Michele Harmon
How do you pick candidates to interview, and what is the correct interviewing process?
This is a highly complex process, and what follows are best practices. Do what you want until you must defend yourself. Here are my recommendations.
First, post your job on your Human Resources Information System (HRIS) platform, such as Workday, Paycom, or ADP. That platform will post your vacancies on your chosen websites, such as Indeed, Zip Recruiter, etc. If you post directly to Indeed, you will spend much time looking at applicants who have yet to complete their applications on your HRIS platform. Posting on your HRIS system automatically sends candidates to your online job application.
Either way, post your vacancies both externally and internally. Posting jobs just for external applicants is not suitable for employee relations.
Select the candidates to interview that have the minimum qualifications, and do not interview anyone without those qualifications. Your preferred qualifications, meanwhile, focus on excellence and probably speak more to what you are seeking. You might concentrate on those qualifications as you select the actual candidates for interviewing.
The best practice to employ is a structured interview with written interview questions and the same committee members assigned for each position review. The answers to those interview questions are part of your hiring documentation and can be used to defend your organization from a complaint of discrimination—you know, the EEOC.
Interview questions must be structured to fit the individual job posting. General questions may be structured to determine organizational fit. The committee must write down what the candidates say, not word for word, but at least comprehensibly enough to capture the candidates’ meaning. This is especially true for those critical questions, so that the answers can be readily reviewed and understood by those in your organization—especially if a legal complaint should arise.
Yes, it’s true you do not have to have a structured interview and keep a record of interview questions and answers. However, what will you do if there is a complaint? On the other hand, if you have no records, can that work in your favor? Does less equal more, regarding documentation?
Maybe, but what will you do if you have multiple discrimination complaints? There is a reason for the expression, “When it rains, it pours.” If you find yourself without documentation, do you still have an employee who can defend you by tapping their own memory? Is that employee going to make a good witness?
If it is not in writing, it did not happen. However, if you write it down, do not write anything you do not want on the newspaper’s front page or your favorite social media site.
I advise leaders to have structured interviews and train committee members on what can be asked and what cannot, as well as on how to write the candidate’s answers on the form.
Recently, people have started typing candidates’ answers on a laptop during the interview for efficiency. That is usually okay if it is an online screening interview. You can also record the online interview.
However, the typing sound is horrible if it is a face-to-face interview. That is like fingernails on a chalkboard; nothing is more obnoxious than long fingernails on a keyboard clicking away. It is distracting to the interviewee and at least some of the committee.
Regarding your committee, do not have four white males at the table. Bring diversity to the table, including at least one female and one minority.
During the interview, give the candidate some water. They need to be hydrated during this stressful situation. Anyone who tells you interviews are not stressful is lying. Remember to look the candidate in the eye. Do not be texting. Listen to their answers, and watch their body language.
Do not be fooled by someone who looks or sounds like you, what an HR professional calls the “Halo Effect.” On the other hand, just because you do not have a tattoo, and the candidate does, do not exclude them if you select the best candidates to interview from the interview pool; follow through and treat each one equally.
Contact references and ask to contact previous supervisors. Friends, colleagues, and family are not job references. On your application, if the candidate marks down that you cannot consult with their current supervisor, that makes sense. Still, the candidate must have at least one supervisor willing to speak to their qualifications.
After the interview, you must maintain the interview questions and answers for one year or two, depending on your organization. I advise keeping the interview questions and answers in a separate file by job posting and year. Records are a defense against discrimination claims.
After years of handling interviews, I have found that my top two or three candidates are usually the same as the rest of the committee’s. Candidates matching the job rise to the top with good questions, a well-trained interview committee, and a trained HR professional to guide the process.
“Your employees are the heart of your organization.” Dr. Michele Harmon is a Human Resource professional, supporting clients in Texas and New Mexico that range in size from five to more than 3,000 employees. Email: micheleharmon1@gmail.com