I have often said that recruiting is essentially selling. When you have the good fortune of having a qualified candidate sit before you, you are in a position to inspire. Don't waste that opportunity; “Sell” yourself, your office, and your brand. Part of any good sale involves understanding the customer as a person, including their wants and needs. The same holds true when interviewing candidates.

Colin Wilson, a strategic business and leadership consultant in the UK, published a blog that addresses the value of asking great questions…however, his perspective is in the sales world. I couldn’t help but read the entire blog with recruiting (or in my world “relationship building”) in the forefront of my mind. Certainly, everything that I say here is applicable to your agents in their sales process and feel free to share, but I was surprised at how applicable the article was to the hiring process as well.

There are three tenets that I realized from this article:

1. Value. Your value to your candidate is not measured by what you know, but by the questions you ask. You add value by making your candidates think. Add value to your candidates’ experience during the interview process, and endear yourself as their potential manager.
2. Knowledge. Knowledge is power, and the more you know about your candidates' wants, needs and obstacles, the more likely you are to get the hire…or in the case of an unlicensed candidate, the more likely you are to inspire them to take the next step. How are you able to help them navigate obstacles if you don’t know what the obstacles are?
3. Attentiveness. Asking questions of the candidate puts them at the center of your attention and demonstrates that you care enough about them to inquire. You are looking to learn more about their problems, more about their opportunities and most importantly, you are getting them to think.

Here's a general rule of thumb — You should look to speak no more than 30% of the time during the interview. In my next blog, I will cover some basic rules to apply during an interview.

Editor's Note: Lee Gray is the Senior Account Manager at Tidemark Inc. Lee is a guest contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.