No one should be surprised to learn that research shows interviews are most predictive of future job performance only when they meet three criteria:
1.) The interviewer works from a competency-based document that outlines the skills necessary for job success or failure. This is not a job description and it is not a job evaluation band. It is a list of measurable competencies based primarily on interviews with successful job holders.
2.) Interviewers have learned to phrase questions in such a way that answers are difficult to fake and examples are job-related. They have learned that past job behavior -- not necessarily job performance -- is a very good predictor of future performance. (Just like intelligence, dexterity, and complex social behavior are good predictors of success as an aspiring hominid.)
3.) Finally, each interview question must have a scoring guide consisting of desirable and undesirable answers. An interview is not a conversation to get to know someone. It is a verbal test. It has something to measure (required job skills), something to ask (structured questions), and a standardized answer key (right and wrong answers).
Structured interviews are usually called "behavioral" because they attempt to discover the specific behaviors associated with job performance. The assumptions, as mentioned before, are 1) if (for example) learning difficult information is an important competency for the future job; and 2) if the applicant says he or she learned in the last job; and 3) if the applicant can demonstrate that learning was successful; then 4) the interviewer can assume the applicant would probably be successful in the new position.
Here's what every evolved hiring organization should remember about interviews:
Interviews are tests and subject to all the conditions of a good test.
Job descriptions and job evaluations seldom provide enough information on which to base an interview.
Interviewing is not a learn-as-you-earn activity.
If skills are not accurately evaluated pre-hire, then the job will evaluate them post-hire.
Few people have the skills necessary to do a competent interview.
If you forget the above, remember that poor interviewing leads to increased turnover, lower individual employee performance, and higher training expenses. Not to mention a workplace full of screeching monkeys.
