How To Hire – 3 Top Tips on Interviewing Candidates
The key to any successful business is an ambitious and driven team of personnel. Therefore interviews can be just as daunting for the employer as it is for the interviewees. You want to make sure you have considered your options carefully, and you can make a job offer to the best candidate for your business. Here are a few things to consider before you start an interview process.
Verification
Verification might sound obvious, but it is easy to miss. It would help if you verified the candidate’s identity to cross-check their references, their eligibility to work in your country, and even that they are of legal working age. Being documentation is also an excellent opportunity to check that the candidate has attention to detail. Ask them to bring a valid Government ID Card and any other proof of qualifications you need to see along to the interview. If they fail in this essential task, it might show that they aren’t taking your time or business seriously enough for the role.
Respect Their Time and Expect The Same
Time is a precious commodity for all of us. If a candidate has had to take time away from their current employment to attend an interview, then that is valuable time, they are giving up for you. Show your respect by offering them a time slot and sticking to it. If you say the interview is 45 minutes, try as best you can to stick to those timings. Overrunning by a few minutes is fine, but it can soon add up and could result in your last candidate of the day being left in a waiting room, twiddling their thumbs. It’s not a great impression to start with and doesn’t demonstrate how highly you would value them if they became a colleague.
Similarly, expect punctuality from a candidate; remind them that you have a lot of interviews. Therefore it is considerate of them to ensure they are on time, so other candidates are not waiting. Obviously, accidents and unexpected events can occur, but if a candidate is late without a good excuse, their ill consideration for others should be a mark against them.
Consistency Is Key
It is always advisable to interview as a panel; that way, you can get a range of opinions and cross-check your impressions. However, if one interviewer is solely focused on presentation skills while another is looking for knowledge and experience, you might get wildly different opinions. Different value judgments can make it hard to settle on a chosen candidate. Before the first interview, gather as a panel and decide critical indicators that you will mark each interview upon and a scoring system (sounds silly, but if someone is given a mark out of 100 and another given a mark out of 5, things could become unnecessarily complicated). There are some great templates available online that can make the process clear to everyone.
Finally, remember every candidate will deal with nerves differently. The more you can gently encourage and create a relaxed atmosphere, the more you will get out of candidates. If you feel they have stumbled, give them time to revisit questions. Remember, you want who is best for the job, not just who is best at an interview.
