Everything You Need to Know About: Conducting the Interview

Good interviewing involves more listening than talking.

It’s about asking relevant questions and accurately assessing the answers you receive. And, if you want to secure a candidate, it also includes successfully promoting the role and your organization and “closing” the candidate wherever possible.

A Few Helpful Suggestions

We’ve conducted many interviews over the years, and have a few tips for making your way through the interviewing process.

Before you begin…

+ Please try to be on time. It shows respect to the individual who maybe taking time out of their own workplace

+ Greet the candidate in a friendly, non-threatening fashion. While they need to make good eye contact with you, it works both ways. When you are walking the candidate to the interview room, take the time to help the candidate relax by asking some general, low-key questions

+ If the interview is going to be up to an hour long, offer some refreshments.

+ Ensure you have a copy of the job description and the candidate’s resume with you.

+ Remember to take full notes when interviewing, so that you can reference them later.

+ Review your agenda with the candidate and ask if they are okay with it. A typical agenda might involve:

•         > A very short overview of the company and the role.
•         > A review of their resume, highlighting areas or interest.
•         > Discussion on culture and work environments.
•         > Expanded discussion on the role and company.
•         > Opportunity for them to ask questions.

During the interview…

+ Begin by talking about the company and the role. At this stage, keep your comments to about five minutes. You need to be general here rather than specific, as your goal is to glean unbiased answers from the candidate.

+ Review their resume, working chronologically from their first role to their current role. Spend more of your time focusing on experience in the last five years as that is more relevant. However, it is important to cover the earlier years to gain insights into how the applicant has progressed, reasons for leaving and overall stability.

+ Aim to gain both insights and information. Here are the type of things you´ll want to ask about:

•         > Any gaps in employment. Confirm employment dates and ask about employment dates, if missing.
•         > Reasons for leaving roles/companies.
•         > Significant achievements at each company.
•         > Primary responsibilities at each company.
•         > Current remuneration, including bonuses and benefits.

+ Expand on areas of particular significance. For example, if you want to get insights into a particular skill or project they worked on, ask questions that are designed to give real-life examples of behaviour the candidate has demonstrated in past roles.

+ Ask candidates what they enjoyed most about their current role and organization and also what they least enjoyed. Repeat the question, but this time relate it to specifics in past roles/organizations. This will help you understand their likes and dislikes and whether or not they would be a “fit” for the role and your environment

At this stage, if you have a fairly exhaustive idea of what this candidate can do and what they are seeking and you’re interested in progressing them to the next stage, then spend some time talking about the role, the environment, the team and the company. Your goal is to give the candidate a well-rounded view of the role and the company so they buy into all aspects. So while you’ll want to emphasis and expand on the really interesting parts, you also need to touch on (but not dwell on) some of the more mundane aspects of the job.

+ Relate why most people, including you, really enjoy coming to work every day. And talk about what the candidate can learn and how they can grow. Promote and sell the role and organization. Be balanced and realistic, but always positive. Your goal is to give the candidate a sense of what your organization is like to work for and ensure that by the end of the interview, they´ll have a good sense of the company and what you’re all about.

+ If you feel you have all the information you need, ask them for their questions. If you’re interested in the candidate, express that to them and talk about next steps. You can even ask them how they feel about the process thus far. If you are unsure about the candidate or need more time to assess then, conclude the interview by thanking them for their time and outline the next steps in the process.

After it’s finished…

+ When the candidate has left, take a moment to write down a quick summary of your conversation and overall impressions of the candidate.

+ Highlight any notes you may want to further investigate at reference stage.

+ If you think the candidate is a good fit and you liked them, then ensure next-stage interviews or offers follow as quickly as possible.

+ If you feel the candidate is not a good fit then, as a courtesy, let them know as soon as possible so they can move on.

Obviously, this article serves as a guide on how to conduct interviews rather than a discussion of any specific interviewing techniques. Improving your interviewing skills and determining whether psychometric tests would be helpful to the process are other topics that may prove helpful to your overall hiring success!

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Smart, Savvy + Associates is a recruitment agency that specializes in connecting companies with marketing, communications and creative professionals at all levels, from coordinators to C-suite. Based in Vancouver, B.C., our team of marketers-turned-recruiters have an in-depth understanding of the industry and work diligently to find best-in-class talent for each search. Get started today.