Businesses hone hiring techniques – Expert helps managers brush up on proper interview methods

Most managers at start-up companies don’t ask the right questions of job prospects, putting their firms at risk with weak hires in key positions.

What not to ask

These are among ineffective job interview questions:

* What is your strength (or weakness)?

* Where do you want to be five years from now?

* Why should I hire you?

* What is your ideal job?

* If you had to pick one, what kind of a (vegetable, fruit, tree, whatever) would you be and why?

Source: "Strategic Interviewing," by Richaurd Camp, Mary E. Vielhaber and Jack L. Simonetti, University of Michigan Business School Management Series

By:
Eric Pope
Detroit News

Most managers at start-up companies don’t ask the right questions of job prospects, putting their firms at risk with weak hires in key positions.

That’s why venture capital firm EDF Ventures of Ann Arbor brought in Eastern Michigan University professor Richaurd Camp to discuss hiring practices with a group of entrepreneurs recently at the St. John Golf & Conference Center in Plymouth.

"Most entrepreneurs haven’t been trained in the hiring process," said Beau Laskey, a director at EDF who has taken Camp’s interviewing course at the University of Michigan Business School. "Most people have developed bad habits from being interviewed themselves. The same ineffective questions get perpetuated."

Most interviewers ask questions that lead to a general impression of the candidate instead of seeking information about how he or she would perform in the job, Camp said.

Camp said interviewers often:

* Fail to define what constitutes success for the job.

* Ask questions that aren’t relevant to the job.

* Fail to determine what are the right answers to questions.

* Try to psychoanalyze the candidate’s personality.

* Make a decision based on a general impression.

Camp said the interview process should determine the likelihood that the candidate will be successful in the job. Interviewers should carefully consider what is needed for the job and then determine how the candidate can demonstrate those attributes.

"The key is knowing what you want to see and how you can measure it," he said.

Interviewers should write out questions and the desired answers prior to the interview. "If you don’t know the correct answer to the question, don’t ask it," he said.

Camp told the entrepreneurs that "professional interviewees" are very good at managing the impression they project, but have a much harder time answering questions about specific work situations. Several people should evaluate the candidate together.

Laskey said a start-up company’s interviewing committee should determine what the new employee needs to accomplish in one or two years. "You need to identify what are the barriers to success and what behavior is needed to overcome those barriers," he said.

Camp is consulting with Domino’s Pizza Inc. in Ann Arbor on hiring procedures that focus on the candidate’s past behavior as a predictor of future success, according to Alexandra Rozema, director of PeopleFirst, the human resources department at Domino’s.

"What makes this process so powerful is that it ensures that Domino’s defines what makes an exceptional team member before the interview and selection process even begins," Rozema said.