Interview Dos and Don'ts for Employers

Interviews…..they are one of the key elements in the recruitment process. The interview can either make or break a rewarding hire. There are many ways to interview a candidate and many different questions to ask. Our recruitment team has been witness to a variety of different interview techniques, from extremely technical interviews, behavioral interviews, and even interviews as they tour the workplace, and we have picked up on some do’s and don’ts of the interview processes for Employers.?

Dos

• Utilize your pre-screen! Make sure that the candidates you have coming in for a face-to-face interview meet the criteria of the position.
• Have a plan and know what additional information you want from a candidate.
• Establish a rapport with the applicant.
• Ask questions that pertain to the job itself. Be very specific when gathering information from the resume. Use open-ended questions (how, what, when, etc.) and follow up a yes or no answer with an open-ended question.
• Include behavioral type questions (“tell me about a time when….”) in order to gauge how this potential candidate may respond in a similar situation that could arise in the role you are hiring for.
• Close the interview at the end. Thank the candidate for their interest and advise on the next steps and a potential timeline.
• Evaluate your interview notes and compare the candidates you interviewed.

?Don’ts

• Ask questions about the applicant’s race, religion, age, ethnic background, gender, marital status, and national origin.
• Have intimidating body language such as crossing your arms.
• Be unprepared.
• Make hiring decisions on an informal or ad hoc bias.
• Ask questions designed to elicit irrelevant information or information related to the actual job requirements.

Interviews can be a lot to handle for a busy supervisor. Synergy does offer recruitment support on an hourly basis. We can help with pre-screens, candidate screening, and sitting in on the interview as well to support leaders. Not finding the right candidate costs time and money. Our goal is to ensure you hire the right talent for your team to help secure your business’ success in the future.

If you would like more information on our recruitment offerings, please contact our Recruitment Services Manager Ali Smith at [email protected] or 403 805 1469