It is in your interest to get the best out of the candidate at interview, so that you can accurately understand their capabilities, but to also see whether they will be a good cultural fit. Nervous, under pressure interviewees will not project themselves in their best light, leaving you unsure as to their true ability and personal suitability to the culture of the team. That does not stop you from throwing in some tough questions towards the end of the interview.

Relax the candidate

1. Explain the agenda for the interview, structure and process for the interview
2. Ideally start by giving an intro to the company, the role, the project and yourself.
3. Start the candidate off by talking about things that they are interested in as a good way to settle any interview nerves.
4. Ease the candidate into the process by asking a question on a topic they will be able to answer, e.g. briefly outline your career for us.
5. Then use open questions – questions prefaced with “what, when, why etc” – to get them talking
6. As the interview progresses you should move onto a selection of behavioural interview questions or an assessment of their critical thinking for senior roles.

Planning

1. Establish before hand, the criteria with which to benchmark the candidate. e.g. competencies, technical ability, business acumen, candidates understanding of the role, projects, responsibilities, company, vision and overall proposition.
2. Questions: When conducting a panel interview, distribute questions to panel members to ensure all the criteria are covered. When conducting several individual interviews, ideally you should each pick an area to focus on. E.g. Preparation and research, Technical knowledge, business acumen etc Ensure consistency when establishing interview questions to ask.

The candidate

1. Is the candidate prepared?
2. Have they researched the opportunity?
3. Can they do the job?
4. Will they fit into your company culture?

Notes

1. Always record your thoughts, e.g. strengths, weaknesses and concerns about the candidate, in a form that is legible and accessible in two week’s time.

Things for clients to look out for at interview

Attributes Of Top-Quality Candidates

Smart presentation: quality candidates will be presentable, smartly dressed and well groomed.

Confident body language: ideally, a quality candidate will stand to shake your hand, remember your name and look you in the eye when addressing you. They will speak confidently and fluently when answering questions and will appear calm. However, if the candidate is not behaving this way or showing signs of nervousness this is not a call to rule them out immediately.

Consider how important 'people skills' and 'acting calm under pressure' are to the role, and whether the candidate's behaviour in the interview meets the expectations for the role.

Knowledge of company: superior candidates will have done their research on your company and on the position. They will know where your organisation stands in the industry, its business goals and how they – if placed in the role – would contribute to achieving them.

Relevant skills and experience: this you will already know from their CV, but now is the time to ask them to elaborate on just how relevant their skills and experience are to the role. A good candidate will not only tell you how well their qualities are matched to the position, but will be able to provide examples and evidence of results achieved that demonstrate their successes and suitability.

Emphasise their fit for the job: some candidates will stress how well the position fits with their career goals and their life – which is great for them, but that's not your main concern. A good candidate will talk about how they fit the role, what they will bring to the organisation and what results they can achieve for you.

Doesn't speak negatively of past or present employers: quality candidates will turn negative experiences with past employers into positive ones by speaking about them in terms of what they learned and how they will apply this knowledge in the future.

Answers questions directly: valuable candidates will answer your questions directly and concisely.

Positive references: checking your candidate's references is the icing on the cake of your interview process. Ideally the referee has worked one or two levels above the candidate, and will give a positive report. Be wary if referees refrain from commenting as this may indicate negative performance.