Interviewing is a heavy responsibility. An interviewer holds the future of their company and someone's career. Will it be a good fit? Will everyone be disappointed? Will expectations be aligned properly? Frankly, good interviewing is a friendly version of an interrogation – Just watch these recorded police interrogations of suspected criminals. The purpose is to get to the bottom of a matter; whether candidacy or crime. These attributes will go a long way for an interviewer interested in everyone's success.

Presence and Tone

  • Warm, friendly, hospitable.
  • Facilitates the interview without dominating it. Conversation flows easily.
  • Comfortable letting the other talk more

Listening and Questioning

  • Keen listener which is demonstrated by asking keen follow-up questions.
  • They understand how important the 'why' is to everything. Why people do things is more important than what they do.
  • Makes zero assumptions; instead validates developing opinions with more perceptive questions; skilled in cross-examination.
  • Comfortable asking difficult and challenging questions in an even curious tone to not put the other on defense.
  • Able to flank resistance or shallow answers by approaching a subject from a new direction

Pressure, Rapport, and Honesty

  • Willing to politely ask uncomfortable questions to assess the other under pressure
  • Builds trust, respect, and rapport using sincerity, high standards, and transparency
  • Helps the other share what makes them great and comfortable to share struggles
  • Frank about their own relevant challenges and problems

Genuine Interest in the Candidate

  • Interested in the career ambitions of the other

This kind of interviewer learns everything they want and everyone who interviews with them at the very least respects them and probably wants to work for them. They take no half-answers and give no half-questions.

Questions, answered

The short version.

What makes a good interviewer?
Warmth, patience, and relentlessness together. They facilitate the conversation without dominating it, stay comfortable letting the other person talk more, and ask keen follow-up questions that prove they were listening.
Why does "why" matter more than "what" in an interview?
Why people do things is more important than what they did, because motivation is what lets you project behavior into a job that has not started yet. Make zero assumptions and validate a developing opinion with more perceptive questions.
How do you ask hard questions without putting a candidate on the defensive?
Ask in an even, curious tone, and build trust with sincerity, high standards, and transparency. Genuine and innocent inquisitiveness is what makes a tough question land as interest. If a candidate is upset by a fair but tough question, that is a clue about fit.
What do you do with a shallow answer?
Flank it. Approach the same subject from a new direction rather than repeating the question. Take no half-answers and give no half-questions.