Zero Defect Hiring

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For example, the management committee of the American Golf Corp., which operates more than 250 golf courses in North America and Europe, decided that all its potential employees, including hourly workers, would be required to visit one of its golf courses before the interview. They'd then be asked to comment on the course's overall condition, the cleanliness of the clubhouse, the ease of obtaining starting times, and the food-and-beverage facilities, as well as the customer service.

One 27-year-old candidate wrote a four-page report, which included an evaluation of the concessions, the bar and restaurant, the catering, the management team, the course quality, and the pro shop, before his initial interview. It was an extraordinarily detailed report--including an analysis of the cost of sales, suggestions for better visual display of products, and ideas on special marketing programs to increase product sales--and it impressed the interviewer. Furthermore, the candidate's specific suggestions were practical. He also interviewed extremely well. His references were outstanding, and the results of 20 more demonstrations of his behavior were equally impressive. He was hired, and many of his ideas were implemented by American Golf.

Read RÉsumÉs in Teams. It's helpful--and faster--to read the top candidates' rÉsumÉs in teams of three to five people. Teams that work well together are more accurate and insightful about potential employees than individuals are. For example, a 27-year-old graduate student sent in his rÉsumÉ to apply for an upcoming four-month summer internship with a marketing company. Most interviewers and recruiters would have scanned the rÉsumÉ and noticed three items:

1. He's at Harvard Business School.

2. He speaks Japanese and French.

3. He's traveled extensively.

When a team of people went over the candidate's rÉsumÉ, they thought that his global experiences and Japanese proficiency were impressive. But they also asked why there was a gap in his employment from 1991, when he stopped working in France, to 1992, when he started working in Japan. Good question. It turns out he was unemployed for nine months. Then his rÉsumÉ suggested that he'd directed product launches and developed international seminars at a Japanese company. But whom did the young man lead or manage? One member thought the candidate's rÉsumÉ defined him as a risk taker, a positive. But another reader saw it as a negative and thought the candidate was too unfocused for a 27-year-old. A third member of the rÉsumÉ team knew Japan and how rare and hard it was for a foreigner to adapt in a traditional Japanese company. The discussion was quick and was more complete than if a single reader had reviewed the candidate's credentials.

Of course, there's another perspective. Teams can also waste time and pass over good candidates if those in the group feel "we must have consensus" or if a dominant member monopolizes the discussion. On the other hand, when a team works well together, it ensures a depth of reading you're less likely to achieve on your own.

Strategies During the Interview


When planning for an upcoming interview, I've always found it important to remember three basic assumptions.

1. Interviews test how well someone interviews. The results may be impressive but misleading. A recent recruiting booklet that serves as a guide for M.B.A. students noted, "Remember, the most qualified candidate does not always get the job. Many times, it's the person who interviews the best who gets the offer."

2. A good con artist can fool you every time. As a psychiatrist, I have been blindsided by alcoholic and drug-addicted lawyers and doctors who were so convincing that even they didn't know when they were lying. Con artists also abound in business.

3. Interviews in which you induce stress seldom work. Putting a candidate on the defensive will demonstrate only his or her style of defensive behavior. The strategy may be perfect for predicting winners in football or chess, or when hiring a labor negotiator or a defense lawyer, but the reality is that stress puts up walls. The point of an interview, I believe, is to take those walls down.

With those three assumptions in mind, here are some tested interviewing tips.

Ask All Your Questions at Once. As the official interview commences, as the starter's gun cracks and the race begins, ask all your questions at once. That's right. Put all your initial questions on the table up front. This strategy accomplishes three things.

First, you've passed the baton. You've asked the questions; now the candidate must respond. Performance depends upon the candidate, not selling yourself and the organization.

Second, this strategy directly confronts the most common problem in interviewing: not listening, and talking too much. "I frequently fall in love before the candidate sits down," a friend confessed to me. "Then I start selling before the candidate starts talking." Another businessman says that he's aware that "when I talk too much, I telegraph the answers I want."

Third, this technique forces you to listen. Asking all your questions at once, and following up later in the interview, allows you to settle back and watch a candidate's behavior as well as listen to his or her words. Adapt a half-dozen questions that fit your style, but ask them all at once. You might consider such questions as--

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