Interviewing Training

1. Interviewing Training Client Name Presented by ABC Date The enclosed information is not legal advice.  It should not be considered a legal opinion as to which laws apply or as to how any law applies to a particular situation.  Companies or individuals should seek advice of counsel with regards to their particular situation.

2. Introduction Getting Ready The Interview Post Interview Conclusion Interviewing at ABC

3. Section One Introduction

4. How certain are you after most interviews that you have the data you need to make a sound and fair hiring decision? …and how confident are you in your ability to evaluate and accurately interpret that data? How often do you have major surprises after a person you’ve interviewed begins working with you day-to-day? How many interviewing courses have you gone through? Let’s face it - even for the seasoned interviewer - interviewing is hard! Introduction

5. Our primary goal is to continue to construct teams consisting of the best! …and to remember that when we say, “The best”, it goes much deeper than just “Smart”, “Competent”, “Senior”, “Hardworking”, “High Energy”, etc. Therefore our goal today is to understand how to effectively interview for a star employee. Goals

6. We’re not just any mix - there’s a special list of ingredients that make ABC special: Proactively anti politics! Of sound character Providing leadership on all levels Dedicated and hard working Suited to the pace of vertical growth Very straightforward Prone to passionate discourse Our “Mix”

7. Section Two Getting Ready

8. Hard Requirements: Technical Skills Education/Knowledge Appropriate Experience Level of Seniority Soft Requirements: Character Leadership Ability (all levels) Team Orientation Interaction Style Energy Level Flexibility Level headedness Step 1 – Study Job Description

9. Map the resume to the job description. Look for patterns, whether positive or negative, in career. progression/direction, type of industry, stability, etc. Make notes as reminders to yourself for the interview. Envision the person through the words. Look for hot buttons! Structure the Interview Components when you’ve finished reading the resume (Opening, Body, Closing). Step 2 – Review the Resume

10. Opening - 5% Talk about ABC and our style of interacting Describe the position in detail Discuss the structure of the interview Body - 90% Ask your questions Give the candidate opportunities to ask questions Stay in control of the interview Closing - 5% Discuss next steps and set realistic expectations Step 4 – Plan the Interview Structure Make sure you have a conference room or hard wall space reserved.

11. Plan generic questions relevant to the position. Map questions to the resume before beginning the interview. Objectivity and deep assessment are key! Don’t be afraid to drill down - quality candidates tend to think we’ll hire “just anyone” if we don’t probe deeply. Follow threads suggested by candidate’s comments. Treat every candidate with respect! Get toknow your candidate! Keep your mind open to a possible fit for other positions. Step 4 – Plan the Interview Content

12. Section Three The Interview

13. Must adhere to EEO policies. We live diversity beyond the requirements of the law. Our mindset is one of thinking only about job related issues. Most suits occur because someone was careless and/or ill prepared. Legal Guidance

14. You’re looking for hard data. Use the resume as a guide to probe deeply into what your candidate has written about her/himself. If you probe into how s/he did something s/he’s much less likely to feel that you’re questioning whethers/he did it. Use closed-ended questions when probing for facts. Use open-ended questions when probing for methodology, approach, thinking, and problem solving issues. Construct scenarios to test problem solving skills. Hard Skills Interviewing - Technical

15. Facts about education stated on the resume suggest closed-ended questions. Ask open-ended questions when inquiring about how s/he’s utilized her/his education. Probe for what a candidate’s expectations were of her/his 1st, 2nd, 3rd job while in college and not yet out interviewing. Hard Skills Interviewing - Education

16. It shows in the results: ABC enjoys an extremely low attrition rate! Employee relation issues are few and nearly always easily solved. After interviews, you want candidates to feel that we’re all “on the same page”. Choosing who we want to work with day-to-day works if we know how to choose! Why not be successful without constant fixing and back filling? Why not build to last? Soft Skills Interviewing

17. Don’t “Perform” - be yourself! Tell the candidate why you joined ABC Talk about why ABC is unique Discuss our uniqueness as a business Sell the products and services Don’t brag! Don’t ever misrepresent! Observe confidentiality! Calibrate when you need help - never hesitate to ask! Selling ABC

18. Section Four Post Interview

19. Costs of Attrition • Hiring the wrong person impacts you, the team, and ABC. • Addressing performance issues is time consuming and causes productivity down time. • Replacing someone means more recruiting costs. • …and it means you spend more time interviewing. • Assimilation of each new person is time consuming. • Re-training drains even more of your time. • Attrition impacts morale. That’s why assessing the data after interviewing is key!

20. Hiring Manager Connect with others on the interview team - ask for their assessment Interview Team Send the hiring manager your comments - do so right after you’ve assessed your data and the information is fresh! Collecting the Data

21. The data you’ve gathered is not reliable unless you assess it intelligently, meaning deeply - in proportion - and fairly. Objective evaluations predict more accurately. Map interview results to your day-to-day expectations of a fellow ABC employee . Consider: Ability to perform (without which all else is irrelevant). Character second (without which all else is irrelevant). Style last and least (other than for “face to the customer” roles). Assessing the Data

22. Section Five Next Steps

23. Listen to everyone who interviewed the candidate - then compare with your own data and evaluation. Ask yourself whether you have a broad, deep, and balanced picture of the candidate. Request additional time with the candidate and/or to be part of reference checking if you feel unsure. Include your own caveats with your recommendation, whether you vote for against hiring. After giving your recommendation commit to do all that is reasonable to help make the person a successful employee if hired! Recommendations

24. You can always contact Human Resources. Check out our Intranet for more information; specifically section XX. Additional Resources