by Jeremy Otte

Created on: August 17, 2008   Last Updated: June 13, 2009

It's often been said that "good help is hard to find." This statement has probably applied, in some form or another, to every job since the beginning of mankind. From the ancient Babylonians to the enlightened cultures in the distant future, finding the right person for the job can sometimes be akin to finding a needle in a haystack.

So, what's the most effective way to handle this monumental task? Well, certainly conducting a probing interview is a great start. However, many interviewers, whether they are CEOs, department heads or human resources personnel, fail to wade through the initial muck of an interview to get to the things that really determine suitability for the job. Thus, they are left with a handful of candidates whom they really understand less than Einstein's Theory of Relativity. Making a hiring decision in this state of mind, especially for executive level positions, is not only difficult but dangerous.

The good news is that, since we are not the first generation to want to hire top performers, we have plenty of useful knowledge and experience to learn from. Great leaders and thinkers throughout history have given us a vast array of advice to help guide us through those most strenuous and sometimes indecisive moments in the interviewing process. Let us learn from their travels down the road of successful interviewing strategies.

Top Nine Strategies for Conducting Effective Executive Interviews

1.) Understand the Level of Significance of the Questioning Process: The most basic strategy needed for interviewing is to understand the significance of the process. How you conduct an interview and the strategies you use will directly determine what you get out of it. This, in turn, will influence your hiring decision. In 1977, Debra J. Fields opened up a small bakeshop in Palo Alto, California. Today, her brand is recognizable around the world. After all, who hasn't tried a Mrs. Field's Cookie? Debbi knew the power of surrounding herself with top performers and how to sort through dozens of interviews to find those people. Her recipe for success as quoted by author John Maxwell is: "Love what you're doing. Believe in your product. Select good people." Fields built her cookie empire from the ground up, starting with placing importance on finding the right people during the interviewing process.

2.) Start Out by Asking an Open-Ended Question: When initiating an interview, it is important to get the lines of communication open. You may be surprised at what

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