interviewing

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Job descriptions and role advertising

Your job description is a specific document which is drafted to be internal, but is also shared externally to prospective applicants; this is a critical juncture where the document has to pass the credibility test. 

The advert, because it is a public ‘teaser’, is more of a marketing document, therefore it is a little looser on the detail and aimed to appeal more broadly in order to invite applications.  It does require, however, some key criteria for assessing candidates, which may be provided as an addendum to the job description, this will allow internal and external recruiters the opportunity to properly assess applicants in line with the recruiting manager’s expectations.  

The recruiting manager should be open to advert responses, because of the looser parameters they may challenge original assumptions – this can better guide the job description and advert drafting in the future.   

The documents should have some key consistencies.

Tone:

The tone of these documents need to:

  1. Reflect the real needs of the role, not feature corporate speak, in-house language, or acronyms
  2. Be honest – challenges are better expressed up front rather come as surprises by the appointee on day 1 of the job
  3. Be attractive and appealing – assume that you have to try hard to find the best, which is the reality – mediocrity is never in short supply. This principle is key for attraction (i.e. job adverts), but is often forgotten about in retention (i.e. in job descriptions and development reviews).  Its inclusion can rekindle the passion for the role that first attracted a long-serving incumbent to take it in the first place.

Content:

Both job descriptions, assessment criteria and adverts need to have content broken into key parts:

  1. The job role or title featured early, clearly (plainly) and prominently. It helps for this to be as consistent as possible with industry norms, individuals often check their career progress against their peers by such simple measurements
  2. Organisation, current situation and goals
  3. Role context, targets and reporting
  4. Person skill set and requirements
  5. It needs to conform to SMART principles: Specific; Measurable; Achievable; Relevant; Tangible.  It must be legally and corporately compliant (i.e. legal and not contrary to corporate policy) in the HQ country and in the operating country

Be ready with follow-up information:

  • Organisational charts
  • Specifics on number of direct reports, direct and indirect reporting lines
  • Pictures, videos, internet links, narrative on working and living environments. Often resources which are informal and online are more impactive, as they are more ‘fly-on-the-wall’ i.e. more spontaneous and transparent
  • Role targets, budgets and key goals and/or challenges
  • Full remuneration details including residency and relocation packages, fly-in, fly-out (including class of travel and whose time such travel is on), bonuses and incentives

Things to watch out for:

  1. Current: If you publish incorrect information, conduct a slow or unreasonably laborious or repetitive process and interview poorly, news will get around your pool of possible candidates and will affect the result
  2. Previous: If the previous or current incumbent has been poorly dealt with, paid late, or been badly managed, this will be known to some applicants and will affect the result.  Exit interviews can provide some very important information for recruiting replacements, while you may be in breach of contractural, legal obligations or stated corporate values by mismanaging an incumbent out of a role
  3. The reveal: the further an applicant goes through the process, they will want to be included more and more with a greater level of detail.  You must be ready to provide information which is appropriate for mutual engagement to that stage in the process.
  4. Reputations: the recruitment process has a very direct impact on corporate reputation – make sure that the tone and content of your recruitment contributes positively and is also consistent with your talent management policies and principles.
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Being the brilliant interviewee!

  1. Prepare carefully. Research the company and the interviewers. Weave this knowledge subtly into the conversation. Try to interview at a time of day when you feel at your best and ensure that you have had a chance to take a rest from the day job beforehand. You must not seem rushed or exhausted
  2. Smile occasionally and appropriately (even if you are only on the phone) – it makes a huge difference
  3. ALWAYS talk about your previous employers positively. If they were crooks, you don’t have to call them that – understating the point and moving on is more powerful and expressive ‘I enjoyed the experience a great deal, however I felt that I had more to offer a business which prized integrity more highly’!
  4. If you are on a video conference, when speaking, look into the camera (make sure you know where it is!) and glance occasionally at your audience for your cues – it is much more engaging to attempt eye contact. Gesture and move normally, as long as you don’t move around in the frame excessively – animation is good. Think about your background (visually) and ensure there is no background noise. Remember mechanical noises particularly are amplified by AV equipment, so the washing machine quietly doing its spin cycle three rooms away may be deafening to your interviewer!
  5. Have your essentials documented simply and clearly – refer back to them when the opportunity arises
  6. Don’t shoe-horn points you want to make into parts of the conversation which are out of context, cover as a separate point, or AOB
  7. If you have something you are not proud of on your CV, find an opportunity to put it into a favourable context without highlighting it unduly. Don’t wait for the killer question!
  8. Everyone thinks they are body language experts – they are often wrong, so be positive and upbeat throughout and don’t second guess the outcome
  9. Don’t use ‘in house’ or cliquey language – it excludes others and makes you sound institutionalised
  10. Have a copy of your CV handy in case it is referred to and points need clarifying – if your CV has been reformatted by a recruitment business, make sure you have a copy of that as well, there may be mistakes
  11. Avoid using negative words. Practise talking about things you don’t like in a positive way
  12. Be clear on what are essentials or deal-breakers, but be open on the rest, you will be surprised what options evolve as a result
  13. Try to avoid referring to money face to face, but if an interviewer presses the point, be clear on your key (researched) figure or more broadly i.e. ‘I want to be valued on par with the market and other members of the senior management team’. Use you recruitment agency referrer as an intermediary if there is one
  14. In interviews, try to put your opposite number at ease, you will find out much more; show respect and be polite. Never interrupt or argue but be assertive – you are entitled to politely and gently but firmly make your point
  15. Take your time to think – interviewers appreciate you respecting the question rather than ‘shooting from the hip’. Make sure you have understood any points raised (ask if necessary), without doing so repeatedly, which can be seen as a clumsy way to play for time
  16. Make your point pleasantly and expressively – then STOP TALKING – silences are an easy trap to make you start waffling. If a silence is very long, ask if your interviewer would like you to elaborate or clarify any point you have made
  17. Use examples to illustrate your points and where permissible, figures
  18. Always respect confidentiality agreements and implied confidentiality. Gossips are useful but unpopular
  19. Understand the dress code, even for video conferences. If there isn’t one, err on the side of caution (more formal)
  20. It is critically important to RESERVE JUDGEMENT and properly evidence any opinions you develop
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Interviewing for board recruiters

Before

  1. Make sure your process, attributes and filters are appropriate to the level you are recruiting for. They reflect directly on you
  2. Define your interview process up front and let people know what they are committing to. Keep to this and the timescales you set out
  3. Have some clearly stated skills and behavioural attributes which you are seeking and share them with your candidates before you interview them so they know what you are looking for – surprises are for children’s parties
  4. Be clear on what are essential attributes, but be open on the rest, you will be surprised what options evolve as a result
  5. Communicate the dress code, even for video conference

During

  1. Have your essential requirements documented simply and clearly. Be clear on what are essentials or deal-breakers, but be open on the rest, you will be surprised what options evolve as a result
  2. Try to put candidates at ease, you will find out much more; show respect and be polite; never interrupt or argue
  3. Remember that interviewing is not natural for either side and nerves can affect anyone, no matter how senior
  4. Prepare carefully. Try to interview at a time of day when you feel at your best and ensure that you have had a chance to take a rest from the day job beforehand. You must not seem rushed or exhausted
  5. Avoid using negative words. Practise talking in a positive way
  6. Smile occasionally and appropriately (even if you are only on the phone) – it makes a huge difference
  7. If you are on a video conference, when speaking, look into the camera (make sure you know where it is!) and glance occasionally at your audience for your cues – it is much more engaging to attempt eye contact. Gesture and move normally, as long as you don’t move around in the frame excessively – animation is good. Think about your background (visually) and ensure there is no background noise. Remember mechanical noises particularly are amplified by AV equipment
  8. Don’t use ‘in house’ or cliquey language or jokes – it excludes outsiders
  9. Try to avoid referring to money face to face as it is an emotive subject, particularly for the candidate. Use you recruitment agency referrer as an intermediary if there is one
  10. Always respect information shared in confidence, confidentiality agreements and implied confidentiality
  11. Work within the laws of the relevant jurisdiction(s), keep records as required and anticipate the need for visas etc. including evidencing for compliance purposes
  12. It is critically important to RESERVE JUDGEMENT and properly evidence any opinions you develop
  13. Everyone thinks they are body language experts – they are often wrong, so don’t over-interpret, be positive and upbeat throughout
  14. Give clear, positive feedback to candidates who have flattered you by committing to the process, it is good for your reputation (even if they are not right for you, you can show appreciation for their skills). Refer to ‘good points’ and clarification or ‘improvement points’ rather than negatives.
  15. You are choosing a senior employee – they are seeking a mandate in the job, ensure that you establish these as being categorically mutually beneficial
  16. Remember that candidates who do not get the job will be either advocates or critics – make sure you influence that outcome in your favour, it is a small world and a smaller sector