Maybe you’re a new business owner or manager looking to get some smart tips to conduct an interview, so you can make great hiring decisions.
Or,
Maybe you’re here because you climbed the corporate ladder and you finally landed your dream job in management. Now you’re thinking, uh oh, I have to hire 3 people ASAP, where do I start? What are the tips to conduct an interview that I need to know, now?
You came to right place. I can help!
You will learn seven interviewing tricks of the trade from your very own personal certified human resources professional. I have years of experience interviewing (and also managing the aftermath of bad hiring decisions by others who had hires remorse).
At the end of the day, your goal (and sorry to be blunt here), is to build a great team of people who get shit done – without drama. So, what do you say, shall we get started? After all, interviewing is an art, so let’s dive into the 8 Smart Tips to Conduct an Interview.
1. How to Prepare for an Interview.
Take 15 minutes to do some prep work rather than winging it.
Trust me, winging it can be awkward and can also get you into hot water if you’re not consistent when interviewing multiple candidates for the same job.
Prepping will not only make you look good, but you’ll feel like you know what you’re doing (even when you don’t).
Prep Tip # 1: Review your job description. Update it. Give it to the candidate during the interview. A job description is important. It captures the essential responsibilities, qualifications and physical demands of the job. Setting the job expectations upfront helps put both parties on the same page. There is so much that I could say here about job descriptions, but let’s save that for another blog post.
Prep Tip #2: Develop your interview questions. Take the time to develop interview questions that REALLY capture the information you need from an applicant. Include questions that provide you insight to an applicant’s skills such as negotiation, problem-solving, budgeting, motivating and managing, customer-service, etc. Also, include behavioral questions where you inquire about how the applicant handled a particular situation or project in a previous job. These questions will help predict how they will handle similar situations, if hired by you. Don’t be afraid to ask follow-up questions about what they share, but remember to ask the same set of questions to each applicant of the position.
Prep Tip #3: Focus on job specific knowledge. This includes knowledge such as employment laws and regulations, accounting principles, marketing strategies, mechanical, networking and engineering, etc. Think about what job specific knowledge your open position requires and be sure to discuss this during the interview to gain a full understanding of the depth of knowledge and experience the applicant brings to the table.
Prep Tip #4: Abilities is an important one. For example, if your open position requires it, you will want to know if the applicant has the ability to travel throughout the region, troubleshoot and diagnose, effectively communicate information and ideas or to work independently or in a team-environment. Be sure to touch on these points.
Prep Tip #5: Don’t skimp on questions relating to soft-skills. You can train someone on knowledge and skills, but you can’t train personality. Look for people who are positive, compassionate, considerate, fair, respectful, friendly, optimistic, trustworthy and appreciative. We can all think of someone that we have worked with (or worse worked for) who is the complete opposite, so keep this in mind when you find an applicant who may not have acquired all of the knowledge you would need of them, but is exuding positive personality traits.
Working with people who lack positive soft-skills, can wear you down, disrupt the work culture and, if left unchecked, lead to turnover. And by turnover, in this case, I mean turnover of your great employees. And the last thing you are looking to do is have your good employees leave, right?
Speaking of soft skills, have you heard of famous entrepreneur, Richard Branson, Founder at Virgin Group? Well, he specifically references the topic of personality on LinkedIn. In fact, he shares four principles that he feels make a successful professional at Virgin Group in the piece, “You Can’t Fake Personality, Passion or Purpose.” Here is one of the statements relating to personality:
“The first thing we look for when hiring new staff is personality. In my eyes, personality always wins over book smarts. Company knowledge and job-specific skills can be learned, but you can’t train a personality.”
Richard Branson, Virgin Group
Couldn’t have said it better myself, Mr. Branson. And on that note, let’s move forward.
2. Why Do Employers Use Job Application Forms?
Aside from it being a hiring record that you definitely want to have to protect your business from risk, the job application reveals a lot about a candidate.
Unlike a resume that may have been designed and written by a friend or family member, the job application is typically completed by the applicant.
It can show a person’s writing style, typos, and even thoughtful answers to basic questions. You get the point, right? It can show off some great things and some not-so-great things about the applicant.
One of my favorite questions on the job application (yes, I have favorites), is “Reason for leaving your past job”.
This one question can tell you so much. It will give you a hint as to whether they will stay or jump ship as soon as they’re trained. And also if they didn’t see eye-to-eye with their prior manager.
And be careful because many employees don’t even answer the question. And this is typically a red flag alert! If they don’t answer the question, there is a good chance they got fired and just didn’t know what to write on the application.
Here is a quick HR Tip (within my Tips): If an applicant answered that they were laid-off, ask if it was a company-wide layoff or more of a position elimination. If it was a position elimination, ask why? Some companies are too chicken to fire employees, so they disguise it as a layoff. It may turn out to be legit, but you should explore.
Lastly, be sure to always check for a signature on the job application to ensure the person is certifying that the information provided on the application is true, accurate and complete and that they understand the employment at-will statement, if applicable.
3. How to Start an Interview as the Interviewer.
It’s hard to think of something in life that’s as stressful as sitting in the lobby and waiting for someone to call you in for the interview. And it can be stressful for you too as the interviewer, if you have little to no experience on how to conduct an interview.
While small talk can be a bit corny, at the start of an interview, it’s GOLD. Why you ask? You want to put the interviewee at ease. A comfortable person is going to share more about themselves, which is exactly what you want in an interview. So, this is the time to show off YOUR soft skills – be compassionate, friendly and enthusiastic during the interview.
It’s also your job to break the ice and make a good first impression. You are the company’s brand when interviewing. The interviewee will instantly recognize what types of employees are in a leadership role and will make a judgment about the company and about you.
When you start the interview, don’t just jump into questions, but instead do a bit of talking. Start by sharing an overview of your company and the position they have applied for. You want to sell (but not oversell) the candidate on why it’s a great place to work.
And candidates want to know things they couldn’t learn from reading the website. So talk about…
- how many employees work there
- what the day-to-day work environment is like
- the longevity of employees
- how and when performance reviews are done
- what important projects or products are in the spotlight
- what you do to make the workplace fun, like holiday parties or employee appreciation lunches
BTW, don’t forget to pay attention to the person’s body language while you were talking?
Was the person attentive and interested in what you were sharing? Or distracted and meh? Did the person make eye contact? Nod his/her head? Smile?
A person’s body language is just as important as how they answer your questions. So keep your head up and observe.
4. Conversational Interview Tips.
This tip goes back to my point about making the interviewee feel comfortable.
- Get to the know the person through a conversational tone. Ask your questions, but don’t read them like a politician on a teleprompter. Make the questions conversational and relatable.
- A friendly and conversational exchange will create a comfort zone where interviewees often share, share and share. You may think, TMI! But getting an applicant to really open up and feel comfortable will give you a better glimpse into his/her true personality.
- Remember to observe the soft-skills. Does the person reveal traits like compassion, honesty, enthusiasm, motivation, creativity, credibility and being respectful.
- There’s an old saying that hard skills get you hired, but soft skills get you fired. Which means that you can have all the knowledge in the world, but if you are a total ass, then you need to move on out of the company. Of all the people I have fired over the years, I can say that’s about 99.9% accurate! Again, you can train for skills and knowledge, but not for personality or attitude.
5. Interview Behavioral Questions.
Now, let’s get to some interview questions! I love to ask behavioral questions. I think they offer me the best insight into how this applicant will fit into the role I need to fill. Behavioral interview questions will give you an indication of someone’s behavior and may help predict how they will handle something similar when working for you.
Here are 6 Examples of Behavioral Interview Questions to get you started:
- Tell me about a time when…
- Describe a situation where you were asked to…
- Provide an example of your ability to…
- Have you ever had to deal with…
- How do you manage when…
- What is the most challenging or difficult…
You will want to finish the question with whatever is important to your position and company.
6. Silence During an Interview.
You have a short amount of time to get to know someone.
Throughout my career, I have encountered managers who like to do most of the talking when conducting an interview, interviewers who were uncomfortable in their role as interviewer, and also unprepared interviewers who flounder through.
Some interviewers are just flat out talkers and are excited to meet people. Others are uncomfortable in their roles and talk to fill in the awkward silence.
But you won’t learn enough about an applicant if they don’t get much air time.
You want them talking.
So, here is another of my smart tips to conduct an interview that has worked well for me.
Silence.
(Also pretend that I put a long pause right here for dramatic effect)
A great way to achieve silence is through note taking. While writing notes in response to the interviewee’s answers to the questions, let there be silence.
Leave the silence hanging out like a sheet drying in a summer breeze.
Sounds wonderful, but it’s actually not, it’s pretty awkward to be honest.
But, if you casually look up from your diligent note taking with a look of anticipation to hear more, they usually take the hint and continue to offer more.
The other advantage to this smart tip, in addition to getting more information from the interviewee, is you will have taken some good notes.
HR Hint: Never take notes on a resume, always use a separate note pad. Once you end the interview, and the interviewee has left, fill out a Candidate Evaluation Form to capture important facts and perspective on the candidate.
7. Interview Closing Techniques.
So, at this point in the interview, you should be at just about the 45-minute mark and are ready to close out the interview.
If the interview has gone well and you are interested in the applicant, this would be a great time to ask the interviewee to interview you.
Interviewing should be a two-way street. You don’t want them having remorse – buyer’s, err, hired remorse?! You know where I am going here.
However, you may find, like I have, that most people are not prepared for this approach even if you taunt a little and encourage it. If this is the case for you too, taking the time during the introduction to give a good company overview and review the job in detail will at least provide enough information for this candidate to make a good decision to accept your offer or maybe even reject it if it’s not a good fit.
Some closing questions and/or information to clear up before the applicant leaves include:
- Is there something I didn’t ask that you want me to know?
- Do you believe you can meet the requirements that we discussed today?
- What concerns do you have?
- Tell me why I should hire you?
- When can you start if the position is offered to you?
- Tell the applicant when you expect to make a decision. (If you don’t want to lose this candidate, don’t hem and haw, make a decision.)
- Do your due diligence by checking references and conducting screenings that are relevant to your business or industry.
8. Interview Communication.
Communication. Communication. Communication. I really could end this tip right there, but let me expand a bit.
Communication with the applicant throughout the entire interview process is so important.
You want to make each applicant feel engaged, special, noticed.
Don’t forget that they have taken the time to apply for your open position, research your company, take time off to interview, stressed over what to wear/say and most likely are excited about the opportunity you have presented to them.
Your communication is a reflection of you and your company and it should be prompt and respectful.
The Wrap Up!
Whether your new responsibility is hiring, you are a new manager recently promoted (yay), a new business owner having success and finally having the financial means to “not do it all,” or maybe you just rarely hire, I want you to benefit from my 20 years of experience doing this as a certified human resources professional and as a business owner.
I know how difficult it can be when a hiring decision doesn’t go as you hoped and hires remorse sets in.
It can create tons of extra work, stress, and friction on the team.
Hopefully, you have found a gold nugget or two in my tips that will make all the difference for you when you are ready to hire.
Have you ever had a “hires remorse”? Comment below on your favorite tip to avoid “hires remorse”.