I wouldn’t call it a trick, but there is one thing that impacts interviewing more than anything else and when properly handled can literally change interviewing overnight. The power of first impressions. Few things impact the interview more than the interviewer’s first impression of the candidate.
Often the first impression will drive the interview. It can set the tone for the interview before the interview even begins. A strong first impression can result in an easy interview with soft ball questions. A negative first impression may result in a difficult interview or very short interview since the interviewer has already decided that this is not the right person and they haven’t even left the lobby.
I suggest training yourself and your managers to be aware of the power of the first impression. Everybody has first impressions. I have had over 10,000 interviews in my life and I still have first impressions. Only a robot wouldn’t have them. The issue is how do we deal with them? I have learned that regardless of a positive or negative first impression I set that aside and still conduct a probing in-depth interview. At the end of that interview I will revisit my first impression to determine if it is still valid. Over half the time I discover that the first impression is not valid and the person can not only do the job, but has such great strengths that they are able to overcome any negative first impression. You could lose a great candidate for the wrong reason.
It all goes back to getting your managers properly trained. Teach them to set aside their first impressions, conduct thorough in-depth probing interviews, and then decide if the first impression is still valid. This trick, as you call it, will dramatically impact your hiring.
