Getting The Right People

02/03/2012

By Lara Morgan

Recruitment decisions will make or break a company, so get them right. I did what felt was right in this area and with a sixth sense, and possibly again thanks to my own lack of experience, I did not follow a traditional process in an interview.

Firstly, the entry point test. Before we had the luxury of a receptionist, I went out of my way to surprise an individual in reception by being the person to answer the door – I usually interviewed at the back end of the day. By seeing how someone reacted to a stranger, and particularly...

...by seeing whether I could put someone at ease before our chat began, I could gauge a great deal about their ability to cope with differing situations.

The handshake matters, big time. A firm grasp, not over strong, confident, for a reasonable period of time, without hanging on (and certainly not a wet lettuce): those are my suggestions. It is also important that someone looks you in the eye as they shake your hand; there are bucketloads of individuals who look anywhere but in your eyes. This is part of making a good impression from the outset.

Interviewing is about an exchange of information in order to get to know someone. You need to plan the skills you wish to know about – what behaviours or characteristics will be important and a good fit with your company culture. You cannot simply follow a standard format for interview questions and expect to find the right people unless your template is customised to the role and type of person you are looking for – which is possible. I would also say that for some roles a template system is entirely sensible as a way of scoring to ensure each individual receives a fair... continued on page two >

 

 

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