A new study shows that two-thirds of job seekers will evaluate a job based on the interviewers they encounter.

What techniques can hiring managers use to make the best impression on choosy applicants?

By Michael Felton-O'Brien




Two of every three job seekers report that the interviewers they encounter during such meetings influence their decision to accept a position, according to a study by Bridgeville, Pa.-based HR consulting firm Development Dimensions International (DDI) and Monster Worldwide of Maynard, Mass.

DDI's chief scientist Ann Howard says the survey shows applicants are looking for respect, information and job focus when interviewing.   -  "It's fine if hiring managers ask questions about how an applicant coached a direct report in the past if that's what's required in the position," she says. "It's not fine for managers to ask irrelevant questions like 'If you were a fruit, what kind would you be?' or personal questions like 'Is that your natural hair color?'"

The Selection Forecast 2006-2007 surveyed 628 staffing directors, 1,250 hiring managers and 3,725 job seekers. It revealed that, despite an acknowledged shortage of talent, many companies are becoming their own worst obstacles when interviewing qualified candidates.

Seven in 10 (70 percent) job seekers said "acting like [the interviewer] had no time to talk to me" was a common behavior of hiring managers and staffing directors.

Other common annoyances noted by job seekers were: "withholding information about position" (57 percent); "turning interview into a cross-examination" (51 percent); and "showing up late" (48 percent).
Scott Erker, DDI's senior vice president of selection solutions, says that while "interviewers sit inches from the candidate ... there's a wide gap between what they think candidates are looking for and what would actually motivate interviewees to become employees."

One hiring expert, however, believes there is more common ground between the two parties than they may think.

"The interviewer has to evaluate the competency and fit issues with the candidate, but likewise, the candidate is doing the same thing with the company," says Brian Drum, CEO of executive search firm Drum Associates, based in New York.

Drum stresses the importance of always putting a company's best foot -- or face -- forward. "The interviewer is the face of the company, so they also represent the job, the culture, the organization, all of it," he says.
Chemistry between applicant and interviewer is often the missing ingredient of a good interview, according to Drum.

"That chemistry is the key," he says. "People don't get jobs just because they're competent. They get the jobs because of the chemistry created in the interview."

And that chemistry can either be created or destroyed at the beginning of an interview.
"There's a certain presence that's created by the interviewer, which includes their dress and how they walk out and greet the person," he says. A good interviewer, according to Drum, is one who finds an ice breaker that allows both people to chat before starting the interview in earnest. That conversion is lacking in most interviews, he says.

Drum also thinks a quick turnaround time on feedback after an interview will add to an applicant's positive view of the company as a whole.
"Get back to them quickly with what your feedback is, whether it's positive or negative. And either way, it's got to be gentle," he says.

Sometimes, it's not very gentle when the shoe is on the other foot, however, as some angry applicants are using the Web to offer their own feedback as well.
"I've recently met with a candidate who had such a bad experience with the hiring manager at a company that not only was he not interested in the job, but he was seriously considering creating a blog chastising the company as a whole," says New York-based Stephen Viscusi, a best-selling author, columnist and host of a workplace-related radio talk show.

Viscusi says his advice to employers on ways to keep their companies Internet-free from angry blog postings is simple: "I tell employers they need to observe the same rules that apply to candidates: Be on time for the person you're interviewing, don't over-cologne/perfume yourself, and at all times remember you're representing your company, not just yourself."

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