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Technical skills should count for less than 20% percent of the time spent in an interview. The rest is all about the people skills.

A colleague of mine recently asked what I would ask as an interviewer about to hire a new Web professional.

It’s safe to assume that if an interviewee got past the resume review then the candidate has the skills necessary to qualify for the job. So what’s really important during the interview? Bring on the “people skills”.

During a recent class on managing professional people, a researcher analyzed interviews and determined what an interviewer should ask potential employees.

1. can do the work (skills)
2. will do the work (motivation)
3. will fit in (team/culture)

80% of the time should be spent on the third item.

That said, I would probably try to more specifically see if:

• they handle/create processes for getting projects done
• adapt to changing needs and learn quickly (switch from some moderate design work to technical stuff like DBs, scripting, etc.)
• energy is big for me. I wouldn’t want to bring in someone that waits for work. I like “self-starters”, even if that means we might disagree.
• appearance/professionalism is important for me especially in this avant-garde realm. If I were to walk into a room with this person, I want people to think, “They are exactly what I expected”, before we even say a word
• if they like to cook and bring their goods into the office