The Interview: How to find a Leader
So, Dovetail have done the hard work for you and got your shortlist of candidates ready for that first interview. :0)
We thought we’d gather some tips to help you successfully interview and identify leadership qualities in your candidates – especially useful if you’re new to interviewing. Read on to improve your Employer Interview skills!
Employer Interview Skills
Right, You have an allocated time slot to get the information you need from the interview. You’ve got your pre-prepared list of interview questions and the time begins – you have 45 mins / 1 hr to:
- Determine if they’ll be able to fulfil the job & requirements of the role!
- Decide if you like the person sat in front of you.
- Decide if they’ll be a great team and company ‘fit’
- Have they got the skills for the role or the potential?
- Ideally, you want them to exceed expectations, and excel within the company
Don’t forget it’s a two-way process?
Either way, in today’s job climate it’s really important to remember that not only are you trying to find the best person for your company. Your potential employee is also looking for their best-fit job role and company – it’s very much a two-way process. And as the right candidates are very much in demand right now – the pressure is on even more to sell your company, your brand.
Recent surveys have shown that the brand experience for potential employees can hit a company’s bottom line if they get it wrong. If the candidate has a ‘bad or unpleasant’ experience – they could have a negative impact, most obviously tell others about their bad experience and share it online. So it’s all about getting that culture fit right in addition to the skills and leadership experience.
You’re recruiting for a leadership role – so how to get the right person?
Before you start, think about people in your company that demonstrate great leadership skills – what do they do? Think of the qualities this person has, that you need to find in a new employee.
Monster.com give some great pointers on this, suggesting there are four key areas to focus your questions around. We’ve included their top questions below.
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Pay attention to whether people talk about themselves
(“I did this”) or their teammates (“we did this”) when answering general interview questions or direct leadership questions.
What led to your last two promotions?
Tell me about a subordinate you helped develop.
Answers will either be ‘I did’ etc… or ‘we did, my team did’ – this will help indicate their involvement and potential for leadership.
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Good managers find better ways to get the job done.
Job candidates who don’t have previous leadership positions can answer hypothetical questions about how they’d improve processes and products.
If you returned to your previous job as the boss, what would you do to create a better workplace? What things were done well there?
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Consider how long you have to develop leadership.
Match the time frame of your questions to the length of time people typically stay with your firm, and determine if the job seeker would be willing to put in the extra time to eventually take on a managerial role.
Sample questions:
Where do you see yourself in two years?
Tell me about a time you had to get yourself quickly up to speed in a new role in the past, either at work on outside work? What did you do and how did that work out? -
Quantify job seekers’ past management experience by asking for details.
Sample questions:
Did you train or mentor (formally or informally) subordinates or peers? How many people and in what ways?
Where and how did you save money for your employer or client(s)? ?
See the full article.
Source:
Monster.com
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