Interviewer & interviewee skills the Solution Focus way
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John Briggs & Gale Miller of the Solutions Behavioural Health Group Milwaukee did some research on the interview process. The goal of this document is to reframe the traditional interview contest. It suggests ways that avoid the surprises that can arise later and instead help both parties get what they want.
Interviewer & interviewee skills the Solution Focus way
- 1. Interview Skills using Solution Focus www.alankay.ca INTERVIEWER AND INTERVIEWEE SKILLS USING SOLUTION FOCUS (SF) John Briggs & Gale Miller of the Solutions Behavioural Health Group Milwaukee did some research on the interview process. Their findings are on page 1 (drawn from one of Gales presentations). Page 2 offers advice on how to re-足frame the interview process from the interviewers perspective. Page 3 was developed by some solution focus advocates in Toronto to illustrate how interviewees might frame the interview. The goal of this thinking is to reframe the traditional interview contest. It suggests ways that avoid the surprises that can arise later and instead help both parties get what they want. INTERVIEWING JOB APPLICANTS USING SOLUTION FOCUS BACKGROUND: Think in terms of emergence. Hiring creates a change. Plus, you cant ever replace or replicate the current situation. Choosing a person creates a new situation. Different kinds of people will create different situation / direction. So, should we choose a person, or a future situation based on the future we (and they) want? The traditional pre-足employment interview is unreliable in terms of deselecting bad employees and selecting good employees. COMMON PROBLEMS Too much focus on the organization or the candidate: Organization we have a square hole, are you a square peg? Candidate what kind of peg are you? Can we reshape our hole or your peg? Conducting the interview to confirm biases: After reviewing your application, you appear to be the best candidate. Please tell me we are right. Focusing on the candidates needs; We are really in love with you. What do you need from us to be happy? Skill focused interviewing (check lists): Can you perform skill/requirement A? What about B? Predictable questions with predictable answers; What are your greatest strengths? (Dependable, hard worker) What are your greatest liabilities? (Dont really have any. Perhaps I am a perfectionist) Dont eliminate these questions. Instead, be aware of the assumptions behind them. Be more mindful of the responses. REMEDY Lets work together and have a conversation about constructing a peg and a hole that fit well together and provide great functionality. Over
- 2. Interview Skills using Solution Focus www.alankay.ca INTERVIEWER QUESTIONS: Solution Focus questions: What was your goal in applying for this position? What is your best understanding of this position? What makes you think you would be a good candidate for the position? Suppose you were in my shoes. What would be your primary concerns as you conducted this search? Which goals of the organization do you think you can best help us achieve? Scaling: On a scale of 1 10where would you put yourself? How come? What would be different if you were a point higher? How is it that you are not a point lower? Suppose you were hired for this position. How would I know you were a good choice? Suppose you accepted an offer from us. How would you know you made a good choice? How will our organization benefit from hiring you? What else? Language (auditory and visual) is our only tool in an interview: Listen and observe carefully and accurately Seek clarification, When you say.., what specifically do you mean? Do not assume very much. This is what leads to surprises down the road Source: John Briggs & Gale Miller, Solutions Behavioural Health Group Milwaukee. See overQuestions for the Interviewee (managing the interview) What is Solution Focus? (download)
- 3. Interview Skills using Solution Focus www.alankay.ca INTERVIEWEE QUESTIONS Here are the sort of questions you might want to adapt/use in your own way This set of questions was set up for a project opportunity if necessary, change project to job/function. SF QUESTIONS FOR INTERVIEWEES So how can I be useful to you during this interview today? If you had the perfect person and suppose it were the end of the contract, how would things be different? How will this person have helped this organization, this department and you to succeed? Suppose you hired me, how will I have helped you achieve great things? At the end of the project, how will I have helped you personally? If you were in my shoes, what concerns would you have for me? What can you imagine are the most positive outcomes for this role? What are your grounds for optimism that this project will be a great success (with the right person?) What has been going well for you lately? Whats working on this project? What works, what would you want done differently? When you did something like this before, what happened? When youve hired people in the past, what worked? What three wishes do you have for this project? Let me tell you a story where it didnt work and how I fixed it Suppose that when I came in on the project it was a 3, when I left it was a 9... what would I have done to make it work? Overall, find out what the organization is really looking for, then pitch yourself to them: if you hired me, this is how you would benefit... Never need the job! Check against your own vision and standards, and step back from the project to see if you want to be involved with it. In order to minimize problems during the work ask many questions about what the interviewers request really means.