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Interviews or interrogations?

Written by: Merydith Willoughby

Article Overview: Interviews are part of an organization's landscape yet from research it seems that many could be handled much better. It is one thing to be interviewing people, yet another to be interviewed. We need to be on both sides of the table in order to assess their effectiveness.

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Interviews or interrogations?

I must have read hundreds of articles about how people should behave in interviews, what they should say, how they should dress, the research they should do... yawn!

I would like to throw something in the ring to those who are interviewing potential employees and ask them: do you think about what you are doing?

Do you think about what your style of interviewing is like?

Do you put a smile on your face to make the person on the other side of the table feel relaxed or are you stiff lipped and tense because you're also nervous? I had an experience recently where I went for an interview because the role sounded like something I'd be inspired by and passionate about.

The two women who interviewed me were very pleasant, focused on what they wanted and needed in this role and proceeded to interview me for about 1 ½ hours.

While the interviewer who asked the questions was fine and with whom I felt I had developed a rapport with quite quickly, the other pleasant person was in the room seemingly just to take notes. No conversation, no questions from the silent one, she just sat there quietly taking notes, looking at me regularly out of her peripheral vision and then quickly writing down something. And then she regularly looked me up and down, observing my body and its language and wrote more notes.

I felt intimidated and very uncomfortable with this style of interviewing and my mind reflected back to when I was working with migrants who had recently arrived in a new country.

I was advised by my manager that when I wrote anything down I should explain to the person what I was doing and ask them their permission before doing so because many migrants had experienced this practice whilst they were being interrogated and it could bring those memories flooding back.

After having endured this behaviour for some time I mentioned to my interviewer that this process was causing me angst. I was told by the silent one that I should just relax, enjoy the interview and they continued on their merry way. Relax - are they serious? I felt like a bit of meat being assessed in quality control. Nobody is relaxed in an interview. It's a very stressful situation even for the most confident of us.

If you are the interviewer think about how you set the meeting room up and about your style.

Are your potential employees made to feel at-home? Do you smile? Do you make the person feel very comfortable? Do you explain the process to them? Do you try to trip them up with sticky questions?

Interviews cost a huge amount in terms of time and money. The process is laborious and can take weeks to get through just to hire one new employee. Do a quick cost calculation and you'll be surprised how much it takes away from your productivity and profits.

For that reason it is imperative that managers get it right in the interview stage.

Let the person being interviewed know what your culture is like. Let them know what they'll be treated like when they work with you. We are facing a critical skill shortage and you can't afford to let excellent candidates escape because of your interview processes. I thought the whole point of an interview was to get the right candidate for the job so they will help you to achieve your organisational goals and desired outcomes.

I also imagine that by providing an interview that is relaxed and informal, where the positioning of the tables has been considered and where the person being interviewed feels respected, you might just get more out of them instead of making them feel as though they are being questioned over a murder.

I am generally the person on the interviewing side of the table and this recent experience has been an eye opener for me.

I am always glad to know what really happens and I now know what I won't do when I want someone to work for me.

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About the Author: Merydith Willoughby
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The process that Merydith Willoughby uses in IB Coaching draws on her experience in senior leadership, academic review and personal transformation to illuminate the elements of success for leadership and personal insight. The work is energising, efficient and effective and quickly identifies opportunities to leverage skills and enhances tools to make changes which keeps the leader on track - extra capacity allows leaders to extend the reach of their influence and improves business outcomes.

Three books: If it's to be: It's up to me, Sex in the Boardroom, Back from Hell.

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