Interviewing and Selecting High Performers: Every Manager's Guide to Effective Interviewing Techniques [Paperback]

Richard H. Beatty (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 3, 1994

Take the guesswork out of the most important decision you make! Interviewing and Selecting High Performers Every Manager's Guide to Effective Interviewing Techniques Current studies show that high-quality workers outproduce poor ones by 25% to 50%. Moreover, these findings reveal the alarmingly high direct and indirect costs companies pay when they hire the wrong people. So why, asks Richard Beatty, would you want to rely on "hit-and-miss" approaches to selecting new employees? In his latest practical, career-oriented guide, Beatty says you no longer have to. Instead, this renowned consultant and author shows how you can consistently choose high-quality performers who fit both your company's immediate needs and long-term strategic goals. Interviewing and Selecting High Performers provides you with an integrated, airtight, step-by-step selection process. Using a high-performance predictive model, this system clarifies the key qualifications needed by candidates for high performance of specific jobs and provides a rigorous interview design approach that enables you to objectively measure whether a particular candidate meets that criteria. With the help of reproducible evaluation forms, you're able to accurately weigh the strengths and weaknesses of various prospects and account for the inevitable tradeoffs involved in the selection process, so that you minimize the risks inherent in the employment decision. In addition, Interviewing and Selecting High Performers offers you unmatched support, including:
* Sound, field-tested interviewing techniques
* Step-by-step instructions for designing effective interviews
* Guidance on opening, conducting, and closing the interview, so that you get the information you need while putting your company in the best light
* More than 500 behaviorally-based questions covering 32 topic areas that help you determine a prospect's overall job fitness

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Take the guesswork out of the most important decision you make! Interviewing and Selecting High Performers Every Manager’s Guide to Effective Interviewing Techniques Current studies show that high-quality workers outproduce poor ones by 25% to 50%. Moreover, these findings reveal the alarmingly high direct and indirect costs companies pay when they hire the wrong people. So why, asks Richard Beatty, would you want to rely on "hit-and-miss" approaches to selecting new employees? In his latest practical, career-oriented guide, Beatty says you no longer have to. Instead, this renowned consultant and author shows how you can consistently choose high-quality performers who fit both your company’s immediate needs and long-term strategic goals. Interviewing and Selecting High Performers provides you with an integrated, airtight, step-by-step selection process. Using a high-performance predictive model, this system clarifies the key qualifications needed by candidates for high performance of specific jobs and provides a rigorous interview design approach that enables you to objectively measure whether a particular candidate meets that criteria. With the help of reproducible evaluation forms, you’re able to accurately weigh the strengths and weaknesses of various prospects and account for the inevitable tradeoffs involved in the selection process, so that you minimize the risks inherent in the employment decision. In addition, Interviewing and Selecting High Performers offers you unmatched support, including:

• Sound, field-tested interviewing techniques
• Step-by-step instructions for designing effective interviews
• Guidance on opening, conducting, and closing the interview, so that you get the information you need while putting your company in the best light
• More than 500 behaviorally-based questions covering 32 topic areas that help you determine a prospect’s overall job fitness

About the Author

RICHARD H. BEATTY heads his own human resources consulting firm, whose clients include several of America's top companies. He is the author of six other highly successful career books, including The New Complete Job Search (now in a second edition), 175 High-Impact Cover Letters, Get the Right Job in 60 Days or Less, The Resume Kit (now in a second edition), The Perfect Cover Letter, and The Five-Minute Interview, with a total of over 500,000 copies sold.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (February 3, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471593591
• ISBN-13: 978-0471593591
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,005,253 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Learn a Quantitative Method to Interviewing, October 23, 2003

By 

Bill Humbert (Park City, UT United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Interviewing and Selecting High Performers: Every Manager's Guide to Effective Interviewing Techniques (Paperback)

In my experience as a professional recruiter over 22 years, I have worked with over 2000 managers. Most managers have never been taught how to interview effectively.

Where do managers usually come from? Promotions. Usually, what is one of their first tasks? Fill the position they just vacated. Where in this process were they taught how to interview? They then ask themselves "What questions did they ask me?"

Generally, the Human Resource Department will give them written guidelines about the personal questions that may not be asked, but do not teach them how to conduct effective interviews. Why not? In smaller companies, the Human Resource Manager themselves may not conduct effective interviews because their previous position did not require that training, and they are "too busy" in their current position to be trained.

This leaves it up to you, the hiring manager. "Interviewing and Selecting High Performers" by Richard Beatty provides you with an excellent foundation to prepare for an interview. He demonstrates why people are an organization's most important resource (People control all of the resources). He provides you with an exercise to demonstrate the cost of a poor hire - should scare you into becoming a manager who selects high performers.

Mr. Beatty walks you through structuring the interview, provides you with 500 or so behaviorally based questions (However, I would shy away from the personal questions), and suggests a structured interview. His structured interview requires a lot of work. However, at the end, you and your interviewing team will be able to give each candidate a numerical grade. The managers that I have taught to use this system swear by it. Personally, I guarantee that if you ever hire someone who received a "34" on their interview because "my gut told me this is a good person", after being disappointed with their performance, you will never do it again.

I would suggest that you also read "Topgrading" by Bradford Smart and then blend the two processes together. Selecting high performers is one of a manager's most important jobs. Congratulations on searching to find a way to be more effective. www.recruiterguy.com

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book to prepare yourself for interviewing, August 14, 2000

By 

Wayne D. Ford (Lincoln, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Interviewing and Selecting High Performers: Every Manager's Guide to Effective Interviewing Techniques (Paperback)

I found this book to have excellent material in interview preparation and selecting good employees. I can recommend this book.

Wayne D. Ford, Ph.D., author of "How to Spot a Liar in a Job Interview" and "How to Spot a Phony Resume" [e-mail]