Interviews: be organized and strategic.
When it is time to interview candidates, it is important to be organized and strategic in your process. Interviewing is more than a simple conversation. It is more than sitting across from someone and having a chat. Don’t get me wrong, organizational fit is equally as important as technical fit but make the time to understand and learn about your candidates.
It is certainly okay to begin the interview with some lighthearted conversation. However, it is necessary to move on quickly from casual conversation.
Ask your candidates questions!
If you are not asking questions, how can you understand if they can successfully fill the role? If you are not asking questions, how do you know if they support what you are trying to accomplish? Ask questions. Be strategic in your process.
First, be organized in your interviewing process. This becomes even more important if you are interviewing for more than one open position. Keep resumes and notes together.
Next, be prepared for your interview. We expect candidates to be prepared but so often, leaders approach interviews with no preparation. Create your interview questions prior to the interview so you have a framework. Save them! Reuse them. Find out what works and what doesn’t work for you. It is okay to tweak your questions as needed but don’t make them up as you go.
Finally, ask different types of questions. Behavioral questions will provide you insight into how your candidate might react in any given scenario. How will they respond in slow times? Busy times? Crunch time? Will they know what to do next?
Ask cultural fit questions. Does your candidate think and support the type of business you are building? Will they have your back? Will you have theirs? You want to hire people that can promote what you are trying to do.
Technical questions are the questions that are applicable specifically to the role you are filling. Can your candidate do the actual work put in front of them?
To be effective, interviews must be organized and strategic. Use these tips to get you started when preparing for your interviews. To learn more about how to conduct effective interviews, please let me know. Effective interviews are critical to hiring the best people.
Effectively Interview
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To learn more about effective interviewing, check out my book: No More Hiring Regrets
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