Selected companies are using this time in the economic cycle to strategically acquire great talent. We are seeing this across a range of companies, small, medium and large, and in all sectors in which we work - medical devices, pharmaceutical, and FMCG. Companies need top talent to meet their business goals, and today more top talent is available as a consequence of redundancies. The economy will rebound and growth will recommence. Smart companies are building for the future with today’s available talent. In this presentation I'm going to provide specific interviewing tips, centered around the concepts of Emotional Intelligence, to use when assessing candidates who have undergone a recent redundancy.

1. Redundancy – utilising Emotional Intelligence
Dr Glenn Carter
Healthcare Professionals Group

2. Redundancy – a range of emotions
Anger, frustration, sadness
Excitement, hope and a sense of opportunity
How candidates handle their world at this time is a very strong indicator on how they may handle
other deeply complex and emotionally charged situations in the future.

3. Identifying candidates with the skills to deliver in a
changing environment
When headcounts are limited and hiring justifications more complex it’s important to ensure that the
new person
 gets on with others
 can take feedback and improve immediately
 can handle stressful situations
 doesn’t get angry and mad when the going gets tough
 can work under pressure with multiple demands
 can consistently achieve outputs despite obstacles and setbacks
Interviewing using Emotional Intelligence (EI) questions can give invaluable insight.

4. Emotional Intelligence
A group of 5 skills that enable people to maximize their performance
Self-Awareness
Self-Regulation
Motivation
Empathy
Social skills

5. Emotional Intelligence
Self-Awareness, Self-Regulation, Motivation
Determine how people manage themselves
Empathy, Social Skills
Determine how relationships are handled

6. Interviewing for the
EI Self-Awareness Competency

7. Self-Awareness
Candidates with a high level of self awareness know their strengths and weaknesses; they take
feedback and improve; and they reflect and learn from their experiences.
“Tell me about the feedback you have received during recent performance reviews” will provide
current examples in the period leading up to the redundancy.
Responses such as “During my performance review my manager said that I hadn’t reached my
goals but that wasn’t fair because I wasn’t given the support I needed”, are exhibiting blaming
behaviours and don’t possess high levels of self-awareness.
A stronger response would have been: “From my performance review I learnt that I needed to
increase my connectivity across the company and involve others in my projects”.

8. Self-Awareness
“What has been your most valuable learning experience during the last year?”
A response like:
“I’m always learning and the most important lesson learnt this year was to always be close to
customers. I thought that I had a strong relationship with a major account but when we lost them I
realized that I should have done more”,
shows a higher level of self-awareness than
“I’ve got 20 years experience in the area and with this I focus on teaching more junior people about
the market”.

9. Self-Awareness
Further questions:
“What are your strengths and areas for development?”
“How do you feel when you receive feedback?”
“Tell me how you have contributed to the business goals of your previous employer?”
“Since your redundancy what have you done to further develop your skills?”

10. Interviewing for the
EI Self-Regulation Competency

11. Self-Regulation
Candidates who are highly self-regulated control their emotions.
They can handle change and ambiguity comfortably and stay composed and positive even in trying
moments.
When under pressure they think clearly and stay focused. They can handle multiple demands and
their responses are fluid and adaptable.

12. Self-Regulation
“What did you say or do when you heard about your redundancy?” could elicit responses such as:
“I was angry, really angry and I still am. It wasn’t fair, I contributed so much to that company; they
took all my ideas and contacts, and when they wanted to save some money I was told that I was no
longer needed. I never want to work for a large organization again if that’s how they treat people,”
versus
“It came as a shock of course, but it’s happening in so many companies, so really it wasn’t that
much of a surprise. I’ve developed some great skills over the years and I can transfer them to
another company or another sector. It really is an opportunity to broaden my career”.

13. Self-Regulation
Further questions
“In tough economic times, when there are increased demands to deliver, how do you handle
stress?”
“Tell me about a time when you were required to manage change”
“When you are under pressure how would your colleagues describe you?” “Why is this?”
“Similarly, how would your previous manager describe how you deal with pressure?”

14. Self-Regulation
When interviewing under the Self-Regulation dimension check for certain behaviours to ensure they
won’t surface in a new environment. Probe with questions like: “How did that make you feel?”; “How
did you react?”, “Why was that?”, “In what other situations do you react like that?”.
In today’s fast-moving, ever-changing economy companies need staff who can work effectively with
others and collectively seek out new opportunities. The world is going to be a rocky place for a long
time and companies need employees who are highly self-regulated and who can manage their
emotions during trying and difficult times.

15. Interviewing for the
EI Motivation Competency

16. Motivation
Candidates who don’t have a job are motivated to get a job.
That’s why it’s necessary to understand what type of role they truly want
and to ascertain that they aren’t accepting your offer just to pay the bills.

17. Motivation
“Why do you work?”
From the responses given, probe and probe.
“I work so that I can contribute to the goals of the organization”.
Follow up with: “What do you mean by contribute? What can you contribute? How will you do this?
What results will you deliver? How have you delivered these results previously? When you are doing
this how does it make you feel? Why do you feel like this? If you are not contributing how do you
feel? Why is this?”….and more.

18. Motivation
“Why do you want this job?” and probe and probe and probe on the responses given.
Many candidates will respond with what ‘sounds good’.
Only with deep questioning will the underlying motivators be revealed.
And understanding these motivators is necessary in determining alignment and fit.

19. Motivation
Further interview questions:
“Today’s economic environment is very volatile – how do you overcome obstacles and setbacks?”
“How has the redundancy affected your motivation?” “What are you doing about it?”
“Tell me about a time when you have acted on opportunities”.
“What drives you?” “Tell me why this is important for you”.
A candidate’s underlying motivators will guide them to reach goals; and in today’s turbulent
economic environment available headcount needs to go to upbeat, positive, optimistic contributors.

20. Interviewing for the
EI Empathy Competency

21. Empathy
Candidates with a high Empathy score understand others and take an active interest in others’
developmental needs.
They are great team players because they are attentive to emotional cues and listen well.
Showing sensitivity they understand others’ perspectives, their needs and feelings; and relate well to
people from different and varied backgrounds.
During times of organizational change associated with downsizing they will draw upon their skills
and can bolster employee morale and engagement.

22. Empathy
Employees with empathy also understand customers and through this will uncover commercial
opportunities. They anticipate and meet customer’s needs, they can solve client’s problems, and
see new opportunities more quickly than competitors.
Further interview questions:
“Working effectively with others requires an understanding of what others are experiencing. What do
you do to get to know your colleagues?”
“How do you anticipate the needs of others – internally and externally?”
“Tell me about a time when you helped others going through a redundancy?” shows the candidate’s
ability to relate to others.

23. Interviewing for the
EI Social Skill Competency

24. Social Skill
Interview questions around Social Skill can be used to assess how candidates get on with others
and leading on from this how they contribute to team dynamics and organisational cohesiveness.
Tough times require everyone to pull together, to work as one unit, and through this to achieve
superior results.
Solo players hold organisations back because ideas are not being shared.

25. Social Skill
Many factors contribute to the decision to make a position redundant. When the position (and the
person in the position) are not delivering the results that the organisation needs, it's time to make
the position redundant.
How the position (person) is interacting with others in the business is a key factor and in today's
economy we are seeing many solo players parting company with their employers.
It's therefore important to assess a candidate's preferred working style - "Talk me through your ideal
working environment", and to listen for references to interaction with others eg "I work best in a quiet
environment where I can think" versus "My ideas come from working with others and sharing
thoughts".

26. Social Skill
Further questions:
“How do you persuade others to collaborate towards collective goals?”
“Tell me how others would describe your communication style?”
“Give me examples where you had to resolve disagreements”
“How do you inspire your group during recent times of change?”
“Give me examples on how you have built consensus across different groups”.

27. Social Skill
And a further relevant question would be:
"Since your redundancy what have you done to re-establish and build your professional networks?"
Redundancy is a time to reach out, so during the interview assess whether the candidate is
proactive or just sitting back and waiting for something to happen for them. This behaviour will
translate into their next workplace.

28. Summary
Redundancies represent an opportunity for employers to acquire talent.
In a different economic cycle this talent would not be so readily available. Today, a number of
companies are strategically hiring for the future.
The economy is rebounding. Growth will continue. And selected companies are positioning
themselves for this through the identification and employment today of tomorrow's workforce.

29. Health & Aged Care Professionals
Recruiting all clinical care, management and operational positions with Public and Private Hospitals; Medical Practices;
Imaging Service Providers; Health Insurance Funds; and Aged Care providers, residential facilities and affiliated service
providers
www.hacpconnect.com
Pharmaceutical & Medical Professionals
Recruiting all positions, at all levels, into biotechnology, medical devices, pharmaceutical and scientific companies
www.pmpconnect.com
Rural & Remote Healthcare Professionals
Recruiting doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, and healthcare administrators into rural and remote hospitals and
medical practices
www.rrhpconnect.com