Powerful Interview Hiring Tips To Ensure You Employ The Right Person

Are you about to interview for staff? You need to ensure you chose the right candidate, a person who will fit your team culture and remain with you for the long haul. The following interview strategies that will help you make the right choice.

• One of the keys is to be prepared. Being prepared includes: being clear on the job description, having a planned approach to the interview process, and planning your questions in advance. It is a good idea to write the key questions down so that every applicant is given the opportunity to answer the same questions.


• If you are doing the actual interviewing, have a second person take notes. This way you can give the job seeker 100% of your attention and not be distracted whilst writing down information.


• Keep in mind that the applicant may be a little nervous, and you might be a little stressed. Interviewing for a new staff member is time consuming and can put added pressure on your working day, so plan ahead and pre-organise your workload for the day.


• Use interview questions that will have the job seeker giving you the information you are wanting: such as:

Probing: When? What? Why? Where? How?
Open ended: "How would you... ?" "What... "
Closed questions that require a "Yes" or "No" answer
Behavioural questions are excellent: "How would you cope with... "
What would you do?... " "Tell me about a time when... "
What are your career goals?
What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses?
What did you like most about your last job? What did you like least?
What appeals to you about this job?

• Listening is an important skill, and ideally the candidate should be the one talking most of the time. Don't interrupt, and don't think about the next question whilst the job seeker is talking. An excellent ratio is you listen 80% and talk 20% of the time. This will give you a good appreciation of the applicant's interpersonal, communication skills, knowledge, and level of self-motivation.


• Read between the lines: what is NOT being said? Do the non verbal messages match the verbal messages?


• Pay attention to how the person is dressed, watch gestures, posture, facial expressions, eye contact.


• Whilst skills are important, choosing somebody with a 'can do' attitude is often even more important. Whilst the appropriate qualifications are often essential, it is easier to teach most skills than change somebody's attitude from negative to positive.


• Ask yourself:

Did the applicant come across as being confident?
Did the applicant come across as being professional?
Did the applicant offer examples of previously used problem-solving techniques?
Was the applicant properly prepared?
How has the application said he/she handled past work related conflict?

• And finally, always let every candidate know whether or not they have been successful.

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