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By Erin Gloeckner
“Death will be a great relief. No more interviews.” — Katharine Hepburn
Walking into an interview is like walking into a pressure-cooker. As an applicant, you sense that the interview is your best chance at winning a job. Most nonprofit hiring teams would agree that an interview would make or break a candidate’s chances. But research has shown that interviews are often flawed, making them a less reliable source of information on which to base hiring decisions. Former Center staff member John C. Patterson, the author of our upcoming “Staff Screening Notebook” has shared two little-known secrets with us. Reference checks are a nonprofit’s most important screening tool, and interviews should be analyzed through a new perspective.
Interviews are a significant piece of the hiring puzzle, but they are often given too much weight. The “Staff Screening Notebook” reminds us that an interview is only one screening tool and should not be the sole basis of a hiring decision. Edward Lawler, Distinguished Professor of Business and Director of the Center for Effective Organizations in the Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California writes in a recent Forbes article, “Years of research on job interviews has shown that they are poor predictors of who will be a good employee. There are many reasons for this, but perhaps the key explanation is that individuals simply don’t gather the right information and don’t understand what the best predictors of job success are. A careful analysis of the background of individuals and their work history and work samples are more accurate predictors of success on the job than are the judgments which result from interviews.”
So what’s the real problem with interviewing? Interviews invite bias and legal risks into hiring, more so than other screening tools.
It’s tough to avoid these interview faux pas, but recognizing the risks before conducting an interview will enable you to handle the situation appropriately. Consider the strategies below as you prep for your next big hire.
Putting extra thought into your interview methods will likely result in stronger matches for open positions and a more positive interview experience for your applicants. Remember to consider every screening tool you have available- -especially reference checks, which are a vital component of due diligence in the hiring process.
Reference checking provides insight that hiring teams can’t always get during interviews. The biggest risk of reference checking is failing to complete this step of the screening process. References can offer valuable information concerning an applicant’s previous experience in similar positions, or personal attributes that would offer positive contributions to the organization. References may also offer information that could disqualify an individual from consideration for a position. These tidbits are essential when vetting finalists for a position, so reference checks should never be skipped.
Be aware of reference checking risks before blindly believing everything you hear about an applicant. A major concern is receiving information from references that may be inaccurate, incomplete, based on gossip, or deliberately falsified. Another risk is receiving information that can’t be used to qualify or disqualify a candidate. Practice the strategies below to avoid common reference checking risks.
To retain quality information from references, focus on the following four objectives from the “Staff Screening Notebook.”
For more guidance on employee and volunteer screening, order a copy of NRMC’s popular book, Staff Screening Notebook.
Erin Gloeckner is the former Director of Consulting Services at the Nonprofit Risk Management Center.
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