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132 Boost Your Hiring IQ

go with it. You may find that this is one of the most revealing answers
you will receive during the interview.

Let’s Begin by Having You Tell Me
about Yourself and Your Background
Candidates may ask you where you would like them to start. This is
their personal statement, and you should return the question by saying,
“That’s really up to you.”
Listen to where they go next. Are they prepared with a statement? Is
the statement memorized or natural? Do they exhibit confidence, or do
they seem embarrassed to talk about themselves? Where do they focus
their information? This will be an area for you to probe now or later.
Sometimes personal information will come out of this statement,
which is illegal for you to ask about in an interview. Handle this care-
fully so that it cannot be claimed that you asked for this information.
Here’s an example of volunteered information that you would not
have asked for: “I took time out from my career to spend time at home
after the birth of my son.”
You now have some information about this candidate’s personal life.
She didn’t have to tell you why she took the time off—to raise her
child—but since she volunteered the information, you now know she
has a small child. This may not be a problem for you—or, it could be a
decisive factor in your decision whether to hire this woman over some-
one who does not have small children—because of concern about atten-
dance.
It would be advisable to stay away from that subject of a young child
and to focus on the job and whether she is a good match for the job.

I’d Like You to Walk Me through Your Résumé and the
Responsibilities You’ve Had at Each of Your Jobs
In this review stage of the interview you should take the opportunity to
ask the candidates to clarify vague words or terms they used to describe
some of the responsibilities they had. For example:
• Knowledge of—read a book?
• Handled—walked it from one department to another?

• Involved with—just what kind of involvement?
• Worked closely with—worked in small attached cubicles?
In addition to reading and referring to the résumé and listening to
what the candidates have to say, observe the body language and enthu-
siasm regarding past jobs. Where the candidate places the emphasis can