If you want to evaluate the Emotional Intelligence of a candidate, then you need to be ready to bend traditions and norms. You can’t rely on psychometric tests and giving hypothetical situations to figure out someone’s presence of mind, resilience, tenacity, self-awareness, and mindfulness.
The psychometric test can tell you about the personality of a person but it can never tell you how they will behave in a certain situation. Why? Because they can’t tell you the “Level of Consciousness” of a person. For example, MBTI analysis can tell you that the person is, say, ENFJ. But on 7 Levels of Consciousness, it can’t tell you which version of ENFJ out of the 7. And to increase the complexity further, not everyone at the same level of Consciousness is the same. So, relying on such models to evaluate someone’s Emotional Intelligence (during recruitment) is not only grossly inaccurate but honestly, a waste of time and resources.
How to evaluate someone’s Emotional Intelligence in an interview?
First, understand that giving a hypothetical scenario to someone is no good. The person is not emotionally connected with it or feeling it. They are taking it as a mental discussion and will give the best answer they think you want to hear.
Our real Level of Consciousness comes out when our back is against the wall. That’s when thinking stops and emotions rule. That’s when we go into reaction mode. So, you need to create this situation.
Surprise the candidate by attacking them personally or professionally. Do this in a flow. Don’t give a heads-up and build a context for the candidate. Don’t explain to them anything or that you are about to do this. Just do it. Take something from their CV or something from what they said and use it against them. Make it sound as as-if they are untruthful, unethical, or something. They are not expecting any of this and they will be caught unguarded. This is when you get to see how they respond to a crisis. Their back is against the wall. They will fear that they are losing the interview. This will tell you how the person faces and handles conflicts. Play with it for a few minutes and observe their Self-Awareness, Self-Regulation, Self-Motivation, Empathy, and Social Skills. In just a few minutes you will know more about this person than any test or discussion could tell you.
After all, this is over, you can always tell them that it was a prank. It was all part of the process to assess their mental agility and Emotional Intelligence. But you must prepare well and script this drama before you enter the interview room. The results will surprise you. We can help if you wish to try it once…
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Author / Educator – Sachin Sharma, Author | Managing Director, Wuji International
I’m passionate about Mindfulness and Emotional Intelligence Development. I’ve created an Organisation Culture Development Framework called Invisible Leadership. It addresses complex HR challenges by application of Mindfulness and Emotional Intelligence. Challenges such as High Attrition, Low Retention, Office Politics, Diversity & Inclusion, Gender Inequality, Bullying & Harassment, Low Employee Engagement, Good to Great Leadership Journey, and so on.. At Wuji International, our team is passionate about solving such challenges, mindfully.
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