The Job Interview Process Is Dysfunctional

Posted by Jim Connolly on 9 December, 2009  Email This Post -  Print This Post

The goal of the job interview process is to end up with a fully engaged employee who contributes significantly to the company’s operations and who is still doing so two years later.  If you’ve interviewed and hired people, you know that the job interview process is far from perfect. 

Even worse than falling short of this goal, the job interview process also often results in unintended consequences such as hiring an employee who is now causing issues that didn’t exist before.  Examples might include poor service to customers, lost sales opportunities, disrupting teamwork and, over time, causing other employees to leave the company because of their poor behavior.

Four Factors 

There are four factors that contribute to the job interview process becoming dysfunctional:

1. Employers are not clear about what they’re looking for in a job candidate - When multiple owners have multiple opinions on what their looking for, the process is doomed from the start.  Or, when the owner says “I’ll know it when I see it,” the owner will settle for the best candidate available instead of a candidate that meets the pre-defined criteria.
2. Employers are eager to fill the position - The search goes on longer than expected and employers get nervous about an empty sales territory or too much overtime for office staff covering an empty position.  The temptation is to fill the position quickly.
3. The job candidate wants the job, but is not a fit - Job candidates may be unemployed and need a job, might be looking for a job before they get fired or they might simply be unhappy in their current jobs for whatever reason.  When a job candidate’s strengths don’t match up with the requirements of the position, the process is doomed.  Candidates come incredibly well prepared for interviews nowadays and determining whether they are a fit for the position is difficult at best.
4. Using a placement firm doesn’t guarantee success - Now matter how much integrity the firm has and no matter their track record, the relationship with a search firm sets up a potentially dysfunctional relationship.  Because of the structure of the relationship, their goal is not your goal.  Their goal is to get one of their candidates hired so they can generate revenue for their firm.  In this kind of a relationship, they are not sitting on your side of the table.  And, ultimately, that’s not in your best interest.

Strategies For Delivering Organizational Results 

Again, the goal of a job search is to end up with a fully engaged employee contributing significantly to the company’s operations and still doing so 2 years later.  What can you do to improve your employee selection results?  Two things.

One, pay careful attention to the four contributing factors listed above and do what you can to put processes in place to avoid them.  Do this for every job search you conduct, even front line and clerical employees.  We all know of those offices where the goal is not to set off the moody receptionist or anger the overbearing clerical person.  Where dysfunction exists, productivity and customer service suffer.

And two, if you’re going to spend money on the search process, consider using the services of a behaviorial interviewing expert.  This person sits on your side of the table and has years of experience in overcoming these four obstacles in what should otherwise be a process that helps you grow a successful business.

To your success!

For more helpful tips as you negotiate the employee selection process, see our blog articles on interviewing.