The keys to great interviews consist of the following points:

If you are experiencing less than desirable applicant selection, or high turnover, you problem most likely resides in a poor selection program. Many managers have said, "well, it must be the pay, we're just not paying them enough, or "we don't have the best benefits." The truth is that there are people who work for your company who do a great job with the current salary and benefits, so the answer lies in your selection program.

You need to find out what these successful incumbents do, why they like doing the work, then find more individuals like them. Let's start by discussing

Great interviews begin with preparation. If you are winding up with less-than-acceptable employees, than you probably didn't prepare for the interview, asked poor questions, talked more than the applicant, or failed to ask tough questions.

Many new managers or managers who interview infrequently haven't been trained in the latest interviewing technique and do their best at interviewing based on what they experienced as interviewees.

You begin the interview preparation by gathering resources about the job. Start by assembling a folder with as many of the following items as you can:

1. Job summary from "Dictionary of Occupational Titles" 2. Most recent job description 3. Any information from previous job studies 4. Task statements from a previous job analysis 5. Minimum position qualification statements 6. The names and qualifications of previous job holders 7. Anticipated job duties or tasks if this is a new position 8. Any other resource that can help you identify tasks and essential functions of the position.

Evaluate these resources to identify key elements of the job. You will use these key elements to identify highly targeted interview questions. Once you know what the job requires, you can quickly build competency-based (behavioral) interview questions and follow-up probes.

Structured Interview

The next step is to create a structured interview. A structured interview assures your success in that each applicant will be asked the same highly position-specific questions (an important legal consideration) and evaluated against a standard criterion.

Your interview questions should directly relate to important tasks and the essential functions of the position. Each interview question should ask for a specific example of a situation or task which will help you evaluate how the applicant actually performed in the situation or task.

In-depth probing of applicant answers

Each competency-based (behavioral) interview question should have several follow-up probes written ahead of time.

Typical probes should include:

"What was your specific role?" "How did you decide which task to do first?" "How did the outcome affect your company?" "What could you have done differently?" "How has that experience affected the way you conduct…today?"

Your goal is to get a clear impression as to how the applicant actually performed in the situation or task. You can stop asking additional questions and follow-up probes after you are satisfied that you can make a fair and accurate assessment of the applicants capabilities for each specific competency.

Consistent evaluation of applicants

Interviewers using competency-based (behavioral) interview techniques often use behavioral evidence guides with anchors and scales to assess and match an applicant's responses with those depicted in the guide.

Interviewers can quickly assess the applicant's response and place it in the Exceptional, Average, or Needs Improvement category. These tools offer unparalleled accuracy and consistency in evaluating applicants for a position. The ultimate benefit is that interviewers can point to specific reasons as to why they believe an applicant can or can not do the job based on actual examples provided by the applicant. This system is far superior to traditional interviews where most of the decisions are "gut instinct."

If you want to test your current interviewing technique, ask yourself the following question at the end of an interview with an applicant."

"What specific examples can I provide that illustrate the applicant has done well in a similar situation or task for each critical area of the job?"

If your answers are vague or unsupported, you are relying on "gut instinct." Many companies experiencing high turnover or poor performance fail to ask the right questions and inadequately probe applicant answers. Making the switch to structured, competency-based interviews can dramatically improve your applicant selection process. In today's competitive marketplace, you can't afford to use outdated techniques when making critical hiring decisions.