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WHAT ARE YOU HEARING?

It is easy to get confused into thinking you are getting important information about a candidate when you are not .
Often what you hear from candidates are false statements of what a candidate will do or would like to do or
vague statements .

• Feelings or Opinions – these report a person’s feelings or emotions to an event .
“I went beyond the call of duty for my manager.”
• Theoretical or Future-oriented Statements – these only provide what a candidate “thinks” he/she would do

“If I got the job I would…”
• Vague Statements – are general summaries or descriptions of several past actions .
“There weren’t many times I wasn’t able to make my deadlines.”
“I ALWAYS do (whatever it is).”

“I am GREAT on the floor and touch every table.”
“I am GREAT with making my guests feel comfortable.”
Some candidates are very good at telling what they would do in a situation, but find it very difficult to provide
examples of what they actually did .

We may do something that we may not realize and that is to “lead” the candidate . Be wary – let the candidate
fully answer a question and don’t give them clues or “lead” them .

Sometimes we are very good at asking the question but only getting a partial or general version of the answer .
Always ask the important follow up question to determine the actual result of the situation the candidate is describing .

Some examples are:
“So how did it turn out?”
“What was the result?”
“Did you ever do that again?”

“Was it your idea?”
“Can you give me an example?”

6 6 Revised February 2014