Greetings to our blog! Today we go over the best ways to conduct an interview when hiring. As an owner or manager of a business, hiring someone takes energy and resources. When done effectively, interviews can be effective and save you a lot of time. You are also more likely to secure your ideal candidate if they had a positive interview experience. This is why we listed below key ways you can have a great interview.
Review the job description
As you line up your interviews, you will want to review the job description and get clear on the qualifications and type of skills you want on your team. It is very important that those who are conducting the interview have a sharp focus on what is needed for the open position in your business.
Review the candidates resume
The best thing you can do before an interview is to get to know the candidate’s resume and learn about their skills, past experiences, education, passions, and any information that may be available. The resume also lets you know what information is not available and that you want to know through questions.
Prepare questions in advance
You can create a checklist of questions that are related to the skills you want to know. If you want a proactive employee, you can list a question regarding challenges they had during their previous job and how they implemented solutions. You want to form questions that assess the candidate’s ability to problem solve as well as their ability to learn and adapt. Having these questions ready will let you move through the interview effectively.
Make the candidate feel relaxed
Most job applicants will be nervous at least at first during an interview as they want the job and do not want to make a mistake that gets them rejected. Therefore, it is good to put the candidate at ease. This may include giving them a warm welcome, thanking them for taking the time for the interview, introducing yourself and other interviewers at the start of the interview.
Focus more on skills and less on fit
While culture fits are important in their own way, you do not want to box the person in when they can bring something new and positive to your team and business. It helps to understand what the candidate needs to be comfortable in the position. This would inform you if your business can provide them a good working environment or not. If you can, this means the candidate would be happy working for you.
Be aware of questions you can’t ask
Every interviewer should be aware of questions that are discriminatory and could get you into legal trouble. These include questions about age, gender, disability, race, religion, weight and so on. Focus on questions about the person’s skills, qualifications, interests and what may increase comfort in the workplace.
Give a timeline and room for questions
Provide the candidate with a timeline of the hiring process and when they may be contacted for further interview or will be informed of the decision. Also give the candidate a chance to ask questions that s/he may have about the job, company or the interview process. This lets you know of the candidate’s interest and any challenges they perceive.
At AJ Connect, we support businesses in every step of their hiring process including interviews. Check out our bespoke 6 step hiring process and contact our industry expert if you would like more information.
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