Many human resource professionals wish for a crystal ball to foretell the fate of a prospective employee. Without the ability to gaze into the future, they ask themselves “does this candidate have the essential proficiencies - the right combination of education, skills and experience?” If the answer is yes, the candidate must be a perfect fit.Stopping there, however, leaves out an important part of the equation: the character of the candidate. “Character is what a team does when no one is looking,” explains Joseph Krivickas, a technology industry President and COO for FAST. And character is what often leads to the end of employment. As the HR saying goes, we hire for skills, but fire for character.
So how do you avoid hiring someone whose character is not consistent with the position, the values of the team or your company? Consider adding some character-based questions to the interview process. You’ll not only prevent potentially costly hiring mistakes, but you will be more likely to hire someone with whom you and your team enjoy working.
Before you begin interviewing job applicants, list specific actions you require from the employee in the position and think of fundamental character traits of the perfect candidate. Then, create questions and scenarios to see if the candidate has the required traits and practices the desired actions.
Here are some effective suggestions for interviewing for character traits:
· At your last job, how did you fill down time?
· Which situations kept you from coming to work on time at your last job? How often did that occur?
· Describe a recent problem you had with one of your manager’s decisions. How did you handle it?
· Priorities often change suddenly throughout the day. If you are asked to quickly do another task, how does that affect your mood?
· What do you think is an acceptable number of days to be absent in a calendar year?
· How do you handle situations that could cause you to be tardy or absent?
· What are some examples of stealing from your employer?
· How have you responded in the past when you found another employee stealing?
· How have you responded in the past when your substitute or coworker called in sick and you had to take over their responsibilities as well as your own?
· Think about the last time your manager critiqued your work. How did you respond?
· Give me an example of a time you did something without being asked. Can you give me another example?
· Tell me about your most frustrating experience as a ____________(job title). How did you handle the situation?
· Two hours before you are scheduled to arrive at work, you learn weather is going to be bad and traffic will be worse. How do you respond?
· It’s lunchtime and a customer or co-worker needs five minutes of your time. What do you do?
· If you had a problem and no supervisor was available at the time, how would you handle it?
· It is 10 minutes before you are to leave. You like to complete each day with a routine you have set up to help you prepare for the next day. Your manager asks you to complete one last task, a task that a coworker should complete, but your manager has never trained the coworker to complete. How would you handle this situation?
HR professionals have been entrusted with the responsibility of hiring the best person for the position. Not only does the person need the skills and background, but he/she also needs the right character to be truly successful in the position. So until we are given that “crystal ball” to guide us on our selections, consider adding a few of the questions above to help make the best selection.
