“Never miss a good chance to shut up” is attributed to Will Rogers. Quoting from what looks like the official Will Rogers web site:
“Will Rogers was an Oklahoma Indian, a cowboy, an entertainer, a movie and Broadway star, a writer, a speaker, a comedian, a philosopher, and a world figure.”
He was born in 1879 and life at that time was likely a bit more “in-your-face,” but I believe the quote can also be applied to those giving hiring interviews.
How many times have you found yourself going on and on about your company and its purpose? Have you ever spent too much time talking about people who held the position previously who just didn’t pan out?
Yes, you want to make known what your company does and yes, you want to be clear about the importance of the position being offered.
But the hiring interview is an opportunity to find out about your prospect. The more time spent listening to your prospect, the more likely you’ll come out of the interview knowing whether to hire her or not.
You ask your candidate how she would handle a particular duty and before the person has finished telling you, you cut her off so you can tell her what you think is the best way to deal with it.
Your prospect is telling you about her previous training for the position and before she finishes, you jump in and say, “you do realize you’ll need to do some new training for our company, right?”
Sometimes you have to apply a bit of discipline to yourself during the hiring interview. And that discipline is simply not missing the chance to simply shut up!
Well, maybe I’d word it:
“Never miss a chance to be a better listener.” – Tweet this
And if you do become a better listener, you’ll find yourself making better hiring decisions.
