Master tactics

#1: Interrupting

You have to interrupt the candidate. There is no avoiding it. You have to interrupt the candidate. If you don't, he or she might talk for ten hours straight about things that are not at all relevant. It may feel rude to interrupt somebody who is enthusiastically telling you a story about that smelly pig farm in Kentucky. However, we think it is rude to let somebody ramble and hut their chance of having time to cover important events in their career.

Bad way to interrupt

Put your hand in the air and say, "Wait, wait, wait. Let me stop you right there. Can we get back on track?" This will only shame the candidate and makes them clam up for good.

Good way to interrupt

Smile broadly, match their enthusiasm level, and use reflective listening to get them to stop talking without demoralizing them. "Wow, that sounds like that pig farm smelled horrible!" The candidate nods and says, "Yes!" and appreciates your empathy and respect. You then say, "You were just telling me about launching that direct mail campaign. I'd love to hear what was that like? How well did it go?"

#2 The Three P's

How do you know if an accomplishment a person tells you about is great, good, okay or lousy? Use the three P's. The three P's are questions you can use to clarify: compare to previous, compare to plan and compare to peers.

Examples:

This person achieved sales of $2 million and the previous year's sales were only $150,000

This person achieved sales of $2 million and the plan was $1.2 million

This person achieved sales of $2 million and was ranked first among thirty peers; the next-best performer sold only $750,000

#3 Push Versus Pull

People who perform well are generally pulled to greater opportunities.

People who don't perform are often pushed out of their jobs.

Don't hire people who have been pushed out of 20 percent of more of their jobs. From our experience, those folks have a three times higher chance of being a chronic B or C player.

After you ask, "Why did you leave that job?" you will hear one of two answers:

Push. "It was mutually." "It was time for me to leave." "My boss and I were not getting along." "My role shrank" "I missed my number and was on thin ice."

Pull. "My biggest client hired me." "My old boss recruited me to a bigger job." "The CEO asked me to take a double promotion." "A former peer went to a competitor and referred me to his boss."

#4 Painting a Picture

You'll know you understand what the candidate is saying when you can literally see a picture of it in your mind. "Empathic Imagination". It helps you move away from generic answers that don't mean anything. Really

get curious⁠

and try to put yourself in someone else's shoes. What happened in the last job? Why did that not work out? You are trying to put yourself in their shoes to understand how and why they are making decisions and handling problems.

#5 Stopping at the stop signs

One of the advantages of conducting the Who Interview in person is that you can watch for shifts in body language and other inconsistencies. An entire science has evolved to tell when people are lying. The biggest indicator, as it turns out, is when you see or hear inconsistencies. If someone says, "We did great in that role," while shifting in his chair, looking down and covering his mouth, that is a stop sign. When you see that, slam on the brakes, get curious, and see just how "great" he actually did. The idea isn't to gather dirt. That's never the point of the Who Interview. If you come off like an investigative reporter, or, worse, a gossip columnist, you need to seriously refine your approach. Think of yourself instead as a biographer interviewing a subject. You want both the details and the broad patter, the facts and texture. That's how you make an informed who decision.

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