Most people believe the only individual who is nervous during an interview, is the interviewee. Not so. Those conducting an interview have every reason to be apprehensive if they have not planned well and therefore can’t recruit the best candidate. If you find yourself on the other side of the table, check out the tips below to ensure you conduct a solid interview and ultimately hire the right person.
Scheduling Interviews: I can’t stress enough the importance of giving your candidates enough time to organize, travel, and prepare for your upcoming interview. Some interviewers believe if a person really wants their job, they will drop everything and do what it takes. I don’t condone this attitude. Although the interviewer holds most of the cards, they do not hold them all! The goal is to hire the best person, not just any person. Qualified people might read into this action as uncaring, or believe you are ill prepared. I once had a Director give me 48 hours to prepare for an interview because he wanted to conclude all of them before he left for vacation (the 48 hours was also over the weekend). Not only did I not like this because it wouldn’t allow me enough time to put my best foot forward, I already had both professional and personal commitments that weekend. So, I explained to him I would not be able to participate for all of the reasons above. Apparently I was a candidate worth interviewing because he decided to interview me when he returned. (And yes, I got the job.)
Day of the Interview: Make sure everything is printed and copied in advance, in-focus machine is working, and your panel is on time and their questions are answered. Nothing annoys an interviewee more than your expectations for their perfection, yet you can’t get your own act together! If you can’t get something as basic as an interview organized, how is this person supposed to believe you can help them with their matters once they’re hired.
During the interview: It is critical, not just from a fairness perspective, but a legal perspective, that your interview questions be professional and asked of the candidates in a consistent manner. In the event your decision is challenged, you would hate to have it overturned because there was an appearance of giving one candidate a different question or asked in a different manner. I’ve seen this happen to some managers and nothing is more frustrating than your decision being questioned over a technicality. Make sure your panel also understands your rules.
Follow Up: Hiring is not the only thing a leader is doing, but don’t let day-to-day tasks or other deadlines slow down your hiring process. If you stated you’d make a decision by a certain date, keep that deadline. At a minimum, if there are issues you can’t resolve and they require you to push back the date; every candidate deserves a status report. It can be a simple email, blind copied to a distribution. This will go a long way with most candidates, and let the most qualified candidate know you’re still interested. Most people are not interviewing with just one company or one department.
Miscellaneous Issues: Many times a candidate will ask questions at the end of the interview that will require you to follow up. Don’t take HR or salary questions lightly. They deserve thorough follow through. Remember, you want the best person, and that ensures answering all of their questions and helping them believe you are the best organization for them.
There’s a lot to interviewing besides asking questions and viewing a couple of presentations. Conducting a professional interview not only helps your chances of hiring the best person, but can also lead to other opportunities. If the candidates not chosen still feel good about their experience, they will speak positively about you and your organization, and one never knows what future candidate might be impressed by this.
