How to Lead an Interview with a Potential Candidate

Hiring new talent is critical and depending on the market you’re in, landing the best employees can be just as competitive as landing the job.

Social media has made having a good hiring process even more important since job seekers  often visit sites such as LinkedIn, Glassdoor and Indeed to read reviews before applying. So, if you have a shoddy approach to recruitment, it’s possible a bad experience could go viral.

One way to make sure your company stands out in the eyes of a potential employee and draws positive reviews is to have a solid interview process.

Tips on leading a great interview:

Determine your interview style. Do you like interviewing one-on-one, or do you prefer conducting panel interviews with colleagues? Do you think asking each candidate the same set of questions in a structured manner is best or would you rather treat each candidate individually? What about phone interviews or repeat interviews?

Employers have a variety of interviewing techniques and styles at their disposal, it’s just a matter of determining which format is best for you.

Your choice of interview style will likely depend on the nature of the position being filled, the industry, the corporate culture and the type of information you want to know from the applicant.

No matter what you do, the most important thing to remember is that the interview time isn’t just about you assessing the candidate for your company, but it’s also a time for the candidate to determine if your company is the right fit for them.

Ask the right questions! If you don’t ask good interview questions, then you will not have the information you need to make a good hiring decision.

In general, there are three common types of interview questions; standard, behavioral and situational. During an effective interview you should use a combination of all three.

Standard interview questions delve into how candidates handled past situations to learn about their ability to perform in a position.

Behavioral questions delve into how candidates handled past situations to learn about their ability to perform in a position. An example includes: describe a time you were unable to complete your work on time and how you handled it?

Situational interview questions are just that, standard/typical, such as: why do you want this job? Why should we hire you?

Other interview questions you can ask:

1. Describe the work environment in which you will most effectively be able to contribute. The answer helps the interviewer decide whether the prospective employee is a good fit for their culture and work environment. 
2. Tell me about your greatest achievement at work. The applicant’s answer tells you a lot about what the individual values and what he or she considers important.
3. What are the three most important attributes or skills that you believe you would bring to our company if we hired you? You will learn about how the candidate views your open position and their ability to make contributions in that job.
4. Why are you leaving your current employer? The applicant's response tells you about his or her values, outlook, goals, and needs from an employer.

Well-designed questions will not only screen out the unqualified candidates, but will help you identify the best qualified candidates!

Improve training. Interviewing isn’t second nature to everyone. Hiring managers and in-house recruitment staff should have proper training before conducting interviews. This includes what they can and cannot say during interviews as well as how to be professional and unbiased.

You want every candidate to walk away from the interview with a positive impression of your company, whether they are hired or not. That way, your top choice candidates will be more inclined to accept your offer, and all others will consider your company for future opportunities and speak highly of your company within their networks.

Prepare for the interview. Those recruiting should make sure they prepare well for interviews. When you’re unprepared, it not only looks unprofessional, but it makes applicants feel like the company doesn’t value them or the process.

Don’t leave people in the dark. Failure to follow up or keep job candidates posted on progress is a common complaint amongst job-seekers.

Consider a recruitment consultant. Professional recruitment consultants such as The Lee Group specialize in finding the best candidates for the job and have their clients’ (you!) best interest in mind. If you don’t already have several full-time employees to help with the interviewing process, then hiring a recruitment consultant might be a good option. Consultants will comb through hundreds of resumes, conduct interviews and carefully screen for top candidates. 

Maintain a swift pace. We’re not talking about the interview itself here, but rather the follow up. Candidates want to know how they performed. Excitement only wanes. The candidate may be extremely excited today, but could wane the longer it takes to follow back up with them. Keeps them engaged in the process.