There is a commonly used phrase in recruitment: "Hire for attitude, train for skills."
The meaning is simply that you can give someone new skills more easily than you can change their innate attitude. There is, though, a common sense balance to be achieved; a minimum level of skill is necessary. You wouldn't want to hire an airline pilot on the basis of positive attitude alone! Depending on the job, and the mix of skills in the team, you have a choice about the skill level you could hire.
Assessing someone's attitude is not that easy though. Attitude is internal to a person and can only be assessed through behavior. In an interview, you are assessing the candidate through responses to your questions. This book will teach you how to understand those questions, how to assess the responses, and how to ask follow up questions to give you the evidence you need to make a judgment.
By the end of this book, you will be fully conversant with interview techniques, you will have practiced your interview presentations, and you will be able to score the candidate's responses to drive the selection process. You will also understand how to reach a consensus after the interview, discussing your thoughts and refining the pool of candidates to ensure that you get the right person for the job.
Chapter 1, Before the Interview – Preparing and Practicing, will take you through the preliminary stages of the interview process, ranging from gathering information about the candidates to building up your own confidence to ensure you run the interview effectively and professionally.
Chapter 2, Starting the Interview – Greeting and Settling, will guide you in effectively and confidently managing the early stages of the interview, setting the tone for the interview.
Chapter 3, Conducting the Interview – Questioning and Scoring, will give you information and practical guidance on how to assess the candidates with effective questions and how to score them.
Chapter 4, After the Interview – Agreeing and Deciding, will help you to organize your thoughts following the interview by reviewing your scoring and working through any doubts or concerns you may have to reach a final decision.