It can be daunting to try to pick the "best" out of the crowd, and sometimes the best candidate is the worst interviewer…
I remember a hiring manager confiding that what he was seeing in a candidates’ Winslow scores, which indicated a great behavioral fit for the position, was not what he had witnessed in the interview. He was understandably confused.
We talked a bit about the candidate, who the manager said was rather “bland” in the interview and there was concern expressed that the candidate didn’t have the necessary "passion" for the position.
As I always do in these conversations, I inquired if the manager had dug a little deeper than the first “Yes I've done that!” response and moved into the “Tell me about a challenging project you have been involved in leading: what were the processes, obstacles… what was the outcome?”
The manager replied, “You know… now that you mention it, when I asked the candidate to give an example of a project he lead, well, that was the one time during the interview that the candidate became animated... he was really excited about the work he’d done, spoke with expertise and passion about the project, his team, etc.”
There you go! The candidate did have the passion necessary (when it was tapped into), but the interviewer almost missed it due to his broad overview during the interview.
The beauty of behavioral assessing, when combined with your interview, is that the assessment results allow you to take a peek behind the curtain and discover if the candidate possesses (or not) the necessary behaviors that indicate the likelihood for success. Then you can clarify the areas of strength or concern for further review.
This can also work in reverse of the above situation when a candidate appears on the surface in control, outgoing, confident and yet their assessment results indicate some clear behavioral "concerns" specific to the job requirements. You will then want to follow up with a few more interview questions targeted to those areas of concern. And please, pay attention and notice the nuances.
Interviews alone can sometimes miss great candidates - assessments alone can sometimes miss great candidates. Combining both a behavioral assessment and the interview allows you to make sure you are identifying the candidate who will be a successful addition to your workforce.
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