How to do the 'interviewless' interview

Is executive failure a rare event? No. A key reason for 'selection failure' is that the interview is one of the least effective forms of candidate evaluation.

The selection process could be made more efficient if recruiters could work with their clients to alter the process and help take them through each stage.

Step one: The search company, as usual, obtains specific details of the job requirements, past experience, qualifications, negotiating ability and political skills etc so that a candidate can be correctly sourced.

Step two: Each candidate is told of the selection process and that that there will be no second interview, in the traditional sense, after the recruiter has undertaken the initial one.

The candidate is then asked for the following data by the search company: 

• CV
• Personal statement detailing why the position is attractive and the personal skills that the candidate could bring to the job
• Completed company application form
• Personality test (completed on-line)
• Numeracy and verbal capability test (completed on-line)
• Proof of qualifications or degrees held (certificates)
• The recruiter asks the candidate to give a written response to a business problem. Also, the recruiter should ask the company to supply them with a job description, terms and conditions of employment, information relating to the history of the business, its culture and aspirations and how the candidate would be expected to contribute to the company's aspirations.

Also, the recruiter should ask the company to supply them with a job description, terms and conditions of employment, information relating to the history of the business, its culture and aspirations and how the candidate would be expected to contribute to the company's aspirations.

Step three: The information supplied by each candidate is analysed by the recruiter and compared to the job requirements. A 'preferred candidate' is chosen to move through the remaining steps.

Step four: The preferred candidate is invited to meet with colleagues that he/she might be working with. The objective of this stage is NOT to undertake an interview but to ensure that the personality fits into the existing culture, communication ability, listening skills etc are consistent with requirements.

Step five: A task would then be set for the preferred candidate to demonstrate their capability. For instance, a potential training director could be asked to deliver a 20-minute talk on learning methods, a project manager a talk on the process of change, an operations director on 'capacity planning and control'. Step six: No selection process can remove the need for a boss or CEO to meet a preferred candidate altogether. At this stage there should be few questions that need clarification and these can be asked at this meeting.

The real purpose of stage six is to negotiate terms and conditions of employment, to discuss questions that the candidate might have about the company and for the company to continue to 'sell itself' to the candidate.

Steps four and six are vital for transferring information to the preferred candidate.

Such a recruitment process will maximise professional input and minimise prejudice, while maximising the time spent with the preferred candidate in a more social setting without repetition of process.

Stephen Harvard Davis
is a business expert and author of the book Why do 40% of Executives Fail?

CommentsPost a comment

Paul, I think that your comment is well put but when writing the article there is an assumption that if candidates are wanting to apply for the position and this is through a recruiter of recruiter firm then they would be willing to undertake a couple of questionnaires as part of the process. Secondly it's not unusual for candidate to complete personality or other profiles and this only extends the process by a degree.
Stephen Harvard Davis 08 Mar 2007

This process sounds great in an ideal world and I'm sure it would be sucessful if you could get candidates to complete this process prior to an interview. The question is how many candidates would be willing to do so without even the promise of an interview at the end of the line?
Paul Roberts 07 Mar 2007

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