The task of Candidate selection is a recurring one. Between new projects requiring new hires and employees on a constant move for better career prospects a Recruiters job is never done. As a result Recruiters are constantly in search of talent to meet requirements.

But how do you filter the talented and high performers from the average candidates.  Isn’t that a pickle especially when you’re swamped with pools of talent to make your selections? That’s when screening tools come in handy. Therefore having a Performance based Interview plan in place might not be such a bad idea. The likely question is what steps are to be taken in to consideration when developing a Performance Based Interview?

Step 1 Introductions

When interviewing candidates; remember to spend no less than 1-2 minutes on introductions. While you do that be sure to ask these questions –

  • What he/ she has done i.e. most comparable?
  • What are you looking for in a new Job? Why?

 Pointers

  • Remember the why is more important than the what
  • Have control over the conversation
  • Main purpose of asking such questions is
  • to find out what is the real motive behind changing the job
  • to find best people who see the job as a career move

Step 2 Be Objective

Come what may you have to be objective if you want to have clarity in thought and get a complete idea about the candidate. This is possible if you wait for 30 minutes before barraging candidates with Yes or No questions besides its common knowledge that maximum errors occur within the first 30 minutes of the conversation.

Step 3 Conduct Work-history Review to understand achiever patterns

When conducting a work – history review to understand the achiever patterns, make sure you conduct it for 30minutes. In doing so you’ll get a clear idea of the responsibilities the candidate has handled in different jobs. It will help you identify the various reasons as to the job change and check whether they were the right ones. This information will give you a clear perspective about whether the candidate is the right fit.

Step 4 Ask about major accomplishments

Asking candidates about their major accomplishments is by far one of the most important one just yet. This will give you a clear picture about their major success in all past positions. This will also help you understand the fact finding process of the candidates.

Step 5 Always ask the problem solving question

Here’s yet another question to pose candidates with and understand how they would solve a realistic problem.  Once you have this information then you need to go in to a give and take discussion to understand the process the candidate uses to solve the problem. Remember the answer is of less importance than the process they use. Besides the best people have the ability to visualise the solution before they implement it. Note that brain teasers, hypotheticals and trick questions aren’t predictors of success.

Now you know what aspects need to be included when creating a performance based interview to spot the best fit. So what aspects do you cover in your Performance  based Interview plan?