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In my last blog, I discussed the ways that a thoughtfully curated search committee could drive a successful search. Since then, I’ve been thinking a lot more about the interview process, specifically about the qualities that individual search committee members bring to an interview to make the experience substantial and even revelatory. I’ve been wondering why some interviews elicit robust, useful insights and some do not, even in cases where planning rubrics are similar. Observing interviews through this lens, I’ve noticed that in the most successful interviews, one quality shows up consistently: empathy.
Empathy is an essential skill that makes us human. In her work on ambiguous loss, Pauline Boss, author and professor emeritus at the University of Minnesota, discusses the importance of empathy, citing psychiatrist Norman Paul’s observation that “empathy is so vital to human well-being that we seek it even in our entertainment, especially in fiction and theater.” Each of us,” writes Paul, “appears to have a basic hunger for empathy…[but] paradoxically, at the same time we want to satisfy this hunger, we erect facades and barriers to prevent our being touched by real people.” While Paul and Boss are talking about how this essential skill generates relationships in the context of our families and social lives, empathy is also vital in our professional lives, including the way we interview prospective colleagues.
In the workplace, we have learned for many reasons to construct interviews that erect the facades and barriers that Paul mentions. We plan questions that we already know the answers to; we formalize protocols so that they feel mechanical; and in an honest attempt to be impartial, we fail to follow up or acknowledge answers in a genuine way. If we want to learn as much as we can about a prospective colleague, if we want to see the “real” person, we should structure interviews that allow as much of the real person to emerge as possible. The guiding principle to accomplish this, in large part, is interviewing with empathy.
Teachers know how important empathy is—so much so that they design lessons even for their youngest students with empathy as a component to teach perspective, active listening, and understanding. As interviewers, we can learn from those lessons.
How can you conduct an interview with empathy? Here are some suggestions.
- Ask open-ended questions that allow candidates to talk about their professional struggles and achievements. Experiential and behavioral questions do this best: (“What have you done or what would you do in this kind of situation?”)
- Ask follow-up questions that allow the interviewee to go deeper in their own direction. (A simple “Why?” is often a good follow up question.)
- Ask for clarity on generic answers.
- Actively listen to candidates, including “listening” to their body language and voice tone.
- Restate or reframe what you heard if you’re not clear or don’t quite understand what was said.
- Be fully present, even as you’re documenting what you’re hearing.
- Put the candidate at ease.
- Carve out time for reflection and delay rushing to judgment.
While an interview can often feel like an artificial construct, interviewing with empathy allows candidates to show more of their genuine selves. At the same time, this practice also benefits the interviewer. Empathic interviewing develops a sense of self-awareness in the interviewer, generating conversations that are intentional, substantive, and ultimately enlightening. What emerges from empathic interviews is a deeper understanding of the skills, dispositions, habits of mind, and leadership style candidates possess, giving search committee members more nuanced information to judge whether a candidate has the qualities needed to be successful as both a leader and colleague.
