Interviewing Skills

I have been on both sides of the interviewing process. I have talked a lot about being the interviewee, but, I'd like to share my perspective of being an interviewer. I like how our textbook discussed on page 214, the importance of barriers. To effectively communicate in interviews, the textbook tells us to minimize these things:

• competing demands
• ego threats
• lack of courtesy
• trauma
• forgetfulness
• confusion
• jumping to conclusions
• distracting subconscious behaviors

As an interviewer, it is imperative to be a good listener. The barrier I want to focus on is jumping to conclusions. If you are quick to speak you don't allow the person being interviewed to complete their thought on a question or you've already decided if they are or are not right for the job, based on a single answer. If you get ahead of yourself, you become closed off and can miss out on a great candidate because you did not like the way they answered or their decision on a question being asked. The interviewer must listen more than speak. Allow the individual being interview the opportunity to express themselves throughout the entire interview process. I have been pleasantly surprised and changed my mind several times about someone I was interviewing, just because I decided to stay neutral until the end. I have also had the complete opposite happen and found an individual to be completely wrong for the job, but at the initial exchange I thought otherwise. Don't jump to a conclusion and it gives you the best chance to really see if the candidate is right for the position they are competing to get.