Positively Interviewing Job Candidates

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Positively Interviewing Job Candidates

Published by Toby Isherwood in Employer · 8 February 2022
Tags: Interviewing
Interviewing is a skill and is as much about finding out more about your prospective hire and as much about selling your opportunity to the perfect candidate.  Here is an overview of things to consider when interviewing:

Pre-Interview Preparation

No matter if it is your first interview or you are a seasoned interviewer, take time to do some preparation.  This should include
  • Re-reading the job advertisement
  • Preparing and being knowledgeable on a more complete job description
  • Re-read the candidate’s CV
  • Have some questions in mind and an idea of where they will lead
  • What makes this candidate stand out and what are their weaknesses compared with other candidates
  • Make sure you have a a private meeting room booked and ready either on-site or off-site
  • Prepare a list of strong points for working at your company
 
Candidate Arrival
 
Making sure your candidate is comfortable and relaxed will mean you are able to conduct a better interview and get the best information for both parties. Make sure you are ready at the pre-arranged interview time.
On arrival, welcome the candidate with a warm smile and handshake (dependent on Covid) with generic questions such as how their journey was to the venue to put the candidate at ease.  
Offer the candidate a tea / coffee / other drink, make sure your venue is ready to serve these
An intro welcome and question to put the candidate at ease to set the tone for the rest of the interview
 
 
Interview Questions

Once both parties are settled, put forward your opening pre-prepared question in a conversational open manner ie not just yes and no questions.  Remember, the more at ease the candidates are, the better chance you have of finding the best candidate for your vacant position.
Whilst you will have prepared some questions before the interview, ensure that you enable the conversation to flow naturally, work with anything that you and the company have in common with the candidate’s answers.

Introducing your Company

Most candidates will likely have been to or have several interviews lined up with various employers so you also need to introduce the benefits of working at your company and being part of the team.  Have ready the benefits of working with your company such as:
  • Employer perks eg health scheme, dental plan, gym membership
  • Does your company offer working from home, office work or hybrid working
  • Holiday time, does it increase with longevity
  • If your company has low turnover, say why people stay at the company
  • Why did the position become available
  • How does the job role fit with the candidate from what you’ve learnt about them, career progression
  • Future company prospects
 
Interviewee Questions

As the conversation flows the candidate should also be returning questions as part of the process. However, before finishing the interview, ensure that candidate has time to ask any questions they may have about the role, company, who they’ll be working with.
 
Candidate Follow Up

Once the interview has concluded, ensure that the candidate is aware of the next steps, how you will be following up the interview and when they should expect to hear back from you.


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