Put this ace up your sleeve & start hiring human

There’s more to the hiring process than simply choosing the right person for the job. It’s about attracting and securing the best candidates who personify your company’s mission and principles. And even if you’re like many recruiters and hiring managers who’ve already paid thousands of dollars in training to become the best interviewers, you’re still not guaranteed to make the best hiring decisions.

Just shhhh already

All the pricey technology and well-meaning training firms don’t matter if you don’t listen. Admittedly this isn’t earthshattering news. Listening seems simple enough, but so many times we’re all guilty of not listening. We rely on first impressions in hiring, and assume a firm handshake and good eye contact make a candidate capable. We outtalk the person we want to hear tell their story, and we plain old forget what we heard.

Interviewers often stumble into the pitfall of talking too much about their company, life and career paths. There’s nothing inherently wrong with these subjects, but you have to know when to put a lid on it. When you perfect the skill of zipping your lip, you’ll begin to listen. You’ll hear from the candidate about what they know, and equally as important, what they don’t.

Give a recap

Once you’ve heard some of the candidate’s story and after they answer each of your questions, summarize what you just heard—or what you thinkyou just heard. When you use this method, you’ll find out quickly if you listened and learned something, or that you didn’t listen and missed some of what they said. This gives the candidate the opportunity to correct your summary, so that they don’t go home thinking you have a clear understanding of them when you don’t, and you don’t make a hiring decision off of inaccurate information you misheard or just plain missed.

When you do talk, make sure you’re clear about the job and the skills and traits your ideal candidate possesses. If you don’t have a concrete idea of the job’s responsibilities and the skills they’ll need to succeed in the position, be up front about it. Explain that the candidate will have to bob and weave and grow along with the company.

AI can only get you so far, first impressions can’t be trusted, and while four rounds of interviews may seem like a good idea for you to get to know them, that kind of overkill can put doubt in the mind of the candidate that your company is the right place for them. As simple as it is, listening, when done right, is the one thing—nay, the only thing that you can truly count on to learn about a candidate.