Interviewing Job Candidates

If you think it is nerve racking when interviewing for a job, just wait until you are the interviewer instead of the interviewee. Until you get the hang of interviewing people, you may be as nervous as they are.? The trick to giving a great interview and making it a little less scary is to do your homework prior to the interview.

?1. Have a strong understanding of the job description. This will allow you to

• Ask questions specific to the job, rather than general in nature
• Better compare the applicant’s skills and experience to the job requirements

?2. Review the applicant’s resume prior to the actual interview. This is important because it

• Shows the applicant that you respect their time and that the job is important
• Allows you more time to formulate quality questions based on their experience
• Saves you from having to spend time reading the resume during the interview

?3. Have an interview plan that includes the following items

• An opening question to put the candidate at ease and begin the dialog on a positive note
• Dialog allowing the candidate to ask questions about the job and your company. This will assure that they understand what the job is and you can assess the candidate’s interview preparation.
• List of questions related to how their experience and skills meet the requirements of the job
• List of questions that will allow you to determine if the candidate’s personality is compatible with your department and the company in general
• List of any general questions you always like to ask, like their strengths and weaknesses. You can always use these as a filler if the interview dialog is not going smoothly
• A closing question or statement that allows the candidate to ask any final questions and simultaneously signals that the interview is coming to a close

?Many people say that in a thirty-minute interview, they decide in the first five minutes (or less) if they like or don’t like the candidate. The remaining time is then spent either selling the candidate on the job if they liked them, or if they don’t like the person, to re-evaluate them to make sure their initial instinct was correct.

?Some people also like to ask funny questions. I strongly suggest not taking this approach. You may accidently offend the candidate by your question, or just look unprofessional by asking it. For example, I was once asked in an interview “If you could be any type of animal what would it be?”? I told him I would be an eagle because it’s on the top of the food chain and I could fly for free. He said he liked my answer but that technically an eagle was a bird, not an animal. In any event, he offered me the job.

?In closing, it is important that you become a good interviewer. One hallmark of a great manager is the ability to attract and hire great people. Your ability to select the best candidate from a group of applicants and have that person accept the job is directly related to your ability as an interviewer.

?The primary advice and takeaways are to know that:

• Preparation is key to giving a great interview
• Understanding of the job description
• Review the applicant’s resume prior to the actual interview
• Have an interview plan
• Your ability to hire the best candidate is directly related to your ability as an interviewer

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?(First published in GateHouse News Service.)