The Ideal Interview
When it comes to hire resources for your organization, we all try to set a benchmark. ‘Let us have the best of best’, is the general discussion. But, does it really work? If you have a football team of best defenders, midfielders, strikers and goalkeeper, does that guarantee a win? The answer would be a straightforward ‘ NO’. Having the best of best does not guarantee success. A team which sticks together, wins championships. So, how do you build such strong team?
“Let’s interview the candidates”.
The process of interview has existed and changed its course over time. During medieval period, to select the best warriors, the great kingdoms used to organize ‘games’ of swords or other skills related to warfare, and the most stand out performers used to be inducted into army. With the fall of Roman empire and advent of Renaissance, the world was governed by rediscovery of classical Greek philosophy, which emphasized, “ Man is the measure of all things”. This ideology became manifest in art, architecture, politics, science and literature. And thus, the process of interview evolved with time. Interviewing has sometimes been treated as a distinct method, but more often it has been located within some broader methodological category, such as “survey,” “case study,” or “ life story.”
Yes, you read it right, “life story”. There can never be benchmarks for an interview. It is always a run time judgement, whether a candidate fits into the position or not. And what helps us in making this judgement is the “life story” of the candidate. You can easily get a candidate who might be the top scorer or highly experienced in his/her field, but that is not a guarantee that the person will fit in your team. An interview does not have to be always about the specifics of the field work, but sometimes, to make a strong team, you need to focus on the human aspect, such as, what the person has been through, how well he or she will handle the critical situations, etc.
History says that great leaders at crucial moments have shown more faith in underdogs than the renowned achievers and conquered the quest with their help. The reason being, they wanted someone on their side who will work towards the end goal which is always above than an individual’s goal. However, it does not mean you always have to ignore the top performers and achievers, but it is just to make a point, that having the best of best will not always work for an organization.
While screening a candidate in an interview, do not just evaluate the person from technical aspects but also evaluate his/her compassion, humanity and willingness to contribute towards society. The best assets for an organization are the resources who go beyond their way to make the end goal or product of the organization a success story. And to have such resources in your team, you need to give opportunities to the ones who are desperately looking for a chance to prove themselves. Since, given a chance, they will bring out the best version of themselves on board, to make an impact and it will be a win-win situation for everyone around.
As they say, it is always good to have someone who know how to stand in the face of defeat, for they will be the ones who will lay strong foundations for your team and will stand as pillars to see it flourish over time.
“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” -Henry Ford
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.