Are We Losing Our Best People?Interviewing Tip #1: Research Your Hiring Manager and Company

Which Roles Require Listening Skills?

April 16th, 2003

Hal recently said, “Listening is one of the foundational skills of project managers.” I agree, and would add writers, tech support reps, people managers to that list. What about developers and testers? I think they need to listen also. Anyone working in an agile project needs to listen (including customers or product managers). Is there anyone who doesn’t require listening skills?Knowledge-based projects require people who have listening skills. Period. I’m tempted to say all projects require people who can listen, but I may not have thought that all the way through.Interviews give you an opportunity to test listening skills (both ways):

  • Does the candidate hear the question? Does the candidate answer the question fully?
  • Does the interviewer echo back part of the answer? Does the interviewer summarize the answer?

If you’re not sure of your listening skills, practice on a friend or spouse. The friend or spouse will be thrilled you’re paying so much attention!

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