If you (hiring manager) are talking, you’re not interviewing. I know, simple in concept, but for some it is difficult in practice. I sat through an interview recently that involved a sales manager who spoke for 75-85% of the time! The candidate was simply caught in his wake for the entire interview.
My take on the interview was that we learned next to nothing about the candidate and his fit to the position. He may have been strong – we’ll never know. What we did learn is the frantic, scattered approach of the sales manager makes for an interview that did not go deep on any topic.
The fault here lies with me in that the sales manager should have been better prepped. He would do well with a set list of questions and a note reminding him to listen first. I made the assumption that he knew this and I paid for it in a strong candidate being passed.
It is a good reminder to do the simple things well before moving to the advanced topics.