Recruiting the right candidate can be very hit or miss process. Sometimes the ”ideal” candidate turns out to be a disaster, frustrating colleagues and derailing important client relationships. How many times have you experienced a bad hire which leads to unhappiness and regret on both sides? Some companies subject candidates to round after round of interviews and psychological assessment in the hope that this will determine the right person for the role. But it might be that the answer isn’t more interviews — it’s better interviews, that incorporate targeted questions looking for a measure of EQ.
What is Emotional Intelligence?
Emotional intelligence (EI) is a combination of self-management and social skills that can transform and optimize individual or team performance. Many years of research has shown that great leaders excel not just through skill and intelligence, but by connecting with others using EI competencies like empathy and self-awareness. These competencies when learned and practised on a group level can also transform team performance. Not all roles require a high level of EQ but there wouldn’t be many where it wouldn’t make a difference. It’s essential that a high level of EQ is measured for roles with responsibility for managing and motivating teams. How to interview for this quality To help you identify candidates with high EQ, a series of interview questions can be prepared and asked. Candidates with high EQ will score well in three key areas:
- Self awareness and self-regulation;
- Skill at reading others, and ;
- Ability to learn from mistakes.
Knowing not only what to ask but also what to listen for can greatly increase your chances of making a better hire every time. Self -awareness and self regulation The candidate understands what drives him and how it affects his behaviour. He can regulate his negative emotions so that fear, anger or anxiety doesn’t make him lose control and rage at his colleagues but he is able to keep emotions in check and project calmness and positivity to the rest of the team. Questions that could be asked to establish the level of EQ in this area:
- Can you tell me about a time where your mood, either negatively or positively, has affected your performance?
- Can you remember a conflict you have had with a peer, direct report or your boss. How did it start and how did it get resolved?
Things to listen for is evidence that the candidate is aware of his own emotions and has been able to regulate his behaviour accordingly. A red light would be someone who appears to have no awareness of the connection between their emotions and their behaviours and the affect it has on others. Reading Others The candidate has developed a good emotional and social “radar” and can sense how her words and actions may influence those around her. She can also pick up on cues from their words and actions and be able to be persuasive and motivating by adapting her words and actions accordingly. Questions that could be asked to establish the level of EQ in this area:
- Can you tell me about a time when you did or said something that had a negative effect? How did you know it had had a negative impact?
- Have you been in a business situation where you felt you should adjust your behaviour? How did you know and what did you do?
Positive things to listen out for is whether they can identify times where they have picked up on non-verbal cues and they are very aware of themselves in relation to others. Red lights would be the person who struggles to remember a time when they have picked up on non- verbal cues or relate stories which are all about me, me, me. Ability to Learn from Mistakes People who recognise they have made mistakes, are able to reflect on them and learn from them will score high in this area. They will see these events as a growth opportunity. Question that could be asked to establish the level of EQ in this area:
- Can you remember a time where you felt you were on the wrong path? How did you come to realise? What did you do about it? Do you think you leant from this mistake?
Good things to listen out for from the candidate is her ability to take accountability for mistakes and the ability to reflect on the lessons. A red light would be the person who is very defensive, blames others for mistakes and has not learned from past mistakes. There are many aspects of emotional intelligence but focussing on these three key areas during the interview process will go a long way to identifying candidates with high EQ and eliminate those likely to cause more damage than value.
