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Top ten tips for conducting job interviews

Debbie Caswell, Search Consultancy’s managing director for England, gives her top ten tips for conducting job interviews.

(1) Avoid yes and no answers

If you really want to get to know your interviewee, you must make sure you ask questions that require more than a yes or a no answer. This means the candidate has to elaborate and give more detail, allowing you to get to know them better.

(2) Your list of questions is not set in stone

We all know it’s important to approach an interview with an idea of the questions you plan to ask. But don’t get so fixated on your questions list that you robotically move from one to the next. Listen carefully to each answer and probe with additional questions and you’ll learn so much more.

(3) Always ask for examples

Anyone can list their skills and qualifications, but that doesn’t tell you how good they are at applying those skills. So ask for lots of examples. Can you tell me a time when you demonstrated good teamwork skills? Give me an example of a time when you really excelled in the workplace. What is your biggest achievement? It’s a great way to see if a candidate is as good as they sound on paper.

(4) Be prepared for a long day

Sometimes you have to persevere to find the right person for the job, and this can mean very long days interviewing candidate after candidate. Be prepared for this and try to be as enthusiastic with your 5pm candidate as you were with the 9am one… they might just turn out to be the best one of the day.

(5) Do your homework

Don’t expect to find the right person for a job if you don’t prepare before the interview. It’s impossible to conduct a really thorough interview if you’ve only skim-read a CV five minutes before the candidate arrives. Go through CVs / application forms carefully beforehand and take a note of the highlights to discuss in the interview if you want to get the most out of it.

(6) Note-taking etiquette

You probably don’t have a photographic memory. Nobody’s expecting you to see candidates for hours on end and remember all their best attributes off the top of your head. Take plenty of notes on strengths, weaknesses, even questions you might want to ask later - but just don’t get so buried in your notepad you forget to look up and give your candidate an encouraging nod or smile.

(7) Body language

Body language is so important and you can bet your candidate will be scrutinising yours to assess how the interview is going. So don’t sit with your arms folded, and never fidget. Use the right body language to get the best out of your candidate. Be assertive, maintain eye contact and show you’re interested and this will encourage the candidate to engage with you.

(8) Don’t do all the talking

It’s easy to get engrossed in telling the candidate about your company, the job role, your expectations etc… but remember it’s what they have to say that matters most. Probe and ask questions, resist the urge to interrupt or cut them short, and remember to leave room for questions they might have too.

(9) Ask those awkward questions

You want to be friendly and approachable to get the best out of your candidate, but don’t ever let that put you off asking tricky questions. Don’t be shy about asking why they left their last job, about gaps in their CVs or details you want to query. It’s important to get as full a picture as possible before you decide who you’re hiring.

(10) Utilise a recruitment agency!

It will come as no surprise that I’m giving this tip given my job – so I’ll admit to a little bias! But it really is well worth looking into if you want to put the process in the hands of recruitment experts who can shortlist quality candidates that meet your company’s requirements. If you could benefit from external expertise when it comes to recruiting, an agency can be an invaluable support in providing solutions tailored to your company’s needs.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Beattie .