THE INTERVIEW (PT 1)

So far in the process we've made sure we've clearly detailed what we require from our ideal candidate in terms of both skills and behaviours, and we've had brief telephone conversations with the applicants to establish which of them are worth meeting in a face-to-face interview.

It is this face-to-face meeting that's the most crucial part of the process. Mistakes at this stage mean you could lose your ideal employee. Worse, you could make a poor decision and hire the wrong person. And as we've already seen, wrong hires can - literally - cost eight-to-ten times their salary in terms of disruption, lost opportunities and damage to morale.

Preparation Isn't Just For Candidates

You don’t have to look far to find plenty of tips on how to interview well from a candidate’s perspective. The Internet is an excellent source of information to prepare yourself for an interview; there are countless books about it and - if you are dealing with a candidate who's come to you via a  good recruiter -  rest assured, they will have been  prepared by the recruitment company for their interview.

This all makes the process of establishing the best candidate that much harder for you,  whether you are carrying out your first interview or whether you've been doing it for years!

What it all means is that preparation is just as crucial for employers, and even the most successful and experienced interviewers will tell you that the do the groundwork before an interview.

Where To Start?

There are three key points to remember that will really help you carry out an effective interview:

1. People are nervous when they are being interviewed, especially if they are very keen on the role.
2. Earlier, we discussed how difficult it is to change someone's behaviour. Therefore, during the interview you want to learn in as much detail as possible about their past behaviour as this will provide a very accurate guide as to how they will behave if they are to be working with you.
3. The best candidates, whatever the market conditions, will have more than one job option. A hour-long grilling from you that exhibits no warmth towards them whatsoever may well establish that you want to hire them, but it might also establish that there is no way on Earth that they would want to work with you!

The Right Conditions

It is important from the outset that the candidate feels safe in talking to you and that your meeting with them is important to you. The interview should be held in a closed room or at the very least in a secluded area where interruptions are unlikely. Public places or open plan offices do not create an environment where the candidate will feel confident and will not produce the information you require to be sure you are making the right decision.

Ensure that you cannot be interrupted, that your phone is off and that your attention is fully with the candidate and the interview process for the duration of the interview. Ideally, have a clock in your eye line so that you can track time without looking at your watch - this is always a huge distraction to candidates.

When the candidate meets you they will be at their most nervous and least relaxed. This means there's a good chance that they will not be able to demonstrate effectively whether they are a good fit for the vacancy or not: it does you no favours, nor the candidate. Small talk is a very good cure for nerves!  You can focus on anything - the journey to the office, the quality of the coffee, the weather (if you are in the UK) ... whatever. The point is to find something that you're happy talking about, that the candidate can feel relaxed about discussing too.

Once you have established a more comfortable general context and atmosphere, move on to the interview. You can look upon this small talk as a warm-up, where rapport is built so that you both feel comfortable with each other.

Allow Candidates To Shine

After the small talk warm-up, it is important to set the scene. I suggest the next thing should be to explain what will happen. Ensuring that the candidate knows the format you're working removes the tension that comes with a candidate trying to second-guess you, so that they can perform to their best ability.

My opening statements to set the scene are very similar for all interviews and go something like this:

“Okay, well I really appreciate you coming in today. I’ll just run through what we are looking to cover. We will start by looking at your background chronologically from finishing education until now and I will ask questions to make sure we cover all the relevant areas. My aim is to understand how you carried out your roles and the thinking and reasons behind your career development, so please provide as much detail as you can when answering questions.

The (job title) is a key position in our business and it is important that we take on the right person to ensure both that we meet our ambitious plans and that the person who joins us feels that this is the right move for them and meets their career goals. Once we have run through your career we will discuss the position and our company and answer any questions you might have.

I will also be taking notes because this is an important position and I want to be sure that I don’t forget any information. Do you have any questions about the process itself before we start?"

... and then, any preliminary questions (which are very rare) dealt with, I will start the interview 'for real'.

Next Time:

The interview itself.