The Interview 2.0

People need to understand that to be effective, interviewing actually matters again.  Gone are the days of taking a first meeting to "get to know" people.  Candidates getting to know companies, companies getting to know candidates.  "Culture fit" is an aging term, and one that in my view is totally useless.  No one gets anywhere these days if they have an iffy culture or an iffy, jackass vibe. They wear it on their sleeves if it's an issue, in most cases.  So set that aside to later meetings, is my advice and focus on having an effective interview.  Otherwise you'll lose candidates, and candidates will lose opportunity.  There is little margin for error, so if you want to execute, in my opinion, here are the basics and I believe this is "interview 2.0":

Companies:

1. Read your own job description. Everyone who meets the candidate should have a copy.  Read the resume fully, and suspend judgment until after you've met the person. You'd think this is 1.0 but man, so seldom do people in an interview team actually read the job description.  They think life is moving too fast.  That's just being lazy. STOP.  Do your homework.
2. Don't walk through the resume. That's old school.  Interview 2.0 is, "here is what we're trying to do.  These 3-5 things REALLY matter to us.  Can you do it, and have you done it, where, and how might you approach THIS situation?"  This is the core of the interview. Asking stupid, demeaning Google-ish questions like how many black cats are in Nebraska is immature, silly and arrogant.  Not to mention unproductive.
3. Take a few minutes on the front end to capture the essence of why your company rocks.  And then go back to it at the end of the meeting. Re-cap why your company is awesome, a great place to work, could  enrich everyone personally and possibly financially (be balanced here, don't set crazy expectations), etc. Offer to answer questions the candidate might have.  Talk about your views, if you're possible, about why they could make sense and make an impact, be embraced by the team, etc.  If you don't think they're a match, keep that to yourself or defer to item 4.
4. If you're the CEO, tell them if you don't think it's a match.  Too many Californians are nonconfrontational and want to "kick the can" down the road saying "this is good, let's keep going" when they really mean "this isn't a fit.  I don't want to jerk you around or waste your time." If it is anyone other than the CEO, or a key Board member in the case of a CEO search, then keep your opinions to yourself, tell the hiring manager what you think and leave it to that person to decide whether to agree with you or not.  Breaching this rule can cause a lot of internal problems.
5. Talk about next steps and process.  What you think the person needs to do to reach conclusion.
6. Stay close to your search firm, because if you're saying different things, the candidate will lose altitude as they lose trust, or they're think you or the search firm aren't paying attention.
7. Sell for the right to buy...You can answer a LOT of questions in referencing.

Candidates:

1. Come prepared.  Read the website, read the job spec, and be humble.  No matter how bad ass you think you are, be humble.
2. Bring ideas to the table.  Be bold with your observations about the space, market, company, etc., as long as it's constructive stuff.  You don't want to present like you know the situation better than the person interviewing you, you just want to appear as someone who has thought about this meaningfully.
3. Be an open book.  Let them get to know you.  They'll open up more, the more they know about YOU.  Yeah this is a "candidate's market."  But always sell for the right to buy as I mention above.  Give them a narrative story.  Who you are, where you come from, how you've architected your career and most importantly, highlight where you made maximum IMPACT.
4.  Be 21st century!  Talk about "marketing 2.0" or "sales 2.0" or "leadership 2.0 for a CEO".  Disruptive business models, best practices.  Frictionless selling, freemium, digital demand gen, social, how to build a killer product company, etc. If you talk about old school practices, YOU'RE DEAD.  And you're irrelevant so just retire now, is my advice.  Get smart, get current, or just join silly and tired companies where you can fake your way through, thinking and acting like an old school executive.  Growth companies want cutting edge.  If you aren't interested in re-inventing yourself and really making an impact in an insanely fast changing landscape, don't even try. Because short stint job hoppers are not en vogue.  Never have been, never will be.
5. Put yourself in the job mentally.  "I think I'd approach this THIS way," or "this is what I'm hearing so far, what do you think about THIS strategy or THESE priorities."
6. Tell them you're interested, if you are.  Tell them if you aren't, and be gracious.  It's a small world of technology people who actually matter.  And people talk.  Be the class act, someone they wish they had, no matter what you think about the situation.
7. Follow up. That one's a basic.
8. Be on time.  That one's a basic.
9. Stay in front of the search firm.  Don't be aloof.