Not all managers make for good interviewers
'A picture is worth a thousand words’. Who, it was, that married ‘ten thousand words' with 'picture'… isn't known, but what is known, especially by those in the human resources business is that when hiring; ‘words count more than looks’.
Looks do matter - for some jobs (like in modeling or in the film industry), but not all. Unfortunately for many in the recruiting field, particularly for those in the hospitality trade, looks seem to matter for all kinds of jobs.
It begins even before the applicant says his or her first word in an interview. By the time the interviewee walks in to the room, an opinion is already being formed by members of the interviewing panel. In that split second, judgments on appearance, posture, smile or even a nervous look, have been formed.
A study done at UCLA a several years ago revealed that the impact of a performance was based on 07 percent of the words used, 38 percent on voice quality and 55 percent on nonverbal communication.
Many are the articles written on so many important details that job seekers should know prior to any interview. These can include heaps of advice on displaying verbal and non-verbal cues to impress interviewers. However, very little is written about how interviewers should conduct the interviewing process – to ascertain strengths and weakness of the candidate, look for potential red flags, ensure that there is a fit with salary, personality, verify abilities, be aware of the STAR technique – all of which are essential in the hiring process.
During my time in the hotel trade I’ve sat at several interviews where I recall how often the conversation would invariably drift towards “He carries himself well’ or “she appears to be a good fit for the vacancy”. Remarkably, these comments come within nano-seconds of seeing the candidate. The one who was considered ‘carried himself well’ – was mainly because he was tall and the ‘fit for vacancy’ comment arose because the girl was extremely pretty.
We humans scoop up bits of visual information conveyed by a person’s height, carriage, looks which we analyse in seconds to make a lightning fast decision. That’s when first impressions come into play and as we all know, first impressions prepare the groundwork for making an impact – some of which we can control, some we can’t.
I discovered that some of my colleagues on the interviewing panel placed a lot of emphasis on ‘first impressions’. To many of them it was like judging a book by its cover. If it is eye-catching – let’s buy it… never mind the story. End of story.
I once recall persuading my colleagues, when interviewing for hotel receptionists to consider a particular female applicant over a prettier one who seemed to be the number one choice. Suspecting that there to be some unfair bias based on looks, I was determined that the less pretty candidate, who was by far the most skilled applicant, got the job.
Choosing someone based on their looks can backfire badly. Once your other employees begin to suspect of an unfair bias towards good looks, or a similar unrelated reason, trust and respect goes out of the window.
Sadly, I have come to conclude that most of those who sit on interviewing panels have no clue on what questions to ask, how to phrase them, how to listen, be kind, provide closure and most important of all, gauge the suitability of a candidate. I have on occasion been appalled by the ‘herd instinct’ demonstrated by some panelist – a symptom caused usually by ‘boredom’ as the interviews progress late into the day. Consequently, to push things to a conclusion, subjective preferences emerge and in the process the wrong candidate gets appointed.
Take telephone or call centre operators where looks do not matter –any yet is just one of many necessary attributes for the job. Most interviewers only search for that ideal ‘voice’ forgetting the other skills set such as having patience, being conversational and approachable, keeping a positive attitude under any situation, attentive listening, to name but a few.
I guess a little bit of a Freudian practice, such as having a screen to hide the applicant, might work well for people who cannot interview and assess candidates objectively. Interestingly, some orchestras have begun to do auditions behind screens so as to eliminate any gender bias. Some international companies tested this approach where for the first three minutes of the interview, interviewers who cannot see the interviewee can form first impressions based on only what they hear.
To cut to the chase, a good interviewer not only knows how to select the best candidate but to also provide every candidate summoned, a great learning experience.
Zormi Amihtaf - not only reveals issues in the workplace when one considers the process of interviewing applicants but also tells a story few will openly admit exists.
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