by Dr. Wendell Williams
Monster Contributing Writer
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People have to get away from the idea that a magical set of interview questions exists. An interview is a verbal test that requires verbal answers. The questions should always be driven by the job's needs, and the answers should always be driven by a desire to show successful job performance. This requires recruiters to analyze job requirements and compile interview questions that gather relevant examples of candidates' past behaviors and demonstrated skill levels. This is easier said than done.
Gathering accurate examples of past behavior takes considerable interviewer skills and an applicant who is able to remember good examples. In many cases, applicants cannot recall good examples, and the interviewer's personal likes and dislikes influence the interview outcome. Add to this a poor understanding of the job and a poor understanding of a good answer, and you can easily see why interview inaccuracy ranges from 99 percent to 90 percent.
Interviews are nice ways to get to know a candidate in a short period of time, but personal conversations are insufficient for probing deeply into an applicant's hard skills, such as problem-solving ability, planning ability and interpersonal skills. If you want to make the fewest mistakes, you need to use a better set of tools, those that yield higher accuracy, such as validated tests and realistic job simulations.
