Interviewing: Listen More And Longer . . . Until Later | No BS Hiring Advice
By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
If you start too soon, you are not listening to the person opposite you. Here, I remind you to listen more and talk less . . . until later.
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Now, I want to talk to those of you who are involved with the hiring process, as a way of trying to get you to be a little bit more patient with yourself. Now, often what happens in interviews, at least this is what job hunters have told me for years, is that you ask them a few questions, and then you start talking a lot. I’m not sure what you think is going on, but when you start talking early in the process, you’re not learning anything about the job hunter. At that point. You’re not learning anything about the person sitting opposite you
I want you to start thinking holistically about job hunters, and asking them useful questions, not just simply about their skills and experience and stuff along
those lines, but questions that are designed to find out who they are as a person. Obviously, without getting into discriminatory territory, but there are questions that you can be asking.
I have an article I recently wrote for Forbes and I have a few videos on the subject to cover this. But the long and the short of it is you need to listen more early in the process, so that you can find out what you need to about this person. Because when you think about what you’re trying to evaluate for, skills are only one element though. Competence is only one element of it. You want to get a sense of their self-confidence, character, chemistry, and maybe a little bit of charisma and, thus, learn to trust them.
Now, one variable that I always bring into the equation is the difference in how you need to listen to an introvert rather than an extrovert. An extrovert is going to present more like I typically do. I appear self-confident. I’ve got a lot of determination whereas an introvert is going to present as being more meticulous and detail-oriented. Remarkably thorough, and depending upon the role that you have available, one personality type or another is going to be better suited for you, right? So don’t confuse, a more overt personality with someone who, by comparison, is more introverted and thus interpret that introversion as lack of confidence. It isn’t. It’s just a different personality type.
But your goal is to listen; your goal is to learn, and ultimately to decide. No matter what, later on in the process, you need to be selling to everyone, even if you’re not interested in them.
Take a few minutes to talk with them about the opportunity. Talk with them for a few minutes. Talking with them about the great future they could have in the organization. Why would you do that with somebody you’re not interested in? Simple. Social media. Friends. you want referrals. you want to be seen as an employer of choice, right? You want people to want to work for your firm, and not always have yourself, your HR organization, your advertising, you know, have to do the work for you.
You want people coming to you into your firm, because they’ve heard great things about the opportunity, about you, about your leadership, and you’re selling to them in your enthusiasm. Remember, even when you’re knocked out, even when you’re tired, you have to demonstrate your enthusiasm in much the same way as you have an expectation of a job hunter doing that for you.
Don’t lose sight of that. But start off with listening, then go into selling.
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ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a coach who worked as a recruiter for what seems like one hundred years. He is hired to provide No BS Career Advice globally. That can involve job search, hiring staff, management, leadership, career transition and advice about resolving workplace issues. Schedule a discovery call at my website, www.TheBigGameHunter.us
He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with over 2500 episodes.
I do a livestream on LinkedIn, and YouTube (on the JobSearchTV.com account) Tuesdays at 1 PM Eastern. You can send your questions about job search, hiring better, management, leadership or to get advice about a workplace issue to me via messaging on LinkedIn or in chat during the approximately 30-minute show.
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