Successful Interviewing for Clients...
...Simple notes to Clients for successful interviewing…
Relax the candidate
- Explain the agenda for the interview, structure and process for the interview
- Ideally start by giving an intro to the company, the role, the project and yourself.
- 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.
- Then use open questions – questions prefaced with “what” – to get them talking
Planning
- 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.
- 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
The candidate
- Is the candidate prepared?
- Have they researched the opportunity?
- Can they do the job?
- Will they fit into your company culture
Notes
- 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.
Debrief
- Undertake the de-brief immediately after the interview while the process is still fresh in your mind. This ensures key elements are not forgotten.
- Exchange comments regarding your impressions of the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses.
- This enables the comparison and contrast of alternative candidates and the preparation of thorough 2nd interviews in which items not thoroughly addressed in the 1st interview can be revisited.
Sell the role
- Don’t loose to the competition. If the competition sells a lesser role more dynamically, then you will loose the best candidates.
- If your interview and selection process is long and protracted, then the candidate is likely to feel less loved and wanted and may go elsewhere.