If you are a hiring manager with a job opening, the interview process is a responsibility that you don't want to leave to chance. You need to find the right person for your job without second guessing your decision.
Here are three suggestions that will help you to prepare for the interview:
1: Take the time to prepare for your job applicant interview.
It's not enough to just review a resume or job application and ask questions on the fly. You need to understand the core function of the job that you are hiring for. It's critical that you are clear on the type and level of experience as well as the depth of experience that your candidate will need to have in order to ask the best interview questions and get the answers that will help you to make better hiring decisions.
2: Create a job description in advance of your interview.
Yes, you are the supervisor, and it stands to reason that you know everything that there is to know about the job that you are hiring for. Yet, it's easy to hire someone whom you thought was an exceptional candidate, only to learn that the job applicant did not possess a particular skill set, or that they don't have the depth of experience that you really needed for your position.
3: Develop your interview questions prior to meeting with your job candidate.
You can't make an accurate determination of whether your job applicant really has the skills and experience needed for your job if you don't ask the right questions.
Use your job description as the blueprint for developing your interview questions as opposed to relying only on those questions that may occur to you during your interview.
4: Ask the right interview questions.
Don't ask questions that give the job candidate an opportunity to respond by saying either "yes" or "no".
Your interview questions should guide your job applicant in a way that will require that he or she provide clear examples that demonstrate an understanding of a particular task, or how they have been able to apply their experience in a way that has helped them to be successful in their current or past positions.
5: Check supervisor references.
In our haste to move the hiring process along, it's sometimes easier to check whatever references are available, or to skip the reference process altogether. Don't.
Always, always, check references; preferably supervisor references. Accepting a reference list that only consists of friends or colleagues can be a recipe for problems down the line because you weren't able to identify an employees strengths and areas for improvement; or whether there were previous performance issues that you should be aware of.
6: Follow up with all of the applicants that you have interviewed.
You're busy; that's understood. It's hard to follow up with every candidate that applies for your job that you did not interview.
Inform all potential applicants before they have applied through your website that you will only be contacting those candidates that meet the job experience described in your job posting. Be sure to thank all candidates on your website who have taken the time to consider your job openings. Follow up with all candidates who you have spoken to by phone, email and especially in person. To not follow up with the candidates that took the time to meet with you is a no- no.
Remember that the same candidate that you ignore now may be the very candidate that you'll want to hire for your next job opening.
Here are three suggestions that will help you to prepare for the interview:
1: Take the time to prepare for your job applicant interview.
It's not enough to just review a resume or job application and ask questions on the fly. You need to understand the core function of the job that you are hiring for. It's critical that you are clear on the type and level of experience as well as the depth of experience that your candidate will need to have in order to ask the best interview questions and get the answers that will help you to make better hiring decisions.
2: Create a job description in advance of your interview.
Yes, you are the supervisor, and it stands to reason that you know everything that there is to know about the job that you are hiring for. Yet, it's easy to hire someone whom you thought was an exceptional candidate, only to learn that the job applicant did not possess a particular skill set, or that they don't have the depth of experience that you really needed for your position.
3: Develop your interview questions prior to meeting with your job candidate.
You can't make an accurate determination of whether your job applicant really has the skills and experience needed for your job if you don't ask the right questions.
Use your job description as the blueprint for developing your interview questions as opposed to relying only on those questions that may occur to you during your interview.
4: Ask the right interview questions.
Don't ask questions that give the job candidate an opportunity to respond by saying either "yes" or "no".
Your interview questions should guide your job applicant in a way that will require that he or she provide clear examples that demonstrate an understanding of a particular task, or how they have been able to apply their experience in a way that has helped them to be successful in their current or past positions.
5: Check supervisor references.
In our haste to move the hiring process along, it's sometimes easier to check whatever references are available, or to skip the reference process altogether. Don't.
Always, always, check references; preferably supervisor references. Accepting a reference list that only consists of friends or colleagues can be a recipe for problems down the line because you weren't able to identify an employees strengths and areas for improvement; or whether there were previous performance issues that you should be aware of.
6: Follow up with all of the applicants that you have interviewed.
You're busy; that's understood. It's hard to follow up with every candidate that applies for your job that you did not interview.
Inform all potential applicants before they have applied through your website that you will only be contacting those candidates that meet the job experience described in your job posting. Be sure to thank all candidates on your website who have taken the time to consider your job openings. Follow up with all candidates who you have spoken to by phone, email and especially in person. To not follow up with the candidates that took the time to meet with you is a no- no.
Remember that the same candidate that you ignore now may be the very candidate that you'll want to hire for your next job opening.
No comments:
Post a Comment