Most people I know can be divided into two camps — winter Olympic fans and summer Olympic fans. For years, I was a winter Olympics (only) fan. I watched every twirling skating pair, every speeding mogul racer and every crazy luge team. In contrast, I never cared for the summer games and never made it a point to watch — until this year, that is. For some reason, I got hooked on Athens. From the first glorious (albeit over-the-top) opening night until the close, I watched events I never watched before. Why, I watched some sports I never even knew existed! This is what I was struck by. I was in awe of how accomplished these glorious young athletes are. I was struck by the realization of how much preparation, discipline and training it takes the athletes to get to this point of perfection. (You must admit that it's hard to judge, let alone see, the physical shape of the three guys who are careening down the luge shoot!) And, this is what I think: These athletes practice, practice, practice-some up to 10 hours a day to get them where they want to be. They practice to be perfect — to get to the Gold. They practice because you only get to be good at something when you practice. It's the same with hiring — you only get to be good at it when you practice! A "Situational" Situation! For most managers, hiring is situational. So, they only interview people when they have an actual open position in their company which may only happen a few times a year. Athletes, however, spend the majority of their time practicing and only a small fraction of time actually performing when it counts. You, on the other hand, as a manager who is hiring, are doing the equivalent of showing up for the Olympics and hoping all goes well! So, how can you get good at something that you do only once or twice a year? Here's how… There are two things that Olympic athletes do that you can do too: Practice (have I said that before?) I heard a great recruiter once tell an audience of CEOs that if they were not conducting at least one interview per week for their company, they were not doing their job! He argued that not only did a minimum of one interview keep up their interviewing skills, but it also kept them "on top" of what talent was out there — and how to sell their company to that talent. He also made the great point that by interviewing "on spec," so to speak, they would build a great network of candidates who they could call on when they did have an opening (not unlike a recruiter). There's only one way to make your interviewing skills better — do more interviews! I interview at least 5 people every day. Accounting for vacations and holidays, I probably interview 1000 people a year. I can unequivocally tell you that 13 years ago I was not an accomplished interviewer. But I am now because I do it so much. It's not magic — it's practice! Remember, if Tiger Woods played golf only on the days he had a tournament, he'd play like you and me! Get a Coach If you are fortunate enough to have an HR professional on staff, use her. Ask her to be part of your interview process. Have her sit in on an interview being a silent participant. Then, ask for her feedback and critique after the interview. Or, have a fellow peer, your manager or your own recruiting professional sit in on your interview. Get their comments after the interview and use that information to make your next interview better. Remember, it's hard to see what you are doing right or doing wrong when there is no one there to observe and make suggestions on where to improve. Every athlete in that arena has a coach. Get yourself one too! I'll miss seeing all of those bright, exciting, young athletes every night. But that's okay — I'm practicing on the treadmill for a week of hiking in Glacier National Park this month — I'm goin' for the Gold in the seniors' class!