Last week, I wrote about the 4 key skills for hiring managers by introducing 1) Strategic Questioning and 2) Listening Skills.  You can find that post HERE. Today, I’ll complete the topic, discussing two more key skills, the ability to get authentic responses from candidates and being process-oriented.  Working to develop these skills with your hiring teams will super charge hiring results and probably remove a few headaches from the recruiting team!

3. Getting to Authentic Responses

The best interviews feel more like professional conversations than formal examinations. When candidates feel comfortable and safe, they’re more likely to share authentic responses that help you make better hiring decisions. And high-stress, adversarial interviews often produce scripted answers that tell you little about the person’s actual abilities.

It’s best to spend some time at the beginning of the conversation with genuine small talk to help candidates settle in. Interviewers should focus on being transparent about the interview process and what exactly the role entails. If you’re going to ask challenging questions or present hypothetical scenarios, they should be framed appropriately and reasonably explained. For instance, “I’m going to present you with a scenario similar to what you might encounter in this role. I’m not looking for a perfect answer, just want to understand your thought process and approach.”

Also, body language and tone is very important. Many interviewers appear disinterested or stern because of their appearance, posture, or even the interviewing environment.  Interviewers should make it a point to maintain appropriate eye contact, avoid checking phones or computers, and should show genuine interest in responses. Remember that candidates are also evaluating you and your company during this process.

75% of employers have admitted to hiring the wrong person for a position

Careerbuilder

4. Process Oriented Mindset

The nature of recruitment is process oriented.   In fact, the ability to compare multiple candidates with consistent benchmarks and questioning techniques is valuable in making the best hiring choices.  Managers who are organized, plan ahead, know what they’re looking for, and have the right interview team put together, tend to make better hiring choices faster.  The recruiting team can help with this by providing resources like interview guides, process maps, training, etc. but, when hiring managers own the process and follow it, good things happen.

Process-oriented hiring managers also tend to be solution-oriented when recruiting is not producing desired results. They work with recruiters to understand where the obstacles are in finding candidates and implement measures to remove them. When recruiters report what they are seeing in the marketplace, what bottlenecks are restricting candidate pools, etc. these managers partner with the recruiting team to implement fixes.

The Effect of Mastering These Skills

When you combine strategic questioning with active listening and put the candidate at ease, something powerful happens. Candidates begin to open up in ways that reveal their true potential. You’ll uncover not just what they’ve done, but how they think, adapt, and collaborate. This deeper understanding leads to better hiring decisions and stronger long-term employee retention.  And the more hiring managers get it right, the broader the impact across the organization.  When bad interviewers are in the minority, they tend to jump on board to get better or are worked out of the process.

Candidates who experience well-conducted interviews, regardless of whether they’re hired or not, become ambassadors for your company. They share positive experiences with their networks, enhancing your employer brand and making future recruiting efforts more successful.  This is especially important for companies that sell consumer products where the next interviewee may not be a new hire but can always be a customer.

Unstructured interviews have a poor predictive validity of approximately 0.21, meaning they are not very effective at predicting job performance

Science direct

Putting it into Practice

Developing these skills requires intentional practice.  How often after interviews does the interview team take a few minutes to evaluate performance? Did you ask questions that revealed meaningful insights? Were you fully present and engaged? Did the candidate seem comfortable sharing authentic responses?

Great companies invest in interviewing training programs, creation of interview guides, and other tools to constantly improve interview skills.  The investment in developing these core skills will pay dividends in improved hiring quality, reduced turnover, and a stronger employer brand.

Remember, every interview is an opportunity to not only find great talent but also to represent your organization in the best possible light. By mastering strategic questioning, active listening, and creating a comfortable environment, you’ll transform your interviews from basic screening sessions into powerful tools for building exceptional teams.

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Keywords: corporate recruiting, interviewing skills, hiring managers, behavioral-based interviews

Does your company need an overall improvement in interviewing skills? ES Talent Solutions assists corporate recruiting departments in getting the most out of their resources. We can make life easy for busy recruiting departments by conducting audits and identifying complexities while creating a roadmap for implementing efficiencies. If you haven’t had a thorough review of your recruiting ecosystem, you’re missing out! Contact ESTS (info@ESTalentSoluions.com) today for a recruiting diagnostic to fully leverage your talent acquisition function.