Press Room

Interview Candidates Using the GEOADA Approach

Posted on January 23, 2006

Whether you're in a small business, a pre-IPO start up, or a Fortune 50 company, you're likely to find that the best managers are not always the best interviewers. On the other side of the desk, the best candidates for a position are not necessarily the best interviewers either.

For both the hiring manager and the candidate,interviewing should be a 50/50 proposition. The candidate should be asking questions and "interviewing" the employer as much as the employer is interviewing the candidate.

In my 15 years of experience, I've found many good managers and great candidates who are less than skilled at interviewing. For the purpose of this article, let's address what the hiring manager, or employer, should do in order to ensure a successful interview process.

In our hurried, Palm Pilot/Blackberry culture, time is a precious commodity. As a result, interviewers often have only 30 to 55 minutes to interview potential candidates. Even with limited time, we still talk about the weather, last night's baseball game, the traffic, and on and on.

Is spending half your interview time on non-relevant pleasantries helpful? Not always. While it is conducive to setting the applicant at ease, small talk isn't extracting the relevant information you need in order to make an informed decision as to whether or not the candidate is a match to the job. So what's a hiring manager to do?

G-E-O-A-D-A

G - Greet the applicant.
Of course you want to be cordial. "Did you find the place okay? May I offer you something to drink?"

E - Set the candidate's mind at Ease.
This is a good time for small talk - an opportunity to let the candidate know this doesn't have to be an unpleasant experience. "How are you today?" Don't spend more than a couple of minutes on such necessary pleasantries.

O - Present an Overview.
Here you want to simply present an overview of what's to come during the interview. Perhaps it's simply a matter of, "I'm the CFO and I want to spend some time getting to know you better, and then I want you to meet with my other team members." Or, perhaps it's a matter of, "Thanks for coming back today… I've scheduled time for you to meet with the HR folks today, and then you'll have lunch with the executive team so they can get to know you better. Then you and I will tour the plant," etc., etc.

A - Ask questions.
Ask predetermined questions relevant to the position. Certainly, the interviewing manger will have questions to ask, but it's not a bad idea to consult with the HR representative or your retained search consultant in an effort to develop questions requiring a Situation - Action Taken - Result scenario (more about this in future articles).

D - Describe the position.
Describe the position relative to the atmosphere, the department, the company, the manager's style, and the essential functions, challenges, and requirements of the position, plus the "preferred" experience, qualifications, skill set, etc. It's a good idea to go into the "preferred" characteristics whether the candidate at hand has them or not. This way, should you interview a future candidate who has the "preferred," the candidate at hand won't be too surprised and disappointed, once you explain why they were rejected.

A - Answer questions.
Try to answer any questions or concerns the candidate may have. Word to the wise: be more impressed with candidates who ask legitimate questions as opposed to those
candidates who simply ask questions about the annual report they memorized the night before.

If you follow this simple, six-step process as a guideline, you'll be a better interviewer.