1. Interviewing Training
Client Name
Presented by ABC
Date
The enclosed information is not legal advice.  It should not be considered a legal opinion as to which laws apply or as to how any law applies to a particular situation.  Companies or individuals should seek advice of counsel with regards to their particular situation.

2. Interviewing at ABC Introduction Getting Ready The Interview
Post Interview
Conclusion

3. Section One Introduction

4. Introduction
How certain are you after most interviews that you have the data you need to make a sound and fair hiring decision?
…and how confident are you in your ability to evaluate and accurately interpret that data?
How often do you have major surprises after a person you’ve interviewed begins working with you day-to-day?
How many interviewing courses have you gone through?
Let’s face it - even for the seasoned interviewer - interviewing is hard!

5. Goals
Our primary goal is to continue to construct teams consisting of the best!
…and to remember that when we say, “The best”, it goes much deeper than just “Smart”, “Competent”, “Senior”, “Hardworking”, “High Energy”, etc.
Therefore our goal today is to understand how to effectively interview for a star employee.

6. Our “Mix”
We’re not just any mix - there’s a special list of ingredients that make ABC special:
Proactively anti politics!
Of sound character
Providing leadership on all levels
Dedicated and hard working
Suited to the pace of vertical growth
Very straightforward
Prone to passionate discourse

7. Section Two Getting Ready

8. Step 1 – Study Job Description
Hard Requirements:
Technical Skills
Education/Knowledge
Appropriate Experience
Level of Seniority
Soft Requirements:
Character
Leadership Ability (all levels)
Team Orientation
Interaction Style
Energy Level
Flexibility
Level headedness

9. Step 2 – Review the Resume
Map the resume to the job description.
Look for patterns, whether positive or negative, in career. progression/direction, type of industry, stability, etc.
Make notes as reminders to yourself for the interview.
Envision the person through the words.
Look for hot buttons!
Structure the Interview Components when you’ve finished reading the resume (Opening, Body, Closing).

10. Make sure you have a conference room or hard wall space reserved.
Step 4 – Plan the Interview Structure
Opening - 5%
Talk about ABC and our style of interacting
Describe the position in detail
Discuss the structure of the interview
Body - 90%
Ask your questions
Give the candidate opportunities to ask questions
Stay in control of the interview
Closing - 5%
Discuss next steps and set realistic expectations
Make sure you have a conference room or hard wall space reserved.

11. Step 4 – Plan the Interview Content
Plan generic questions relevant to the position.
Map questions to the resume before beginning the interview.
Objectivity and deep assessment are key!
Don’t be afraid to drill down - quality candidates tend to think we’ll hire “just anyone” if we don’t probe deeply.
Follow threads suggested by candidate’s comments.
Treat every candidate with respect!
Get to know your candidate!
Keep your mind open to a possible fit for other positions.

12. Section Three The Interview

13. Legal Guidance Must adhere to EEO policies.
We live diversity beyond the requirements of the law.
Our mindset is one of thinking only about job related issues.
Most suits occur because someone was careless and/or ill prepared.

14. Hard Skills Interviewing - Technical
You’re looking for hard data.
Use the resume as a guide to probe deeply into what your candidate has written about her/himself.
If you probe into how s/he did something s/he’s much less likely to feel that you’re questioning whether s/he did it.
Use closed-ended questions when probing for facts.
Use open-ended questions when probing for methodology, approach, thinking, and problem solving issues.
Construct scenarios to test problem solving skills.

15. Hard Skills Interviewing - Education
Facts about education stated on the resume suggest closed-ended questions.
Ask open-ended questions when inquiring about how s/he’s utilized her/his education.
Probe for what a candidate’s expectations were of her/his 1st, 2nd, 3rd job while in college and not yet out interviewing.

16. Soft Skills Interviewing
It shows in the results:
ABC enjoys an extremely low attrition rate!
Employee relation issues are few and nearly always easily solved.
After interviews, you want candidates to feel that we’re all “on the same page”.
Choosing who we want to work with day-to-day works if we know how to choose!
Why not be successful without constant fixing and back filling?
Why not build to last?

17. Selling ABC Don’t “Perform” - be yourself!
Tell the candidate why you joined ABC
Talk about why ABC is unique
Discuss our uniqueness as a business
Sell the products and services
Don’t brag!
Don’t ever misrepresent!
Observe confidentiality!
Calibrate when you need help - never hesitate to ask!

18. Section Four Post Interview

19. That’s why assessing the data after interviewing is key!
Costs of Attrition
Hiring the wrong person impacts you, the team, and ABC.
Addressing performance issues is time consuming and causes productivity down time.
Replacing someone means more recruiting costs.
…and it means you spend more time interviewing.
Assimilation of each new person is time consuming.
Re-training drains even more of your time.
Attrition impacts morale.
That’s why assessing the data after interviewing is key!

20. Collecting the Data Hiring Manager
Connect with others on the interview team - ask for their assessment
Interview Team
Send the hiring manager your comments - do so right after you’ve assessed your data and the information is fresh!

21. Assessing the Data
The data you’ve gathered is not reliable unless you assess it intelligently, meaning deeply - in proportion - and fairly.
Objective evaluations predict more accurately.
Map interview results to your day-to-day expectations of a fellow ABC employee .
Consider:
Ability to perform (without which all else is irrelevant).
Character second (without which all else is irrelevant).
Style last and least (other than for “face to the customer” roles).

22. Section Five Next Steps

23. Recommendations
Listen to everyone who interviewed the candidate - then compare with your own data and evaluation.
Ask yourself whether you have a broad, deep, and balanced picture of the candidate.
Request additional time with the candidate and/or to be part of reference checking if you feel unsure.
Include your own caveats with your recommendation, whether you vote for against hiring.
After giving your recommendation commit to do all that is reasonable to help make the person a successful employee if hired!

24. Additional Resources You can always contact Human Resources.
Check out our Intranet for more information; specifically section XX.