You Really Asked a Candidate That?

At our recent Sterling Bank Women's Business Initiative luncheon in Fort Worth, I had the chance to moderate our terrific HR panel for our presentation, "You Really Asked a Candidate That?".

Our experts included:
Whit Smith - President and Founder - WhitneySmith Company
Henry Robinson - Partner - Kelly Hart Hallman LLP
Wanda Dalton - Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resource Officer - Sterling Bank

They truly have heard some outrageous questions asked of candidates and statements made to them:

• I told you that you are too old.
• You don't need this job because you're pregnant.
• You are too large to stand on your feet all day.
• How do you feel about pornography in the workplace?
• So you have young children?

Their excellent advice included:

• Do not write on the candidate's application or resume.  The information would become part of a permanent file and would be discoverable in litigation.
• Use a series of meaningful, structured interview questions.
• Avoid yes/no questions.
• Use - What? How? Why? Where? Which? When? Is? Are? Can? Describe... Tell me about... Explain.
• Tailor questions to the specific job you are trying to fill.
• Avoid esoteric questions such as "if you were a color, which would you be?".
• Avoid questions about strengths, weaknesses and most embarrassing moments.
• Superstar candidates are discovered through networking, referrals and trade associations.
• Expand your network so that you do not field only one class of candidates.
• Interviewing is notoriously unreliable so seek data supporting the information gleaned.
•  Hire givers v. takers.  Primary interest in salary, benefits and vacation tend to reflect a taker. 
• Job offers can be made contingent upon a drug test, criminal background check and/or credit report.
• Meaningful reference information can often be obtained if you talk about the job you are seeking candidates for rather than specific questions about the candidate.
• Look for and explore gaps in a resume.
• Ask why the candidate left the previous job.
• If someone tells you the candidate was a great employee, ask what made him or her great.

The closing caution came from Mark Twain.  "It ain't what you don't know that gets you in trouble.  It's what you know for sure that just ain't so."