Numerous qualified and experienced professionals are written off and edited out of many leadership, management and operational positions applied for today. This can happen through a process of interview disqualification and blocked entry. They’re written off when the defined salary ranges are changed — but not based on market conditions, value of the position or reputation.

Sometimes, they are changed midstream based on the personal bias of those doing the interviewing. Many interviewers, who have little industry expertise or niche specialization, make the haphazard decision not to talk to or interview professionals with valuable track records. It is a silent sliding scale of unprofessional limits.

Let’s be even more detailed. Here is one example of interview disqualification and blocked entry. In the 1990’s, an environment was encouraged where many organizations and search firms would interview professionals for the sole purpose of accessing their deep knowledge-based expertise and visionary thinking, especially about technological breakthroughs and advances that would literally affect the world.

Many of those organizations weren’t hiring and didn’t have positions open. But they wanted access to and dialogue with the best and the brightest. They knew full well that a transformative wave of products and services across markets in different industries and sectors of the economy would be emerging from its cocoon very soon.

Today, those same professionals continue in their professions. They have mentored others and are a commodity with vast potential, knowledge, influence and reputation — and even more so now considering the transformations that the economies of the world have gone through.

In an interview, it’s negligent to not communicate with a candidate about a full description of the position and organization. Responsible and respectable questions during an interview include: What are your qualifications? How can you succeed for us? What have you done before? Why should we hire you? Why would you be the best choice? And so on.

Questions like these, as well as detailed information about the structure and expectations of the organization, are vital if we want to tap into the needs of today and expectations for future growth. If we were in Hollywood, this would be like rehearsing for a part, but instead of a script, we have a resume, job description and a dialogue to understand the range of the actor’s ability.

A thorough, intelligent and responsible interview process helps to determine chemistry, culture, philosophical fit, vision and creativity. It also helps to determine where the individual can take the organization, how they can mentor others and where they can elevate productivity.

If the rehearsal is good, the candidate can be hired to help the hiring company become more differentiated from its competitors and aligned with its values and long-term strategic business goals.

To Champion an organization’s success is to speak and stand for those Champions with a track record worth hearing and hiring.

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