INTERVIEWING TIPS FOR EMPLOYERS

Everyone believes that he/she is a good interviewer. It's like everyone believes he/she is a good driver. But we all know what the statistics of road accidents prove. Hiring is viewed as being laborious and distracting. But if you do not grow in your hiring skills, you lose because there is always some competitor that is either ahead of you or trying to catch up, and if you don't stay strong in the area of bringing on better talent than your competitor, then you lose. Hiring is an art and cannot be rushed. The rule is that if you select in haste, you will repent at leisure. But the good news is that like any other business skill, hiring can be learnt and mastered. Interviewing is one of the most critical part of the hiring process and managers need to adopt a systematic approach, based on the job description and specification of the sort of person you need to fill the job. You then need to consider the method of interviewing, how to conduct the interview and

how to evaluate the results.

Purpose of Interview: The principal purpose of the interview is to provide evidence upon which a prediction can be made of a candidate's suitability for the job. However, it also has two other objectives: to provide the candidate with information about the organization, job responsibility and the role, and to give him/her a favorable impression of the organization.

TIPS Prepare before the interview: Have you ever been just pulled in at the last minute to screen a candidate without having a brief or a detailed understanding of the requirements of the position? You need to prepare yourself with detailed knowledge of the position which is the most basic prerequisite for an effective interview.
1.Only reading the job description is not at all sufficient; talk to the functional people who best understand the position. Focus on the results and outcomes that the position must produce. Results are the only things that count when it comes to business, so you might as well make results the focus of your hiring.
2.Define & list down the areas most important to the position. For e.g. - technical skills, attitude, motivation, initiative, work habits, social skills, analytical ability etc and importantly rank the areas in their order of importance top to bottom. The 80/20 rule would apply here too. Most jobs boil down to about three/four essential duties that account for 80% of the job.
3.Write down interview questions that will require job applicants to tell you how they have addressed your critical areas related to the specific position.
Be consistent: Use the same interview structure & similar questions for every candidate you interview for the same position. Otherwise, it will be difficult to compare candidates objectively.

Ask for stories: Ask candidates to talk about real & specific experiences, not how they would respond in general situations. Probe this area carefully: "what exactly did you do and what results did you get?”For e.g. if you are interviewing a sales person, instead of asking him how has his/her performance been vis-à-vis his/her sales targets, ask the candidate to explain in detail how did he go about achieving his sales target for a particular month/quarter Or, rather than asking how a candidate deals with stress in the workplace, you might say "describe a recent situation when you were under a lot of stress and tell me how you reacted to it ".

Listen Attentively: Learn how to listen to what the person is really telling you. Avoid thinking about subsequent questions while the candidate is answering your last. Allow silences in the conversation. Question for clarification. Ask "how do you mean?" regularly. Take notes on the responses of the candidate during & immediately after the interview. Perhaps one of the simplest way for you to assess intelligence is to listen to the number and type of

Questions that the candidate asks.

Stay connected with other interviewers:
•If, besides yourself, there are other people separately going to be involved in the interview process, co-ordinate with them to confirm that they have the interview on their schedule and to discuss what aspects of the candidate's background each person would be covering. Make sure they have taken the time to prepare for the interview.
•Each person who is going to be involved in the interview process should have a couple of overlap questions pertaining to critical areas of the job which will help provide insight on the candidate's responses. If 3 people are separately interviewing the candidate, then have the third person ask a couple of questions similar to those asked by the first interviewer.
Your company can look very unprofessional if there is no co-ordination on the interview content between the people involved and have everyone ask the candidate the same mundane questions, like reviewing their background three times. Or everyone is covering the same area while missing other critical areas.

Jot down notes: Immediately after the interview set aside 10/15 minutes to jot down notes from the interview, focusing on the most critical questions & the responses. Then rate the candidate on a scale of 1-10.

Do not oversell: If you think you have found the perfect candidate, it is tempting to let the interview switch from a candidate focus to one that of selling the position & the company to the candidate. While it is good to present positive sides of the opportunity and the career prospects, do not give the candidate an impression that you are desperate.

Move quickly to next stage: Commit to yourself and the candidate that you will make a decision, either ways, within 48 hours of the interview to carry it to the next stage. Indecision is enemy number 1 in the hiring process. You owe yourself & the candidate the courtesy of a quick decision.

Whether you, as the prospective employer are interested in the candidate or not, you want the candidate to leave, after the interview, carrying a positive impression about your company. He/she should feel that your organization would be a wonderful place to work. You want every applicant interviewed to become a good-will ambassador for your organization. Interviews should be a part of your public relations campaign. Make the best use of it. !!


Sarabjeet Sachar-Founder and CEO-ASPIRATION
Media n Entertainment Recruitment & Resume Services.