The 2022 Hiring Game: How to Tell WHO is really fit for the job?
If you’re eager to uncover the best possible talent, ditch the script and ask the unexpected.
As the workplace continues to evolve around the new realities imposed by the pandemic, HR managers are up against a new set of challenges when hiring talent. The last decade has put a premium on emotional intelligence quotient (EQ) as the marker of a solid and reliable employee, often trumping a five-star resume and ritzy creds.
But with the pandemic pushing everyone’s psychosocial limits both at home and at work, hiring managers have had to tweak standard job interviews in search of fine-tuned EQ–one that harnesses critical thinking to reach well-considered responses and judgment, careful solutions, and fair assessments. To do so, critical thinkers evaluate information impartially and sift chaff from the grain. An equally important characteristic of critical thinkers is the ability to think on one’s feet–to be “wide awake, alertly,” as it were, or mental agility.
So yes, it can be tricky to spot this skill with the typical one-size-fits-all job interview questions. At the very least, questions must be built around the position and environment in the company using real-life situations with little to no abstractions. This line of questioning challenges the candidate to imagine emotional, intellectual, or technical elements of the situation being described, enabling them to compose a realistic response.
Relevant critical thinking interview questions would best be compiled by the hiring team to ensure collaborative thinking and inclusive staff recruitment that allow for multipoint opinions and perspectives of the same role and its requirements. These questions should be able to suss out both hard and soft skills.
Following are some tips to help hiring teams/managers better track the right person for the job.
Steer clear of interrogation-style interviewing. One-on-one interviews set up a conversation rather than an inquisition. Putting both the interviewer and interviewee at ease, this type of interaction, especially when laced with some details the interviewer uncovered as he/she conducted their research on the candidate. Also, there doesn’t always have to be a question to draw a response. Often, it's helpful just to see how the candidate responds to the scene the interviewer is painting.
Avoid job or company details that can be researched in advance. Don't go into things that candidates are likely to have read up on the company website. Throw some left-field questions. Craft hypothetical situations and ask candidates what they think, and avoid reciting lines from the job description then framing these in a question.
Be precise. It's challenging to come up with a meaningful response to questions like “What do you think of ... ?” or “How do you feel about…?” It would be much better to leverage specifics and get into details.
To be sure, these questions will vary depending on the company, the job, the candidate, and the circumstances, but the general guidelines hold. Of course, you want your candidates to be authentic and reflective, but remember that they're vetting the company, too. Energy, research, and time put into every interview show how much the hiring team/manager is invested in prospective company talent.
What the hiring team/manager is looking for is how the candidate responds. Each question may be a hypothetical situation that in the real world has the potential to blow up into a big issue if not properly resolved.
People with high EQ and developed critical thinking skills won’t throw around any old answers. Faced with an intricate situation, their critical thinking will kick in, and they’re likely to ask the interviewer more questions for greater clarity. Critical thinkers process information before reacting or responding. So beware of people who don’t ask for more details, and think little before responding: It’s highly likely they don’t have sharp analytical skills, and would be more inclined to engage in poor and emotional decision making.
If you need assistance in this area of your business, we are here to help. Together, let us perfect the people-focused mechanisms that are essential for executing your strategy – from hiring to promotions, development and training.
