Interviewing Guide

Interview as if your bottom line depends on it

Unless you have a human resources background, it is likely that those who do most of the interviewing in your company have little or no training on this subject. Interviewing is not typically discussed in business degree programs and is rarely taught before someone has to make their first hire. This implies interviewing is an innate talent, or simply not important. Both messages are wrong.

There are many books on the subject of interviewing, and for good reason. Hiring errors cost seven to nine weeks of pay for an entry-level person, about a year’s salary for a professional person, and several years’ salary for senior executives and specialized professionals. We do not present the following pages as a complete answer to the subject of interviewing but offer it as a place to begin. You must define and implement an appropriate interview process to generate the right outcome every time. Use this document as a design template or to test your current system.

This booklet is designed to provide specific interview tips based on STM’s Behavior, Motivation, and Competency assessments. This should aid you in screening out a greater percentage of poor candidates and reducing the number of candidates you have to assess to find the best possible employee for the unique needs of your company. Even if you are not familiar with or don’t use STM’s assessments, this guide can help you interview to key behaviors, motivators, attitudes, capacities, energy, and drive.