Hiring the Best: A Manager's Guide to Effective Interviewing [Paperback]

Martin Yate (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1997

Updated to include the very latest information on the legal guidelines you must follow under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

How many managers have stalled their own careers by hiring the wrong person? Too many.

The most common mistake is believing that if a person can do the job, the person is a good hire. Actually, there are three broad areas that must be probed thoroughly to make the best decision.

* Is the candidate able to do the job?
* Is the candidate willing to do the job?
* And is the candidate going to be manageable?

In Hiring the Best, over 400 questions thoroughly probe these areas and give you the necessary material for the perfect choice. The updated fourth edition of this proven management tool also features an extensive review of the pros and cons of hiring temporary workers, part-time employees, consultants, and independent contractors.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Martin Yate is an international best-selling author on career and business topics. His previous positions include National Director of Training for Dunhill Personnel System, Inc. and Director of Personnel for Bell Industries Computer Memory Division.

Product Details

• Paperback: 230 pages
• Publisher: Adams Media Corporation; 4th edition (June 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558502823
• ISBN-13: 978-1558502826
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,269,030 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Martin Yate is an internationally best-selling author. He has held major posts as a director of training and personnel for several international companies. His best-selling title Great Answers to Tough Interview Questions (published by Kogan Page) is now in its 5th edition and has sold over 4 million copies.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite interview book, January 19, 2005

By 

Texas Techie "Code Slingin' Cowboy" (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hiring the Best: A Manager's Guide to Effective Interviewing (Paperback)

I use this book both for interviewing techniques and for preparing to be interviewed. Its a great book for interviewing because he presents the pros and cons of different techniques and gives what I consider to be a good framework for identifying quality candidates. Its a great book for preparing to be interviewed because it helps you identify the objectives of interviewers and make a better case. As a hiring manager, you should be able to pass an interview with flying colors, shouldn't you?

Perhaps the most enlightening wisdom I got from the book was the enumeration of the qualities of a good employee:

1. Ability to do the job

2. Willingness to do the job

3. Manageability of the candidate

Most interviews focus on the abilities of the candidates and stop there. Big mistake! Mr. Yate gives you guidance on evaluating the whole candidate, and in general I like and agree with his advice.

Other good ideas are evaluating the cracks in resumes, phone screening, and lunch. Never hire anyone without checking background, verifying employment and education, and seeing if they can carry on a conversation at lunch.

I draw ideas for interviews from several books, but this one is the overall framework that I have worked from. I feel the style is readable, the length is appropriate, and the content is excellent.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book on hiring & interviewing, June 27, 2005

By 

Layla Halabi (Dubai - UAE) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hiring the Best: A Manager's Guide to Effective Interviewing (Paperback)

This is an extremely well written and very useful book on hiring techniques and methods. The author analyzes all aspects of the hiring process beginning with the different types of resumes and when each type is used; what flags to look for and how to evaluate an applicant's overall resume. Chapter five focuses on short-listing through a `phoner' while the subsequent chapters are devoted to interviewing techniques and the science of asking questions.

The author introduces four different interviewing techniques - Situational; personality profile; stress; and & behavioral - and also gives a very useful and informative analysis of the different types of questions that can be asked in a hiring interview like half-right reflexives; hamburger-helper questions; and question layering. In the following chapters, the author focuses on evaluating the candidate's ability and willingness to do the job as well as manageability. The questions and the author's commentary on what to look for and red flags in an applicant's answer are informative, highly usable, and extremely useful. These are not your 'standard' interview questions (though there are some pretty standard questions included). They are well formulated and clever probes into the applicant's skills, knowledge, personality, and background.

The rest of the book is devoted to functional areas with a chapter devoted to clerical, management, sales, contingency workers and law hires. Again, I found the advice and suggestions relevant and informative. In formulating the hundreds of question suggestions scattered throughout the book, the author has given a lot of thought to the qualities, experiences, and areas of concern that hiring managers and HR people focus on.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If You Hire, This Is A MUST Read, August 21, 2005

By 

Paul H. Henning (Somewhere in the Midwest/USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hiring the Best: A Manager's Guide to Effective Interviewing (Paperback)

Like many small business people, I was a complete bozo at hiring for many years. Fortunately, at some point I woke up to that fact and decided to educate myself. I took classes, read books and did everything I could to become a skilled interviewer. Without question, one of the most helpful tools to escaping Bozoland was this book. Although I am now a freelance business consultant and have no employees of my own, I frequently assist my clients with their own hiring processes, and in so doing I still refer extensively to Martin Yate's excellent book.