One of the easiest methods for improving your hiring process is by introducing a process called targeted selection into the interview. This is a very simple way of getting people to tell you what they would do in specific situations.

The result is they tell you what they have done in the past. All of us tend to repeat what we've done before unless someone intervenes to help us change our behaviors. So if we know what they've done before we can fairly accurately predict what they will do in the future.

If our questions become specific, open-ended questions about various tasks or situations of the job we're hiring for then the candidates will do their best to tell us how they would act in that situation. Since they are on the spot they will tend to think of how they've acted in the past and reiterate that to you.

When developing your questions for a particular job you need a primary, secondary and tertiary question prepared in advance. Here is an example:

Primary - Tell me the worst mistake you've ever made as a case manager?

Secondary - "What was the impact to the firm and yourself?"

Tertiary - "How did you correct the error and what did you learn from the experience?"

Now your candidates will have to think about what you've asked and either refer to direct experience to answer or develop what they believe they would do if they haven't experienced the exact scenario you present to them.

For most jobs I feel somewhere between 25 and 50 primary skill or behavioral questions will be enough to get you through a one-hour interview. In seminars on this subject matter I have seen people run through 10 to 20 primary questions in less than 10 minutes, but they didn't have secondary or tertiary questions. They thought they had more than enough prior to starting.

I frequently talked about having a list of behaviors you feel are beneficial to your firm. Develop questions around those behaviors to determine how your candidates feel about these characteristics.

Here is an example:

Primary - Tell me about the way in which you worked with your direct reports/team members to develop new and creative ideas to solve business problems?

Secondary - Give me a specific example?

Listed below are possible targeted selection questions:
- On occasion, we all wish we could change how we interact with customers. Tell me about a recent interaction you wish you could change?
- Tell me about a time you had to work at a fast pace for a long period of time?
- What kind of work did you do?
- What did you do to maintain that pace?
- What approaches have you used in presenting to different audiences? Give me a specific example.
- Tell me about a time that you inspired someone to work hard to do a good job. How did you do that?
- Have you taken any steps to improve your skills or performance? Give me an example.
- We don't always work with people we consider ethical or honest. How do you feel about that?
- Tell me about a time you saw a fellow employee do something that you didn't think was appropriate.
- Tell me about a good decision you made and a decision that wasn't so good.
- What did you do differently in making those decisions?
- What is the greatest number of words you've ever typed?
- What software packages have you used in your job? Once they've told you ask very specific questions about how the software works to determine their proficiency.
- Tell me about a long or short-term plan you developed for your department.
- Describe a time you decided to take a risk that you latter regretted.




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