The Interviewer's Advantage

We've been in the midst of interviewing candidates for open HR positions and it reminded me of this post from about this time last year I wanted to share with you.

I have had the opportunity to interview for new HR staff lately. It's something I don't get to do often although lately I've had the opportunity to do it more due to promotions, turnover and new HR positions.

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People walk into an interview and it's unknown to me - and to you - what they have on the line at that moment. Whatever "it" is, it belongs to a person in one of the most uncomfortable situations a person could be in.

As the interviewer, I know - but sometimes forget, that I have the opportunity create the space for the person sitting across from me to shine. As I recently watched a candidate come into her own right before my eyes, it made me wonder, what do others do with the very same opportunity?

With this thought on my mind, I saw 10 Human Questions Interviewees Should Ask, from Paul Smith pop up in my Google Reader. Like Paul, I thought "about the anxiety of interviewees and how interviewers have most of the advantages in that environment."

Interviewers can set the stage for an interviewee to be at their best. Their anxious and nervous best, but their best nonetheless.

Why wouldn't every interviewer want to do that?

Is it easier to say, "no" to someone who did not fully step-up-to-the-plate? It is not possible to be both direct and nice? Shame on you if you quell confidence and pride and don't nourish, prop-up or cultivate every chance you get.

It's not all about the applicant you say? It's all about you? Ok, I get that so let me ask you this, "What impression do you want them to have of their interaction with you, of your department, and of your leadership?"

Interviewers, you have the advantage. Use it well.

This HR Director's Day: A Far Cry From Leading

I am not sure what you call what I have been doing lately but I am sure it's a far cry from leading.

When I look in the mirror and see Miss Office Shiva staring back at me, I know it's time for to regroup and take a close look at how I am managing, leading and working because this is an entirely inefficient and ineffective way to run a department 

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The questions begin to flow.

What am I holding onto that I should delegate, what conversations need to be had and what expectations need to be set, and what am I doing that can be clearly be done better by someone else? Where am I building in unnecessary delays? Are we, as a department, setting priorities, focusing on what's important and all heading in the same direction?

The questions continue.

​In the positive sense of shedding old habits, is it time for us to change direction or to toss decisions we've outlived or outgrown? How do I get out from behind the desk? Could we possibly need more staff? Do I have the right staff? Do I have effective feedback and communication loops in place?

The questions never end.

What should I be seeing and what should I be hearing that I am not? What assumptions are blocking progress or what problems am I avoiding? If you could write a message to me on the white board, what would it be?