And What You Can Do About It.
The interview process is a critical part of the hiring process. Interviews allow hiring managers to discuss and evaluate an applicant’s behavior, qualifications, and fit for the role.
However, it is important to understand that an interview alone doesn’t provide a complete profile of a candidate.
In fact, hiring managers can easily be fooled by the interview facade. This can lead to mismatches between a candidate’s perceived abilities and their actual on-the-job performance.
What Is the Interview Facade?
The interview facade refers to the polished and often rehearsed profile a candidate presents during an interview. This can make it hard for hiring managers to make an accurate judgment about a candidate and their abilities.
Even the most experienced interviewers can fall for the interview facade.
Why does this happen, even to seasoned hiring managers?
1. Job interviews are stressful
Candidates are under a lot of pressure to make a good impression. Often, this causes candidates to rehearse and even script answers to common interview questions. This pressure can lead to an artificial environment that doesn’t reflect the candidate’s genuine workplace behavior.
Some individuals thrive under pressure and deliver exceptional interviews. Others may be too nervous to showcase their true potential. This is just one way that interview behavior may not reflect workplace behavior.
2. Limited scope and context
A typical interview is pretty short, usually an hour or two. During this short period of time, hiring managers are expected to make significant judgments about a candidate. This limited interaction restricts a hiring manager’s ability to observe a candidate’s long-term work behavior, collaboration skills, or adaptability. As a result, it is essential for hiring managers to have a firm understanding of the role before meeting with candidates.
3. Interview skills ≠ job skills
Interviewing is its own skill. Some candidates have practiced and refined their interview skills. This allows them to perform excellent interviews. However, having good interview skills does not guarantee job competency. For instance, a candidate may be great at answering hypothetical questions but unable to perform that problem solving in real life situations. As a hiring manager, it is your job to distinguish interview skills from job skills.
4. Bias
Everyone is susceptible to bias, including hiring managers. Personal preferences, superficial judgements, and unconscious bias can all influence decision making. A candidate who shares similarities with the hiring manager may receive preferential treatment even if they are not the best fit. Even unconsciously, these biases can cloud your judgment.
Interviews remain an essential part of the hiring process. It is crucial for hiring managers to be aware of and recognize their limitations. A candidate’s behavior and performance in an interview may not be a reliable indicator of their behavior and performance in a real work setting.
What Can We Do as Hiring Managers?
First, hiring managers should thoughtfully consider and articulate their goals for hiring. What does the new hire need to do? Why are we hiring in the first place?The most valuable way to do this is through the process of role design. Taking the time to understand the most critical skills, knowledge, and abilities needed for success can help hiring managers make confident hiring decisions.
Through role design hiring managers can establish a clear benchmark to measure candidates. Designing the role ahead of time significantly reduces the chances of being dazzled into hiring someone who is a good interviewer but not a good fit.
Candidate evaluation tools like online assessments, personality tests, and performance tasks can also be useful. But, without a clear understanding of the role these could lead us astray instead.
The interview process is not a contest among our top candidates – it is an exercise in finding the best fit between one role and one candidate.
