This cast describes how to increase the chances that you will get to hire your favorite candidate when he or she has to interview elsewhere in the organization.

There are a number of times and places and processes where it's amazing how easy it is to be more effective than almost everyone else as a manager. We've said several times that in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. We don't want the state of management to be so underpowered, but it is, and we're not afraid of being blunt about it.

And when the opportunity for an EASY win is in the most important thing a manager does, it's doubly frustrating to not take advantage of some simple improvements. It's one of those areas we think of as a professional sin.

Do we have your attention? Important AND easy to change? Our kind of stuff. What we're talking about here is helping your favorite candidate get hired. Why is it that so many of us as managers find someone we really like, and then we don't do anything to help them get over any hurdles that yet remain? We've heard too many stories of managers either (a) wanting to hire someone and not getting them because THEIR boss didn't agree, or even worse (b), getting someone they DON'T want because the boss didn't like their choice and chose someone ELSE. OUCH.

For the record, this cast will focus on just the "boss" side of this. Lest you doubt it, when you want to hire a candidate, we recommend you also help them be well perceived and received by your directs and the rest of your organization. Their peers and their directs will play a huge role in any candidate's success as a team member. And the boss does too…here's how to make that work.

1. Your Boss is RIGHT To Pass Judgment
2. Brief Your Candidate On Your Boss
3. Describe What Your Boss's Interview Will Be Like
4. Provide Feedback on How Your Candidate Did With You
5. Practice Interviewing With Your Candidate
6. Don't Forget to Review QUESTIONS As Well As Answers
7. Require Thank You Notes, Follow Up, and Communication

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This cast describes how to decide between two good candidates in a hiring situation.

We're NOT going to tell everyone who's trying to decide between two candidates whom they should pick. What we are going to do with this cast is tell you what factors are most effective in determining whom to hire, as well as walking you through a simple process for the decision.

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This cast describes what to do when a manager has two candidates for a job that meet the standard, but you can only offer one candidate.

Note: During the show, we refer to an older podcast on How to Make an Offer that you may find of value as well.

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This cast describes how to interview effectively during a downturn, particularly for difficult to fill positions.

When you get to fill a position during a down market, it usually means it's a critical position, and/or one that's been open a long time. Because you're in a buyer's market, it's usually pretty easy to find a good, even an exceptional, candidate. But you have to change how you interview in that situation, and here's how.

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[Note: This is a repost of a previous corrupt podcast file.]

This cast describes how to increase your chances of re-hiring someone who has left your organization. They're called Boomerangs!

There really IS a war for talent going on today. Demographics are in many ways working against us, reducing the labor pool, as well as changing the nature of work and the relationships "employees" have with their "employers".

This cast describes how to create a simple behavioral interview question.

This cast explains how to capture interview results in a fast and simple meeting.

One of the things we have learned over the years is that bad hiring is easy, and good hiring is hard. It's easy to hire someone who isn't going to work out – just do one interview, don't dig for details, don't listen to the doubts you're feeling, don't interview for the soft skills.

Of course, this is what happens far too often...and then when there are culture or discipline problems, everyone starts talking about changing the culture, or doing exit interviews.

More and more, companies are using psychological and behavioral tests as pre-employment screening devices. They supplement their interviewing processes in order to ensure less false-positives.This is wise, in our judgment, based on what we see of interviewing. Too many companies don't screen rigorously enough, and have started enlisting more cerebral and/or technical techniques to be certain of new hires.

Even if you haven't experienced one yet, it's becoming more and more likely.

What does this mean for you?

Interviewing candidates for your organization is one of the most important things managers do. And yet, somehow, it's one of those things that doesn't seem to get taught anywhere. What this means is very few managers know how, or at least, they just do it "their way". That's not a very effective approach for an organization to have regarding the key talent screening process that it has, but the data are overwhelming: Your interviews stink! Most managers simply don't have a good way to always ensure that they are conducting an effective interview. Some managers routinely create false positives with shallow questions, little probing, and a lack of understanding about the role. Other managers routinely create false negatives...and usually, for the very same reasons on the surface. Conducting Effective Interviews is too big a topic to cover all at once..unless you wanted a 30 hour cast! So, in this cast, we'll talk about the steps effective managers take to get ready for an interview.
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During this cast, we complete our series on making a job offer to a candidate. If you haven't listened to last week's cast (part 1), please do so first!

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