Your preparation for the interview has equipped you with a number of questions that will help you know and evaluate candidates. But there's plenty more to do before, during and after the interview to ensure your success.
You will find the hiring process less painful and improve your chances of the finding the right candidate by following these simple tips:
Before the Interview
- Put candidates at ease: Interviewing can be stressful, so do your best to help candidates relax. Make sure each candidate is greeted and escorted, if necessary, to the interview location. Start with low-key questions.
- Don't judge on first impressions: Remember: people who don't make a great first impression but end up being great employees. To make sure you don't overlook these diamonds in the rough, withhold judgment until you've had the chance to thoroughly evaluate a candidate's capabilities and potential.
During the Interview
- Tell the candidate a little about the job: You should start with a brief summary of the position, including the prime responsibilities, reporting structure, key challenges, and performance criteria. This will help the candidate provide relevant examples and responses.
- Don't be afraid to improvise: Plan your questions, but you don't have to ask only those questions you've chosen in advance. You should be responsive to what the candidate tells you, and build new questions off their answers.
- Listen: Don’t dominate an interview, or you will not be able to obtain enough information to distinguish between candidates or to determine a candidate's true competencies. Spend 80 percent of your time listening and only 20 percent talking.
- Take notes: While you won't want to transcribe everything the candidate says, do write down important points, key accomplishments, good examples, and other information that will help you remember and fairly evaluate each candidate.
- Invite candidates to ask questions: This may reveal lots of interesting information about your candidates. For instance, you may know why he’s here – probably because of the interest in salary, benefits, and time off, the desire to advance his career in a more challenging environment… If the candidate has no questions this should be a red flag, especially for senior-level employees.
- Avoid “delicate” questions: The easiest way to keep your interviews fully compliant is to ask only questions that relate to the job, eliminating the potential for bias.
- Deepen the questions as you narrow the field: Consider adding "show me" exercises such as a strategic planning exercise or a "walk me through what you'd do" activity involving a real business challenge the individual would be facing.
After the Interview
- Let candidates know what they can expect: Many job seekers complain that they are left "hanging" after an interview, or they are promised follow-up that never comes. If the candidate is a good fit, be clear about what the next steps will be. Don’t let the ideal candidates to be hired by another company just because you’re too late in contacting and informing them. What if the candidate is not a good fit? It’s better to always end the interview on a positive note, but be genuine. Don't tell the candidate to call you if you don't mean it.
- Create a positive image for your organization: The job market is always competitive when companies look for good people. Hence, do not lose potential candidates just because you cause a candidate to have a negative impression on your company. An impression on your company’s professionalism is the critical element to attract good candidates. There are many ways you can use to maximize the “pro” image of your company, such as never coming late to an interview.
Be a good ambassador for your company by conducting a professional interview, communicating honestly, and basing hiring decisions on an honest evaluation of each candidate's capabilities. Not only will you make great hires, but you'll build goodwill in the community and enhance your future recruiting efforts.
