by Brenda Abdilla

Is it perhaps that the candidate is so nervous that she can barely speak? No. Is it that the interviewer talks and talks and talks? No. The worst thing that can happen in an interview is that the hiring manager gets excited about the candidate. Excited is bad? Yes, excited is bad.

Here’s why:
When hiring managers or recruiters get excited about a candidate, their brains immediately start flipping ahead and imagining qualities and results that have not yet been proven. Imagine being on a first date and thinking about marriage! It is human nature to look ahead and imagine the future, but it is an impulse that needs to be resisted.

Interviews are a less-than-ideal way to determine a candidate’s true skills. But interviews, combined with assessments, assignments and reference checks, are pretty much all we have to work with when hiring. So, make a commitment to stick to your process, regardless of how fantastic the candidate initially appears to be. Show your excitement when you experience tangible successes in the future.

Brenda Abdilla is the president of Management Momentum. After a 15-year career as an author, speaker and editor, Brenda founded Management Momentum to allow her to focus on fewer companies and utilize her intense passion for improving sales and management performance. She now does specialty recruitment projects and performance coaching for managers. Contact her at 303-456-1210 or www.managementmomentum.net.

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