Increasingly, in today’s world, more and more importance is being placed on asking the applicant to give specific examples, and this is certainly a classic and extremely effective method of following up.
But there are other aspects of following up that are often overlooked. Here are 5 additional follow-up strategies that you can utilize instantly in your interview approach and that will multiply the amount of information you can obtain from the applicant:
- Questions to elicit more specific answers – These are the typical questions journalists might ask: Who? What? How? When? Where? Why? How much? How many? And, of course, “Can you give me an example?”
- Questions that focus on what has not been answered – For example, if you ask about the applicant’s work history and they do not mention a gap of two years in their résumé, you can ask about that gap.
- Non-specific questions or statements designed to get the applicant to expand on their answers – My two favorites are: “Tell me more about that” and “What do you mean?” Sometimes, simply commenting on an applicant’s response can have the same effect (“Really?” or “That’s interesting”).
- Reflections – One classic interview method is to “reflect,” mirror back, or summarize what the applicant is saying or implying. This communicates either that you want to make sure you understand him or her clearly, or that you have a question about what they have said. For example, if the applicant says, “I’m great at sales closing,” you could respond (with a slight questioning in your voice), “You feel you’re really great in sales closing?”
- Observations – Often you can make an observation or provide information that invites or almost requires an applicant to respond. For example, “Well, you know, in this job, more than 70 percent of your time would be on the phone making cold calls, and it’s not easy to do.” Then wait for a response.