How to Conduct Great Job Interviews

Conducting a great interview is simple as planning. The key to a great interview is to already know what you need to know about the candidate. Every question you ask is going to set up an answer that can demonstrate whether the candidate you’re interviewing is the kind of person you want to employ. 

When planning an interview, before any questions are asked, the setting should be established. All candidates should know ahead of time when the interview is taking place, and where. It should be decided, based on a business’s preferences whether they want to conduct the interviews in-person or over video calls. Virtual interviews have become very commonplace and have many benefits such as: interviewing out-of-area candidates, more flexible time options, and allows for other members of the management team to be present during the interview. An in-person interview is also a great option as it gives you an up-close look at the way a candidate carries themselves and allows for a broader scope of professionalism. For instance, punctuality, proper dress, coming prepared with any documents, portfolios, or resumes. While these may not be entirely necessary to judge a candidate, it can set them apart from other interviewees. 

Once the interview has begun, this is a good opportunity to go over the role. While they are aware of the title of the position, you get a chance to share the expectations in the given role as well as the company’s values. This introduction can lay a foundation of what the candidate can come to expect during the rest of the interview.

When it comes to questions, recall that qualities desired for the position should be established ahead of time. This should steer your questions. If you need to judge how experienced they are with a certain skill, software, or tool, asking questions directly involving experience may prove helpful. If the company needs someone who can problem-solve quickly, give scenarios in the form of behavior job interview questions. And if qualities along the lines of free-thinking are needed, then open-ended questions can reveal a lot about candidates’ hidden qualities that may not normally come out during interviews but are just as valuable to any team they would be placed in.

In getting to know a candidate and their goals for the future, a look into how their past work experience may show how they have developed. This can give valuable insight into how a candidate learns, their motivations, and their ability to be coached to grow. Candidates may come to the interview with only a few jobs on their resume or may have a lot of life experience in raising kids or caring for family members. Seeing one place of work over many years displays great loyalty and commitment, especially if growth was made. Areas of life experience outside of work can teach a candidate qualities like patience, resourcefulness, problem solving and time management. 

Interviews are a great way to creatively find out more about a candidate. Interviewers should provide a professional and welcoming environment. The interviewing process doesn’t have to be daunting and can create wonderful conversation with job seekers that may very well end up on your team. With these strategies, you can conduct an interview with confidence that you will be armed with the knowledge you need to make the right choice for your team.