Monday, June 17, 2013

What can you expect in your final round of interviews?

On hiring Mr. Nayar sounds more like the HR Department at Southwest Airlines than the CEO of an international technology company.   He said "I like to hire people who have the desire inside them because I can't create it. I can help you find your desire, but I can't create it." I have always found the most effective way to screen for desire is to try to convince a prospective new employee that they should choose something else.  If they don't fight back and stand up for what they believe in I know they will eventually choose another path.  Using this same style process Mr. Nayar finds that 90% are unsure of what they really want, they've not found their "true north."

Another key question he uses is   "What do you want to do next?"  He wants learners not teachers.  His interview style focuses on intent not just content.  He likes questions like; What excites you most? What depresses you most?

As the final leg in a lengthy interview process he likes to turn the tables by putting the interviewee in the hiring seat.  If you were the one hiring today and you had a choice of hiring any of those who interviewed you today.  Who would you hire and why?  The answers he says reveal their ability to spot strengths and weaknesses.

My friend Rick Powers is a brilliant interviewer.  He likes to interview people in groups asking unusual questions like; If you were a vegetable, what kind of would you be.  I always thought this was a wonderful way to test their creativity and authenticity under pressure.  Then he told me the real secret.  What he was looking for was not from the individual being asked the question, but from those observing the process.  Those who were supportive and encouraging got the jobs while the self absorbed, petty and indifferent got to bring down somebody else's business.

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