Ever been really excited about a job, only to interview and decide that you wouldn’t work there if they doubled the salary? I definitely have, the culture detailed on the advert and the reality was so different (and not in a good way!)
The interview process should be two-way. It's just like the relationship that you build with your clients, each party wants to see if there is the possibility of building a reciprocal relationship. Both you and the candidate need to be getting what they need otherwise it won't be successful.
I want to take you through some do’s and don'ts as you meet your candidates face to face and start building that relationship.
First things first ...
There are a few things that you need to decide before your candidate’s rock up for their interview:
1. What do you want to assess?
What are the key skills, knowledge and experience you want to cover in an interview? An interview lasts for an hour on average, you should aim to ask 6-8 questions, plus follow up.
2. How do you want to assess?
Dependent on the role you may want to do more than just interview; do want them to complete a case study, presentation, psychometric, numeracy, logic or literacy test or a trial day?
3. Who do you want to assess them?
You should never interview alone, you need to include some members of your team (or potentially clients) in the panel. Who will you put on your interview and assessment panel? You ought to make sure that at least two people other than you who meet the candidate
Now to your interview questions:
Once you have decided what the critical skills, knowledge and evidence you want to ask about, it’s time to formulate your questions. As you draw up your questions, remember the following:
· Ask open questions
· Ask for examples
· Don’t ask for multiple responses at once
To ensure that every candidate interviewed goes through the same process, I would suggest having an interview matrix. A document that details the questions, model answer, score and weighting; this allows you to focus on gaining the evidence you need to make a balanced decision. If you need some examples of the types of questions that you need to ask then sign up for our knowledge hub here
Here are THREE things that you should NEVER as an interviewer:
i. Don’t make it all about the candidate’s skills
Remember that interviews are a two-way sales process, don’t just throw out “Why do you want to work for us?” and “Why are you the best person for this role?” questions. Tell the candidate about your company, why it’s a great place to work, who’ll they’ll be working with and most importantly how you see the role developing.
ii. Don’t be a scary interviewer
Interviews are stressful enough without adding to the situation. We’ve all been in that sweaty palm, heart racing situation (sometimes as an interviewer!). To get the best out of a candidate, you want them to be at ease. Make them feel comfortable and indulge in a little small talk to develop a rapport. You’ll get more genuine responses and better insight into what they’d be like to work with.
iii. Give feedback
Even if a candidate isn’t right for you right now, they may be later on, or be able to recommend someone to you. They’ll only do that if they’ve had a great candidate experience and a big frustration for job hunters is a lack of feedback; after all, how can they improve if no one tells them what needs improving!
Spend 5-10 minutes on the phone or writing an email with specific feedback, give 2/3 positives and 2/3 areas for development.
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