TIPS FOR CONDUCTING AN EFFECTIVE INTERVIEW
TIPS FOR CONDUCTING AN INTERVIEW
1. Control the situation. It’s your show!
2. Don’t buy first impressions. Most people make up their minds about a candidate within the first ten minutes. This can be a mistake. You may end up missing the real person!
3. Help interviewees feel at ease. They will open up and talk more freely with you.
4. Spend more time listening and less time talking. On average, interviewers mistakenly talk about half of the time. Your goal should be to get the candidate to do 80% of the talking. The person asking the questions and listening is the person who’s in control of the interview!
5. Have a purpose for every question, otherwise you’re wasting valuable time with the candidate – and if this person is a “hot commodity”, he’ll think less of you and of your company. Your questions are a reflection of you.
6. Don’t make any assumptions. Look for repeat patterns of behavior to draw conclusions.
7. Take good notes. Put your candidate at ease by telling them up front that you will be taking notes throughout your interview. Tell them before you begin writing.
8. Don’t present a question with the “correct response” to your candidate. Author William Swan advises against statements like this one: “It’s critical that anyone in this position be able to work on a small project team…Tell me about your experience and interest in working in such a setting.” If you ask this exact question, your candidate will know what it is you want to hear!
9. Be systematic. If you are interviewing several candidates, be sure that you are consistent on the same general set of issues. For example, their backgrounds, what they would bring to the opportunity, their short and long term goals, their personal career objectives. Their responses to these common set of questions will put you in a better position to evaluate and compare your candidates.
Nancy J. Phillips, CPC
