News > Headlines
Recruiting Strategies: The Art of Listening
YOU have the power to prevent a job interview from becoming a hiring disaster! You're the gatekeeper. So, be sure to ask the right questions...and listen carefully to the answers.
- Gather versus give information. Follow the 80/20 rule: listen 80% of the time and speak only 20%.
Be intent from the moment the interview begins to listen carefully to each response....then decide on your next question. Often an answer will determine the next question.
Don't be so hasty to get to the next question, that you fail to hear the applicant's answers.
- Also, silence can be an effective tool for you, if used appropriately.
An interviewer will definitely learn more from listening than talking! Here are a few pointers to always keep in mind:
- Enjoy listening by smiling....even if you are phone interviewing, it will come through, and believe it or not, you will eventually enjoy the process if you make yourself smile.
- Encourage the candidate by reacting with positive comments, being careful to not lead the candidate to believe they have the job yet!
- Let the candidate know you care about his/her future and want them to make a good decision, as well as make a good hiring decision yourself.
- Summarize and repeat what you heard the candidate say.
- Be sincere. Candidates are people....they smell insincerity a mile away.
Remember, the purpose of the interview is for the interviewer to extract as much about the candidate as possible....not for the candidate to listen to the interviewer chatter away. The more the applicant talks, the more the interviewer learns about the important abilities, skills and knowledge (ASK).
