This is the sixth in our series, Six Sins in the Hiring Interview.

• Missing important (and obvious) clues during the interview
• Head trash, the distraction of the stereotype in the back of your head
• The fatal decision in the first three minutes of the interview
• Losing control, losing your head, losing your wallet
• Asking the wrong (stupid) interview questions
• Getting beat in the paint

This series is a prelude to our Hiring Talent Summer Camp.

Getting Beat in the Paint
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. As Managers, we are totally unprepared. We ask the wrong questions and allow our stereotypes to get in the way. We end up making a decision within the first three minutes of the interview, based on misinterpretations and incomplete data.

The candidates we face have been coached by headhunters, trained through role play, and are intent on beating the interviewer in a game of cat and mouse. They stayed up late practicing their answers, polished their shoes and showed up early. Their preparation is thorough. Though they have scant qualifications for your open position, they are ready to beat you in the paint.

Our Hiring Talent Summer Camp begins Monday, June 18, 2012. It’s online. Don’t get beat in the paint.