Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 3: Be prepared to evaluate the candidate
• Method 2 of 3: Conduct the interview
• Method 3 of 3: Apply effective strategies
• Tips

Conducting a job interview is not something you should think lightly about. Hiring the wrong person can be very annoying and expensive. So it's important to use job interviews to separate the wheat from the chaff. To get a good idea of ​​a potentially suitable candidate, you need to investigate, ask the right questions, and create a good relationship. Read on to learn how to properly conduct a job interview.

To step

Method 1 of 3: Be prepared to evaluate the candidate

1. Do some background research. You have a CV and receive a cover letter, the content of which is said to be based on facts. Before the candidate visits the office, you should take the time to confirm the information he / she has given you. There is a lot of competition in the job market, so candidates could just choose to submit their CV. to thicken a bit. They do this in the hope of gaining a head start on those dozens of other applicants. If you do research in advance, you can prepare yourself well for the application interview. You will be able to ask well-informed questions, so you will not have to improvise with general questions.
   • Contact the references provided by the applicant. Ask questions that focus specifically on the information in the resume and the cover letter.
   • Start an online search. Google for him / her and check LinkedIn (if his / her profile is public).
   • If you know people who know the candidate, ask them for information about the applicant's career path.
   • Research the companies the candidate has worked for. This way you can learn a lot about what he / she has to offer.
2. Know well what qualities you are looking for in a candidate. The purpose of the interview is to learn more about the candidate's personality. You will also be able to determine whether he / she is a "good match". This is your chance to learn more about the candidate than he / she presented on paper. You may just be interviewing five people who all have exactly the same education and experience. It is therefore wise to think a little more deeply about what you are looking for in your potential new employee. What type of person would do the job well? How could someone distinguish themselves from the rest?
   • Are you looking for someone with a strong personality who tries to push the traditional boundaries? Would it be better to find a serious, hardworking type? Someone who always gets the job done on time? Try to find out what work style you are looking for.
   • Do you need someone who digs into the details, or someone who keeps the bigger picture in mind?
   • Think of the people who have fulfilled those tasks in the past. What worked and what didn't?
   • Getting along well with someone is not a valid reason to hire someone; you must be able to trust that the candidate will do a good job. There are a lot of people who make a good first impression, but give up once the work starts.

Method 2 of 3: Conduct the interview

1. Start with a few general questions. After you have introduced yourself, you can start asking general questions that aim to extract the information from the resume. and verify the cover letter. This helps you and the candidate to warm up, so that you can then more easily take the step to deeper, more complex questions. Make sure the candidate's answers match what you learned from your research.
   • Ask the person how long he / she worked for his / her previous employer and why he / she is leaving.
   • Ask the candidate to describe his / her former position.
   • Ask the candidate about his / her relevant work experience.
2. Ask behavioral questions. You can learn more about how the candidate would resolve professional situations. You can do this by asking him / her for examples in which he / she has displayed the skills and qualities you are looking for. The answers to these types of questions will reveal a lot about his / her work style and capabilities. Behavioral questions have also been proven to provide truthful answers - that's because the answers are based on concrete examples from the past.
   • Focus your questions specifically on skills. For example, choose, "Have you ever had to use your creativity to find a solution to a difficult marketing problem?" If you were simply to ask if the candidate was creative, the answer would likely not provide the desired amount of information.
   • Behavioral questions can also tell you a lot about the character of the applicant. For example, confronting the candidate with ethical dilemmas could provide interesting answers.
3. Put the candidate in front of the block. There are interviewers who choose to embarrass the candidate a bit. That way you can see how that person deals with stress. If you could also encounter these kinds of situations at work, it does not hurt to know whether the candidate can handle them.
   • "Why should we hire you?" is a classic stress question. However, many candidates prepare for this question in advance. You can therefore choose to make the question a little more thorny: "I see that you have no experience writing press releases. Why do you think you are suitable for a PR position?"
   • You can ask the candidate in-depth questions about why he / she no longer works for his / her previous employer. How the candidate answers that question can tell you a lot about his / her ability to handle pressure.
   • You can also use hypothetical questions such as, "What would you do if you saw a colleague acting unethically?" These types of questions can also provide interesting answers.
4. Give the candidate the opportunity to ask questions. Most people prepare a list of intelligent questions to ask the interviewer before the interview. So make sure that you yourself are well prepared and that you can give correct answers. If the candidate says that he / she has no questions, that also says something. You can ask yourself whether the candidate is really looking forward to working at your company.
   • Make sure you can provide specific information to the candidate. Consider, for example, working hours, salary, specific job descriptions, and other things. Make sure you have your answer ready. Of course you can always say, "we'll get to that later".
   • If the candidate asks you what their chances of success are, don't put them on the line - unless you are 99% sure you will offer them the job.
5. Explain to the candidate what the next steps are. Let him / her know that you will be contacting him / her in a few days or weeks. Thank the candidate for his / her visit, stand up, and shake his / her hand. This indicates that the interview is over.

Method 3 of 3: Apply effective strategies

1. Make sure you obey the law. It is prohibited by law to discriminate against an applicant based on skin color, gender, religion, age, disability, pregnancy, ethnicity, and / or other factors. Do not ask questions aimed at obtaining information in those areas. Here are some questions that many interviewers ask, but shouldn't really ask:
   • You should not ask a woman if she is pregnant or plans to start a family in a few years.
   • Do not ask if the candidate is attending church or what religion he / she adheres to.
   • Do not ask for the age.
   • Do not ask about health issues that could affect ability to work.
2. Don't talk too much. If you keep rattling about yourself or the company, the candidate will not be included. You may think that you have had a great job interview, but you find out that you have not acquired any new information at all. Ask leading questions, and make sure that the candidate is speaking most of the time.
3. Build rapport. You will be able to extract more information from the candidate if you are friendly, warm and open. A stiff attitude can cause people to shut down and / or to answer your questions rather cautiously. Encourage openness and honesty through your body language. Smile and nod at the candidate. Don't flinch if the candidate starts to stammer or has trouble answering a question.
4. Represent your business well. Know that the candidate also has control over whether or not to accept the job. If you show off the company or yourself badly, there will be people who will decline the offer. You don't have everything in charge - so don't behave like that either.
5. Take notes and double check answers. Write down important information during the conversation so you can double-check it if necessary. If the candidate gives you details about a major project that he / she has completed for a previous employer, do not hesitate to call the references to check that it actually happened.

Tips

• Some people are bad at making first impressions. Try to phrase your questions in such a way that they can pull quiet, shy people out of their shells — it could just be that these people are highly skilled and qualified. If you have a talker at the table, don't be tempted by his / her jokes and anecdotes; rather let the candidate give concrete examples of his / her skills and achievements