GE11: Debates were mistakes, new approach needed

If Brian Cowen had undergone a tough recruitment interview he wouldn’t have been picked as Taoiseach, writes Eoghan McDermott.

The final 'Big Debate' was a mistake, in the same way the previous three 'Big Debates' were mistakes. Of much more relevance, when it comes to picking a Taoiseach, would be an expert recruitment panel interview. Televise it, by all means, but use it, not to allow tedious point-scoring, but to actually identify who has the qualifications and skills for the job and who doesn’t.

Any Taoiseach needs the same type of skills as any CEO. They need to deliver on their promises, lead their government and motivate the country. They need to understand complex concepts, like those involved in bringing about change to the banks and civil service.

Candidates for a job need to be provably adept at the skills required.

The new Taoiseach needs to be able to build superb relationships with external stakeholders like the EU, IMF and – closer to home – the trade unions. They need to be able to articulate a strategy in response to emerging situations and also to provide a vision and then a strategy to achieve that. All of that belongs in recruitment interviewing, not in current affairs interviewing.

The goal for them to get the job is to get a majority of seats in the Dáil and get the nod from the TDs. And the current campaign is geared towards that with candidates attempting to prove to the voter that they’re more competent than anybody else. When applying for a senior role, the applicant is attempting the same thing.

Candidates for a job need to be provably adept at the skills required. These broader competences must be proven in the interview. Preparing candidates for job interviews, I frequently see a tendency to cut to the chase too quickly. If they’re asked about a time when they showed a management competence they say, “Well, I was tasked to lead a team to deliver X change. The end result was a process that went without a hitch.”

That gives the panel no insight into what the candidate actually did to make the thing run well. Worse than that, it gives the panel no insight into what the candidate was thinking, or what judgement the candidate brought to bear on their management of the task or people.

Eamon Gilmore has had a splendid track record as Leader of the Labour Party.

The major difference between a good and bad interview is that the good candidate makes the panel “see” the competence they’re claiming and understand that the successful outcome wasn’t luck but rather was the result of judgment, thinking and insight on the candidate’s part.

The less successful candidate makes claims and assertions. But a good interview panel demands detailed evidence to back up every assertion. If Brian Cowen had undergone a tough recruitment interview, he wouldn’t have been picked as Taoiseach, because it would have become obvious, within minutes, that he lacked the communication skills for the job.

The second major hurdle for most candidates at promotion interviews is failing to extrapolate from their current role to the top job. They prove they can communicate, or manage, or organise at their current level but don’t show how that will fit when they get promoted. Eamon Gilmore has had a splendid track record as Leader of the Labour Party. However, he has failed to extrapolate from that into proof that he’s capable of serving as Taoiseach.

A proper televised recruitment interview would provide the viewing audience with much more concrete evidence of competence and skill on the part of would-be Taoisigh. It would be just as exciting – in fact, more exciting than the current-affairs based 'Big Debates'. It would disassemble any candidate who had simply learned off “messages,” because experienced Human Resources interviewers would ask supplementary questions that could not be avoided.

Even if the Big Debates continue, how about we subject political leaders, next time around, to real recruitment interviews designed to reveal their real skill base?

Eoghan McDermott is Head of Careers in the Communications Clinic and author of the book The Career Doctor, How to Get and Keep the Job You Want.