There are three checkout techniques, two aimed at the content of the candidate's statements and one aimed at feelings. The specific checkout, like the probe and repeat, is a technique for clarifying and getting specific information. Suppose, for example, that the candidate says, "It was a good job." Such a statement can refer to a variety of factors such as salary, working conditions, type of work, co-workers, and ambience.
To use a specific checkout, formulate a hypothesis about one specific factor that the candidate may have enjoyed about the job and then check it out in a tentative manner, such as "Do you mean you liked the people you worked with?" If you're correct, the candidate will agree, and you can then feel confident in your conclusion. Most people find it disconcerting to be misunderstood and will become very specific and detailed in their attempt to have a listener understand what they have said. For this reason, if your checkout is incorrect because you jumped to a conclusion or misunderstood the statement, the candidate will almost invariably correct you with more specific information. "No, it was that I was given complete responsibility for projects from beginning to end."
It is important that the checkout be presented tentatively ("Do you mean...?"). This communicates, "I’m trying to understand what you’ve said," and will enhance rapport. If you are incorrect in your checkout and neglect to be tentative, the candidate may then feel genuinely misunderstood and become frustrated or even hostile. Few people like to be told what they mean, especially when it is not what they mean. For example, if a candidate says, "I had a personality conflict with my supervisor," and you reply, "So you couldn't get along with your supervisor," the candidate is likely to respond defensively. "Do you mean you couldn't get along with your supervisor?" is less likely to put the candidate on the defensive.
The specific checkout can be used interchangeably with the repeat and probe. Suppose the candidate says, "I am ready to make a real commitment." In this case, a repeat would be "Commitment?," a probe would be "What type of commitment?," and a specific checkout would be, "Do you mean you want to remain with the company until retirement?" The choice of technique is one of style: Each will elicit more specific information and clarify what the candidate has said.
Sometimes a candidate will answer a question with a stream of details. At first, the intended meaning of all the specific details may appear obvious. Yet here, too, there is a danger of jumping to erroneous conclusions. Consider the following: "I was there each morning at 7:15. I only took 15 minutes for lunch and then rarely. I never left before 9:30 at night and then I always took reports home with me.
And I spent most of Saturday and some Sundays in the office." What is the general message of all this detail? The candidate may be saying that he or she had more work than could be completed during working hours or was so involved in the work that it became the main priority in life. A general checkout will clarify exactly what the candidate intends. Once again, formulate a hypothesis about the general meaning and check it out tentatively: "Do you mean you had too much work?" If you're correct in your hypothesis, the candidate will agree ("Yes, I was really doing two jobs and there simply was no way to get it all done in eight hours"), but if you've misunderstood, the candidate will correct you ("No, it was that I was so excited about the project that I put it before everything else").
The feeling checkout is used to clarify the candidate's feelings. Sometimes the way a candidate feels about something will be implied but not specifically stated. Rather than make unwarranted assumptions, check out your interpretation to insure complete understanding. For example, a candidate might say, "One guy in the unit wore an earring to work and another had a Mohican haircut. One woman talked constantly about the commune she lived in and kept inviting me to nude parties, and my boss didn't talk at all." You might ask, "I get the feeling that you felt pretty different and alienated from the other people you worked with." Once again, the candidate will either confirm your hypothesis ("Yeah, I just couldn't relate to anyone, so I put in my time and counted the hours till I could escape each day") or correct you ("No, actually I found them quite interesting and I sure had a lot of funny stories to tell my friends").
At other times there may be a discrepancy between what the candidate is saying and the message that is being communicated nonverbally. For example, suppose that while saying, "Oh, it was a really great job-it was everything I was looking for," the candidate is frowning or clenching a fist; the nonverbal message communicated here negates the verbal communication. Here, you could use a feeling checkout, such as "I get the feeling that you were ambivalent about the job despite the fact that it was all that you were looking for."
Finally, a Feeling Checkout is an excellent technique for helping an anxious candidate, relax. You might say, "I sense that you feel somewhat uncomfortable being interviewed." When a person is given the opportunity to express feelings in a situation, it generally helps dissipate the feelings and simultaneously communicates concern and acceptance. But be careful about how you present feeling checkouts; It is antagonizing to be told how one feels, even when it is accurate. Most people have witnessed a situation in which a person literally screams, "I’m NOT mad!" in response to "You're mad, aren't you?" To summarize, checkouts are a means of clarifying and counteracting the tendency to jump to conclusions. Rather than assuming, keep the conclusion as a hypothesis and present it to the candidate tentatively to be either confirmed or corrected.
The Sum-Up Technique
Timing is a problem that faces all interviewers: How do you determine when a topic has been adequately covered? Moving too rapidly from one topic to the next can have negative consequences. You may have missed pertinent information and be evaluating the candidate on a partial picture of his or her ability and experience. Under these circumstances, candidates will probably feel cut off, not having been given the opportunity to present themselves fully. On the other hand, drawn-out discussion of each topic wastes valuable time. The sum-up technique helps determine when a topic has been adequately covered and facilitates the transition from topic to topic.
With this technique, you first summarize the candidate's main points and then say, "Is there anything else?" For example, "You’ve decided to leave your current job because you’ve advanced to the highest level you can and you are frustrated with the frequent changes in policies and procedures. Is there anything else?" If all the important points have been covered, the candidate will say something like, "Yes, that's about it." This is the signal that the topic has been covered completely and that it is time to introduce the next area of inquiry. At that point, a candidate who has more to add will do so ("Yes. And I can't make ends meet on my current salary").
The sum-up technique is an effective way to terminate the interview. To use the technique for this purpose, summarize the main issues that were discussed during the interview and then follow with, "Is there anything else?" For example: "You’ve had considerable sales experience in a variety of settings. You want to move into a managerial position because it poses a challenge and will give you an opportunity to grow. You feel you can excel as a sales manager because you work well with people and can stimulate enthusiasm in others. Finally, you are frustrated in your current position and feel the need for a change. Is there anything else?" When the candidate agrees and there are no additions or changes, you can terminate the interview feeling confident that the candidate has said all that has to be said.
An advantage of the sum-up technique is that it reduces pressure on you, the interviewer. Sometimes you might be distracted or preoccupied and actually not hear portions of the candidate's responses. At other times you might have forgotten part of what was said. When the forgotten or missed information is important to the candidate, the person will repeat it. If the candidate does not repeat the information, then it was probably not particularly important. If you have misunderstood the candidate, this will become apparent during the sum-up, and the candidate will correct your summary. Thus, the sum-up technique is self-correcting in that it catches and corrects points that you have missed, forgotten, or misunderstood. Another advantage is enhanced rapport: Summing up what the candidate has said and asking for additional information communicates your sincere interest.
The sum-up can also be used as a control technique. If the interview drifts into irrelevancies, the sum-up can be used to get the interview back on target. You can redirect by summarizing the relevant points and following up with an on-target probe (rather than saying, "Is there anything else?").
