The purpose of any interview is simple: to determine whether the candidate can do
the job and bring real value to the company. A smart interview is not an interrogation.
It’s not a series of canned questions or a set of scripted tests that have been conjured
up by HR. An interview should be a roll-up-your-sleeves, hands-on meeting between you
and the candidate, where all of the focus is on the job. Think of the interview as the
candidates first day at work, with the only question that matters being this: “What’s
your business plan for the job?”
To successfully answer that, the candidate must first demonstrate an understanding of the
company’s problems, challenges and goals – not an easy thing to do. But since you desperately
want to make a great hire and get back to work, why don’t you help the best candidate succeed?
Two weeks before the interview, call up the candidate and say the following: “We want you to
show us how you’re going to do this job. I suggest that you read through these ten pages on
our web site, review these publications from our marketing and investor-relations departments,
and speak with these three people on my team. When you’re done you should have something useful
to tell us.” This will eliminate nine out of ten candidates. Only those who really want the job
will put in the effort to research the job.
At the interview, you should expect (or hope) to hear the most compelling question that any
candidate can ask: “Would you like me to show you how your company will profit from hiring me?”
The candidate should be prepared to do the job in the interview. That means walking up to the
whiteboard and outlining the steps that he or she would take to solve your company’s problems.
The numbers don’t have to be right, but the candidate should be able to defend them intelligently.
If the candidate demonstrates an understanding of your culture and competitors – and lays out a
plan of attack for solving your problems and adding something to your bottom line – you have
some awfully compelling reasons to make the hire. But if you trust only a candidate’s references,
credentials or test results, you still won’t know whether they can do the job.
