In this series of three blog posts we are looking at three key elements of successful Recruitment and Interviewing.
- Preparation – What are you looking for and how will you find it?
- Behavioural Event Interviewing – The EARL Model
- Intangibles – Stuff that’s hard to judge
This week we’ll look at Behavioural Event Interviewing – The EARL Model.
The EARL Model
The EARL Model tests competencies and behaviours.
- E is for Event – What happened?
- A is Action – What did they do in the situation they are describing?
- R is the Result – What was the end result?
- L is the Learning – What do they learn from this experience?
EARL is the overall structure, within which you need to use good questions to get what you need. Get your candidate to be specific about what happened. “The client loved it” says nothing. “How did you know?”.
You may agree with their answers but often it is revealing to see what happens if you challenge them. “Why did you do that?”. Do they back down or do they back up their decision in the context of what they knew at the time.
This will distinguish a confident independent candidate from one who maybe so eager to please they will doubt their own ability
EARL will help you structure you “investigation” of the “evidence”.
Your questions should encourage them to tell you more so use open questions to get them talking.
Closed questions will help you confirm the specifics of their story.
The Result does not have to be victory and a ticker tape parade. In fact, even if this pitch was lost, if our candidate can extract good learning from that experience they may still be someone you want on the team.
Questions are very powerful – they can get you into trouble with potential legal issues
NB It is only appropriate to ask questions that are relevant to the job. It is illegal to ask questions that relate to: gender, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief.
In the next post we’ll discuss the Intangibles, that stuff that’s hard to judge.
David Solomon
Managing Director, Sun and Moon Training
@SunMoonDavid
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