Author Archives: Tom Foster

About Tom Foster

Tom Foster spends most of his time talking with managers and business owners. The conversations are about business lives and personal lives, goals, objectives and measuring performance. In short, transforming groups of people into teams working together. Sometimes we make great strides understanding this management stuff, other times it’s measured in very short inches. But in all of this conversation, there are things that we learn. This blog is that part of the conversation I can share. Often, the names are changed to protect the guilty, but this is real life inside of real companies.

How to Interpret Responses in a Job Interview

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From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:
Here we are again. I thought this was the best candidate, but, now only three weeks into the job, I think I made a mistake. Turns out, I misinterpreted things that were discussed in the interview.

Response:
Why do interviewers constantly misinterpret candidate responses? Simple reason. Interviewers misinterpret because they ask questions that require interpretation. Any question that requires interpretation is a poor question. Worse yet, now the interviewer has to do something with that interpretation.

“Tell me, how important was planning in your last company?”

Terrible question. Any response to this question requires the interviewer to make an interpretation, an assumption or a leap of faith. Do we depend on the person to be telling the truth, or do we take it with a grain of salt? None of this is helpful.

Here is a better set of questions.

  • Tell me about a time when it was important for you to create a plan for a project you were working on?
  • What was the project?
  • What was the purpose of the project?
  • How long was the project?
  • What was your role on the project team?
  • Step me through the planning process on that project?

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Amazon is currently running a great promotion on my new book Hiring Talent. Get it now, before they change their mind. No coupon required.

When Can You Start?

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I don’t do a lot of book reviews, but this book caught my eye. First, the details

When Can You Start?
by Paul Freiberger
Career Upshift Productions, 2013.

Most often, I sit on the employer side of the table, talking with hiring managers and HR specialists about the hiring process. When Can You Start? is written for the job seeker, so it was interesting to see things from the other side.

Most of the book is predictable advice –

  • Show up on time for the interview
  • Practice answering questions to common interview questions
  • Never throw the first number in salary negotiations

But there were some insights I had never considered. “The fact that interviews have not been shown to have much predictive power in relation to subsequent job performance has not made the interview less important or less popular among employers.” I had to close my eyes and do some soul-searching on that one. Freiberger cites a 1994 paper published in the Journal of Applied Psychology.

Does throwing darts at a resume board yield better candidates than a job interview process? Now, that is an interesting question.

My first instinct is to discount the observation, but admittedly, after watching the interview process in a few hundred companies, I am thinking about some dartboard practice.

Freiberger’s book is to prepare the unwitting candidate to endure an interview process that is largely broken, in most cases, dysfunctional. He admits the interview is full of traps and in some cases advises the “smart candidate to play the game by answering the question without actually answering the question.”

Hiring managers don’t interview candidates often enough to get good at it, are seldom trained to conduct effective interviews and rely on faulty assumptions throughout the entire process. Most managers are unprepared. They ask the wrong questions and allow stereotypes to get in the way. They end up making a decision within the first three minutes of the interview, based on misinterpretations and incomplete data.

So, When Can You Start? is a decent primer for both the first time job seeker and the veteran job seeker who forgot what it was like sitting across the interview table.

Key to Evaluating Salespeople

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“How do you tell?” Roger asked. “When we had to make decisions to lay people off in 2009-2010, we thought we were choosing to keep our best people. Maybe, it’s just harder now. But some of the people we kept are not making the grade.”

“How do you explain their underperformance?” I pressed.

“Bottom line, I think they were successful, before, because things were easy. We made sales because people called us. No one had to knock on doors, ask for appointments, do needs analysis. My salespeople are clamoring for more leads, but they squander the leads we give them.”

“So, when you look at your team, how do you rate their effectiveness?”

“You mean, on a scale from 1-10, or A-B-C?”

“Think about it this way. Given what you expect in their role, are they working as effectively as someone in the top half of the role or the bottom half of the role?”

“Well, each person is different,” Roger replied.

“Good. So, you can make that judgment for each of your salespeople?”

“Yes, absolutely. When you put it like that, it’s easy to see.”

“And then, in that half, are they as effective as someone in the top, middle or bottom of that half?”

“Again,” Roger was thinking. “I could do that for each salesperson.”

“So, you could make a judgment, as a manager, for the top half or bottom half, and then in that half, the top, middle or bottom. That creates six bands of effectiveness related to your salespeople.”

Personal Effectiveness

Personal Effectiveness

Five Biggest Mistakes in Hiring

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I started this series last week, the five biggest mistakes in hiring.

1. The manager underestimates the time span capability required for success in the role. To effectively make the hiring selection, the manager has to identify the level of work related to problem solving and decision making.

2. The manager uses the resume as the central document during the course of the interview. Using the resume allows the candidate to tell brilliant prepared stories that may or may not relate to the critical role requirements. The central document during the interview should be a list of specific written questions directly related to the work in the role.

3. The manager fails to write a complete specific role description organized into Key Result Areas. Most managers shortcut this step by substituting a job posting, using a generic job description or using a job description that was prepared years ago and stuck in a three ring binder. Organizing the role description is one of the most critical steps in the hiring process.

4. The manager fails to prepare a written list of questions specifically related to the role description, organized into Key Result Areas. Most managers think they know enough about the job, to wing their way through the interview, off the top of their head.

5. Without a list of intentional questions based on the role description, the managers asks a series of unproductive questions that fail to capture real data related to critical role requirements. This includes questions about favorite animals, hypothetical questions and future based questions.

At some point of frustration, I created a course and wrote a book to help managers navigate the interview process in building the right team. You can find out more information by following this link – Hiring Talent.

Fourth Biggest Mistake in Hiring

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My conversation with Graham about their hiring protocol was getting serious. “So, you don’t have a role description to guide you, how do you know what to ask about during the interview?” I prodded.

“Well, I spend most of my time going through the resume, but I do have some questions prepared. It’s actually a list of questions I have been using since I worked at my old company,” Graham explained.

“How many questions?”

“Seven,” he replied.

“Let me see the list,” I insisted.

“Oh, I don’t have them written down, just have them in my head.”

“Okay, what are they?”

“Let’s see,” Graham started. “Where do you see yourself in five years? I always ask that question. And I usually make up a problem to see how they would solve it.”

“So, that is two questions, not seven,” I counted.

Graham shifted in his chair. “Well, maybe I don’t have seven questions ready to go at the beginning of the interview, but I am pretty good at making up questions as I go along.”

“Graham, what would be different if you had several written questions, for each of the Key Result Areas in the role description?”

“That would be great, if we could find the role description. HR said they would get me one by the end of the week.”
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Take the course, Hiring Talent. It’s online. Buy the book, Hiring Talent.

Third Biggest Mistake in Hiring

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“Let me see the role description?” I asked. Graham shuffled through some papers and finally came up with a page printed off the internet.

“This is what we posted on the job board,” he grinned, proud that he could locate the piece of paper.

“This is a job posting, not the role description. Where is the role description?” I pressed.

“Well, I was waiting to get the role description from HR, but they are kind of backed up. They said something about health insurance renewals, whatever. But they looked in the file and this is what they pulled out,” Graham defended.

“But this is not a role description. This talks more about the company exceeding the expectations of its customers than it does about the work in the role. How do you expect to conduct a proper interview, and gather the data you need to make the hiring decision?”

“I know, I know. That’s why I use the resume to conduct my interview.” Graham nodded his head, feeling justified.

“What would happen if you re-scheduled all your interviews until after you write the role description?”

“What? I can’t do that. I promised to have someone hired by this Friday,” he protested.

“So, by this Friday, you are driven to hire someone, even if it’s not the right person, someone who will ultimately fail to meet the critical role requirements?”

“Yeah, you never know if someone is going to work out until they have been in the job for a few weeks.”

“So, what would it take, to find out enough about the person, related to the work, so that you have high confidence in their capability, on their first day?”

Second Biggest Mistake in Hiring

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“I kind of like this guy,” Graham stated confidently. “I know it’s the first interview, but he sounded sharp.”

“Why do you say that?” I asked.

“Impressive resume, and he was well-prepared. He had an answer to every question about his work experience.”

“Almost like he practiced before you got in the room?” I smiled.

“If you mean prepared, yes,” Graham defended. “He had a specific story for every question I asked.”

“What was the piece of paper you held in your hand during the entire interview?”

Graham sat back. “His resume, of course. I always have the resume in front of me.”

“And what about the role description? Did you have a copy of the role description in the room?”

“Yes, we have a role description, but the interview is about the candidate. I find the resume is more helpful than the role description, to explore their work history.”

“So, let me get this straight,” I nodded, “the candidate seemed sharp, he had a very specific story for every question you asked about the work history on his resume?”

Graham nodded with me. “Yes.”

“And every question you asked, was based on the resume submitted by the candidate? The central piece of paper in your hand during your interview was the resume?”

Graham continued to nod.

“So, now that the interview is over, when do you intend to ask questions related to the role description you prepared?”

Biggest Mistake in Hiring

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“The thing I am trying to figure out with this candidate,” Anita wondered aloud, “is whether they are over-qualified or under-qualified for the position we have?”

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“Well, if they are over-qualified, they will get bored with the decisions that go with this job. And the problems they face will seem small and insignificant. The work will not be interesting to them.”

“And if they are under-qualified?” I pressed.

“If they are under-qualified, they will be overwhelmed. There will be twenty things to get done in the short space of an hour, problems and decisions. They will get behind, hung up in a detail that derails everything. They will micro-manage a small segment of the job, because that is their comfort level, while there is a forest fire raging outside the door.”

“So, what exactly are you looking for?”

“I feel like Goldilocks,” Anita replied. “This porridge is too hot, this porridge is too cold, this porridge is just right. I am looking for just right. I will know it when I see it.”

“You have accurately described what happens when there is a mismatch in the role. You understand what you are looking for, but you don’t know how to look.”

Anita’s eyes grew wide and a small grin crossed her face. “It’s easier to see someone who is over-qualified for the role. My biggest mistake is hiring someone who is under-qualified. They work for a couple of months, and then it becomes glaring. They underperform, get defensive, throw other people under the bus. As a manager, I try to coach, but in the end, I made a mistake. The person couldn’t handle the level of work in the role. I just wish I could figure out the person in the interview.”

“What if you are starting in the wrong place?” I suggested.

“What do you mean?” Anita asked.

“Instead of trying to figure out the candidate, let’s start by figuring out the level of work in the role. What are the decisions made in the role? What are the problems solved in the role? What is the level of work in the role? The biggest mistake most managers make is underestimating the level of work in the role? That is why, so often, we place candidates in the position and watch them flounder before our eyes. Our first mistake was failing to identify the level of work required.”

“How do you do that?” Anita wanted to know.

You Are Not a Manager So People Can Report To You

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“Yes, but shouldn’t these people be reporting to me?” Ted asked.

“That depends. Functionally, their roles produce results you are interested in, but are you prepared to be their Manager?” I replied.

“I think so. I think they can report to me. I think I can hold them accountable for producing those results. I think I can check up on them to make sure they are working,” Ted proposed.

I smiled. “I know, you think being a manager is all about people reporting to you, and you, telling people what to do. But are you prepared to be their Manager?”

Ted gave a glance sideways.

“Your most important role,” I continued, “as a manager, is to bring value to the problem solving and decision making of your team. Are you bringing value by telling them that their reports are due on Friday and then reminding them Monday morning that their reports are late?”

Ted was still staring, but putting the pieces together. “Well, no, not when you put it that way.”

“Then, how, as their Manager, do you bring that value? And are you committed to bring that value? Are you willing to commit the time to bring that value? The answers to these questions will determine whether you should be the manager of this team.”

Charles “Red” Scott – RIP

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If you are lucky, you will meet someone in your life that changes your life. I was lucky.

In 1995, I found myself across a breakfast table from Charles “Red” Scott. We soon learned, like in the first five seconds, that we were both children of the great state of Texas, both born in the same part of east Texas, Paris, Texas and Tyler, Texas and both attended the University of Texas. Though Red graduated before I was born.

If you are lucky, you will meet someone in your life that changes your life.

Red interviewed me for a job. Not really a job, but a life-long venture, to be a teacher, to be a learner to a very special group of people that I had not met. Yet.

He asked me if I was lucky.

That was his favorite interview question. He told me how his life was changed on the turn of a dime. From a small town in east Texas, he was the president of his high school class. Leader of his class, that automatically earned him a ride at the University of Texas. I would follow a couple of decades later.

His birthday was the same as Texas Independence Day. And Red was independent. I think Red was lucky to be born that day.

And I was lucky to have known Red.

Charles “Red” Scott left us yesterday. He left behind many friends and a loving family. Yesterday, he left me, behind. And from behind, I can only look ahead. We will miss you, Red. I will miss you. You were a great teacher.

In December, the doctors told him not to buy any green bananas. He knew and we knew that life was moving on. As much as we braced for the day, told ourselves it was inevitable, when it came, it came. That brave face, our brave face, stopped and felt the rush of sadness.

Today, I will venture to find the greenest bunch of bananas, and I vow to outlive them, if I can.