6 Habits of Highly Effective Interviewers
Recruiting, hiring and retaining good employees start with job interviews. You will stand a greater chance of selecting the right employee if you ask the right questions at the right moment during the interview. With poor interviewing skills, you could end up extending a generous offer to a candidate who, in the long run, will be unsuitable for the job at hand.
Competition for skilled and talented workers in the market is a never-ending battle between business rivals. Employing qualified workers is an art that requires specific skills. You should to know how to initiate and drive a conversation, be a good listener, and differentiate between candidates who just want a job and those who can actually get the job done.
Despite the tribulations of the current market, the knowledge to conduct a successful interview will assist you seize the best employees. Here are six points that effective interviewers must have during the candidate screening process:
1. Prepare for the interview: As much as it may seem obvious, a good interviewer must review the candidates’ paperwork and be familiar with their background and skills before the interview. Reviewing an applicant’s resume in front of the applicant displays utter disorganisation, a lack of interest, and poor preparation.
2. Set the right tone: Display a happy attitude and the candidates will see that attitude in you. If you put job applicants at ease, you have a better chance of seeing each person’s true personality. Express appreciation for their time and effort to attend the interview, give them a quick overview of how the interview will proceed, and then stick to the format as close as you possibly can.
3. Have a script: Prepare, prepare, prepare. Never underestimate the negative outcome that could occur if you fail to think ahead and script your questions before the interview. Often, interviewers get distracted during the conversation and forget to probe for the most important characteristics, skills, and talents. Also, ask open-ended questions – instead of questions that can be answered with “yes” or “no” or other short answers. This will reveal more of what you need to know about how a potential worker will actually behave and respond on the job. For example, if you want to find out how the candidate responds to deadlines, you might ask, “Would you describe a situation when you were faced with a tight deadline? What did you do?” Hearing how the candidate approached the challenge or solved the problem will tell you volumes about how he or she actually handles a situation. Then you can assess whether or not that behaviour fits the culture of your organization. The response to “behaviour descriptive” kinds of questions will give you a better idea of the applicant’s professional strengths and weaknesses.
4. Trust your instincts: If an interviewee seems too good to be true or if an applicant appears to lack the skills you are looking for, trust your professional instincts. Don’t be tempted to settle for someone you think might be “good enough” just because you want to fill the position. Rather than hiring a marginal performer, it is better to be without an employee until you find someone that has the skills and characteristics you seek. The best fit for the job is worth waiting for.
5. Look for the right “fit” and know that the candidate is also interviewing you: Before the interview, draft a list of the skills and qualities that are desired for the job so that you can start scrutinizing for them as soon as the candidate walks through the door. Be clear about the knowledge, skills, and characteristics you seek in a candidate. Otherwise, your lack of knowledge will show during the interview and may dissuade the right candidate for the job. Remember that the best candidates are interviewing you and your company. They just don’t want “any job,” they want a fair salary and a work environment where they can be happy and challenged.
6. Manage your time: Try as much as you can to stick to the schedule and script you’ve made for the interview. It is pointless to stretch an interview just to fill the time. Pay attention to how the candidate responds to your questions. For example, does he answer your questions straight on, or does he ramble without answering? Can she be succinct and to-the-point? No amount of conversation can change the suitability of a candidate. Be sure to take notes on how the candidate answers your questions as well as any impressions you may form during the interview. Your notes will be important when comparing candidates, briefing others in your company about the interviews, comparing candidates, and making the final hiring decision.