In Part 1 of this article in the March/April issue, I discussed how investing ample time in the interview process can prevent hiring the wrong person for the job, as well as employee turnover, because you can get a more accurate assessment of a candidate’s qualifications. This article will continue with that discussion, zeroing in on how to properly assess a job prospect’s skill sets.
To some degree, I think everyone in a job interview is a bit of an actor. For the most part, the interviewer/interviewee relationship tends to accentuate the positives and gloss over the negatives. But, the information each party shares in the interview should give the other party an accurate image of the qualifications, experience and general work ethic or attitude he or she brings to the negotiating table.
The U.S. Justice Department tells us that lawsuits alleging discrimination in the workplace more than tripled in the 1990s. These stories can be found online, in the newspaper and on the evening news almost daily, and most commonly involve race, gender, disability, religion or age. The uncertainty of today’s business climate, the downturn in the economy, and most importantly, layoffs, increases the likelihood of legal action.