Show-and-Tell Interviewing
Publication: Leadership and Management in Engineering
Volume 13, Issue 4
A consulting firm client asked me to assist with interviewing a final candidate for a project manager position. After studying the candidate’s résumé, I interviewed him over lunch and asked many questions on topics such as positions he had held, the types of projects he had worked on, and software he had used. To me, he looked great on paper and in person. He was hired.
To my dismay, and my client’s, the new project manager quickly and clearly demonstrated his inability to write letters, memoranda, and reports that could be understood by anyone other than, perhaps, himself. In retrospect, I should have asked to see examples of the candidate’s writing.
More broadly, when interviewing potential employees, ask them to demonstrate, in concrete ways, compatibility with the position’s functions and your organization’s culture. Consider these examples (Walesh 2004):
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If writing ability is one criterion for a position, in addition to requesting writing samples, ask the candidate to write during the interview. For example, near the end of the interview visit, invite him or her to write about ways in which his or her education, experiences, and goals are aligned with your organization and the position description. Provide a quiet location and a computer or writing materials. An accomplished writer will shine on this essay “test.”
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What if speaking skills are essential? Then, prior to the interview, ask the candidate to prepare a presentation to be given to you and your personnel during the interview. Indicate the allotted time and arrange for the necessary audio-video support. Your job candidate could speak about a design or construction project he or she managed; describe software he or she created or used; or teach participants, workshop style, how to analyze data. Consider this actual example: I worked in an engineering college that asked candidates for faculty positions to deliver abbreviated student-oriented lectures to students and faculty.
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Assume the open position requires marketing knowledge and skill. Then, as part of the interview, give the candidate an actual request for proposal and perhaps an hour of private time. Ask the candidate to provide a list of questions that should be asked of the potential client or customer. Or invite the candidate to suggest a theme for the proposal and provide an outline. Possibly ask the candidate to share his or her approach to marketing, that is, his or her marketing model.
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Ask mostly behavioral, as opposed to hypothetical, questions. For example, instead of asking “What would you do to encourage out-of-the-box thinking on your team?” say “Give me an example of how you encouraged out-of-the-box thinking on your team.” Concrete, historic examples reveal much more than hypothetical projections. Knowing what someone did, that is, his or her behavior, is much more valuable than hearing what someone says they would do. I realize that a candidate, in responding to your behavioral question, could fabricate a response. However, on sensing this, you could ask penetrating follow-up questions.
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Request, for review by you and others, examples of a candidate’s work products. (This request may be subject to restrictions based on the candidate’s employer-employee-client confidentiality situation.) Assume that the ability to design aesthetically pleasing public works facilities is a position requirement. Then ask the candidate to provide photographs of projects he or she worked on and to describe his or her role in the design process.
Although the show-and-tell mode of interviewing may be atypical, experience suggests that it is likely to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your interviewing and, therefore, benefit both your organization and each candidate. You will be able to observe the candidates performing functions consistent with the available position. And each candidate will gain a deeper appreciation of your expectations.
According to business executive J. Paul Getty, “The employer generally gets the employees he deserves.” Show-and-tell interviewing will help you get the kind of personnel you want and deserve. My client and I learned the hard way. You don’t have to.
Closing Comments
Allow me some thoughts related to this, my last and 25th Engineering Your Future column in a series that began with the July 2007 issue of LME. I appreciate the opportunity to offer information and ideas intended to help readers engineer their futures.
The principal advantage of writing this column is that it forced me to determine what I really know and think about a variety of topics. Obviously, recognition of those thoughts is not original with me. However, I am in good company in that self-taught social philosopher Eric Hoffer said, “You learn as much by writing as by reading”; Edward Albee, the playwright, put it this way: “I write to find out what I'm thinking”; and writer and teacher William Zinsser declared, “Writing is thinking on paper.”
In the spirit of helping you engineer your future, I urge you to continuously develop your writing knowledge and skill and to proactively pursue writing opportunities. Writing can open many doors and take you many places.
The major downside of writing this column is the fear that few have read it. Writing a column is like repeatedly speaking in the public square at night. Is anyone out there? If I went solely by communications received from readers, few have read my offerings. However, being the eternal optimist, I will assume that some of you have at least occasionally read the column and derived some value from it. Thank you.
References
Walesh, S. G. (2004). Managing and leading: 52 lessons learned for engineers, ASCE, Reston, VA.
Biographies
Stuart G. Walesh is an author and independent consultant offering management, leadership, education, and training services. He is conducting creativity/innovation research; is writing, speaking, and teaching about it; is writing a book with the working title To Engineer Is to Create; and welcomes contact with potential collaborators. He can be contacted by mail at S. G. Walesh Consulting, 3006 Towne Commons Dr., Valparaiso, IN 46385, or by e-mail at [email protected], or visit his website at www.HelpingYouEngineerYourFuture.com.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Leadership and Management in Engineering
Volume 13 • Issue 4 • October 2013
Pages: 293 - 294
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 18, 2013
Accepted: Apr 22, 2013
Published online: Sep 16, 2013
Published in print: Oct 1, 2013
Discussion open until: Feb 16, 2014
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