Interviewing and hiring new talent can be a challenge for some recruiters; as a recruiter, you may have found yourself more than once faced with the task of finding someone with the right talent and experience in a few minutes of interviewing, but you would also like to find someone who shares the company’s values and fits well with the company’s culture.
And to help you be more prepared and confident the next time you interview for a job, we have prepared some recommendations that may be useful to you:
- Find the right place. Finding a quiet place where you can talk without losing focus is crucial. You may feel comfortable having your colleagues nearby, but the candidate may feel more pressure if they feel that others are listening.
- Focus on essential skills and required experience. If you want to hire the right person for a position, it is a good idea to start by writing a very good job description and avoid getting carried away with requirements such as “office experience” and “computer skills”, which in the end do not tell the candidate much. A good description should focus on what is necessary to perform successfully in the position.
- Develop the right questions. Most candidates going into an interview are aware of their greatest strengths and weaknesses and have probably already rehearsed the answers. If we want to obtain honest answers, it is wise to ask specific questions and follow up on them. It is good to ask the right questions and check that the candidate remembers the answer, which will help us to ensure that the candidate is telling the truth. It is also a good idea to ask open-ended questions, such as “what is your vision for the company in five years?”
- Make your interlocutor feel confident. You can start with a question that focuses on the person rather than the issue that both of you are concerned about; it may be something like “where did you grow up?” or “what was your first job out of college?” Aside from easing the tension in the environment, it humanizes the interaction.
- Do not talk too much. When the candidate is nervous, as is most often the case, it can be easy for the recruiter, who is relaxed, to take complete control of the conversation and forget that the interview is a two-way conversation. Ideally, give a brief description of the company, emphasize the job functions, and then ask the pre-prepared questions. After that, allow the candidate the opportunity to ask questions of you. It sets the interview parameters, keeps you both focused, and reassures the candidate.
- Read the resume before the interview. Take a few minutes, if possible half an hour, before each interview to familiarize yourself with the candidate you are about to see. Review their work history and examples of their work that are of interest, and you can even check their LinkedIn profile. Doing this will help you feel prepared and allow you to begin building a relationship with the candidate.
- Pay attention to nonverbal language. Both interviewers and candidates evaluate each other during interviews. While you are evaluating whether the candidates are the right ones for the job, candidates are trying to determine if they want to work for you. If they are not convinced, they may end up declining your job offer.
In conclusion, in an interview, not only the interviewee must make a good impression since the interview is made up of two people. During an effective interview, the interviewee gets the necessary information about the candidate but also presents a positive image of the company, which improves the chances that the best candidate will want to be hired.
Improving interviewing skills takes time, but the rewards are worth it. Effective interviewing brings you closer to hiring the right people to strengthen your team.
