home to me recently as my son was interviewing in Silicon Valley for a position as a Product Manager. With his resume and experience he was not short on interviews and opportunities.
Being my son, he knows how to handle a behavioral question. He went into each interview prepared to answer questions with the problem he faced, the actions he took, and the results that were achieved. When we got together on weekends we would discuss how his interviews were going. Most of the time he felt like they were not challenging and really not that interesting a position or company. Then one weekend I could tell by his enthusiasm that he might finally have connected. He said he was interviewed by the hiring manager and was presented with a riddle and asked to describe his thinking as he tried to solve the riddle. In subsequent rounds of interviews he was asked behavioral questions and asked to prove his skills in the use of a particular software. In the end, this was the company he wound up going to work for, started work and was immediately engaged and challenged.
How tough is too tough?
But how tough is too tough an interview? The same study by glassdoor found that it is possible to have too hard of an interview process. In every country surveyed the same pattern emerged. On a five point scale with one being the lowest or easiest interview, a rating of four out of five in difficulty correlated most strongly with employee satisfaction. A rating of one or two out of five left the candidate with the feeling of a superficial conversation and the company often making a higher where the job match or culture fit was wrong. By contrast, a five out of five rating in difficulty might be an indication of a deeper dysfunction in the organization such as a competitive, aggressive work culture.
Having a tough yet organized interview process allows managers to carefully screen candidates for the skills they need and the culture fit that is required. All of this results in a better quality of hire.
So what should constitute a tough interview? Obviously this will vary by situation but here are a few principles to follow:
• Identify skills and competencies that are required for success and those that are just nice to have
• create an interview guide using behavioral interview questions designed to uncover the candidates experience in each of the skills required
• Select skilled interviewers for your hiring team
• Use follow-up questions to identify specific examples of skills and behaviors that are relevant to the job
• Use a consistent interview evaluation form and process
Out of respect to the candidates and to improve your employer brand, move quickly and decisively on both candidates you are interested in and those you are not interested in pursuing. And always be direct, honest and forthright in your communications.
All of these things when used together make for a tougher and more challenging interview experience. This leads to a better job match and a feeling of accomplishment by the new hire that they have achieved something significant before they even walk in the first day.
