Let's talk about the myth of being a tough interviewer.
So you're a tough interviewer. You automatically go on the offensive in any interview setting, some would even call your style "on the attack." You are confrontational, basically calling bulls**t on the candidate you have in front of you. Are they sure they really belong in front of you with this background? What's missing? You routinely attack what's missing in the first 10 minutes of the interviewer, satisfied you're doing your job of preventing people (who don't really have what it takes) to join your company.
The tough interviewer could also be called the negative or confrontational interviewer. It's most common tenured employees who don't feel any risk of alienating candidates. If this interviewing style is you, you don't build a lot of dialog with the candidate. You just go negative and watch them squirm.
How's being a negative interviewer working out for you?
Great, you say.
The people around you probably beg to differ.
You see, your hard interviewing style is costing your company candidates. In a peak economy, good to great candidates have a lot choices in where their next job comes from. It's likely that if a candidate made it all the way to you that they are good or great. They're in front of you because they have already been vetted and someone believes they might be a hire for your company.
And you bomb them with negative and hard vibes. Damn.
The path for the most effective interviewers is simple - selling your company and yourself as an leader or peer while getting what you need to evaluate the candidate. Are you an effective interviewer by this definition?
--No. You’re hard on candidates. No one wants to work with you or for you.
--Maybe. You’re neutral enough not to hurt your company. But that's probably not good enough in today's competitive hiring landscape.
--Yes, Absolutely. You get great stuff to evaluate the candidate, asking tough questions but framing that dialog in a way that makes them think you're on their side and rooting for them.
If you've ever prided yourself for being a "hard" interviewer, time for a little self-evaluation. If candidates leave your interview thinking that the session went awful or worse yet - they wouldn't want to work for you or with you, you've got a problem. You're net negative to the employment brand.
You're better than that. You can still ask the hard questions, but cadence, taking the time to build positive dialog and demeanor means everything.
You can do this. Help us out.