Recruiting software can get you good candidates for interviews. The rest is up to you.
Tony Robbins, the popular (and controversial) self-help speaker and writer, has popularized “Neuro Linguistic Programming” (NLP), a way of interpreting non-verbal habits. If we can believe what he says about NLP, interviewers can learn a lot from the way a candidate moves while talking. The eyes, in particular, communicate a lot.
Here’s a helpful diagram from Global NLP training (Click to enlarge):
Image courtesy of bLaBbErWoRkS
So, if the eyes look up the candidate is accessing visual information. If up and to the right, it’s a remembered event. If up and to the left, it’s a constructed event. “What color is your car?” will normally prompt an up-and-to-the-right response, for example, while “What kind of racing stripes would look good on a purple sports car?” would prompt the eyes to go up and to the left.
People who predominantly think in sounds – words and music, mostly – normally move their eyes side to side when accessing information. Every once in a while, they will look down and to the right, which indicates that they are accessing a “digital” or “recorded” sound, meaning a “tape” that they have created for themselves (as in “try not to slouch”).
The “Kinesthetic” response (down and to the left) is common in people who think with their bodies, as it were – they process answers until they “feel” right.
Supposedly, learning how to read such clues can tell you a lot about the way a candidate thinks. Moreover, it can help an interviewer change his or her behavior in order to set a candidate at ease. Practitioners of NLP say that, in almost all cases, people who have similar eye movement patterns find it very easy to get along.
At a high level, when people shift their eyes to the right after a question, it is to mentally search their memory for an example. When people shift their eyes to the left when responding to a question (their eyes move to your right or left as you are facing them), they are generally trying to put together an answer they think you want to hear. This could be good to know when asking questions about a specific example, accomplishment or experience the candidate has had which would indicate relevant job experience.
Is this theory helpful? I honestly don’t know, and I’m not sure how I’d find out. If I concentrated on a candidate’s eye movements during an interview, I’m afraid that I would miss most of what he or she would say! And I’m certainly not one to record interviews. Anyone have any experiences looking for eye movements and/or trying to adapt their interview behavior based on a candidate’s eye movements?
For now, I think I’ll stick to marketing the best recruiting software out there.
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As a provider of Customized Staffing Solutions I can verify that a Recruiting Software is very useful in finding viable candidates with the necessary skill set; however, it is of paramoun importance to trust your human instincts with that initial phone screen or interview.