Interview preparation is not only something a candidate should do, the interviewer should also do their homework.
Good interviewer preparation can be one of the most important factors in making the interview process more efficient and successful. Here are some tips and considerations you might like to bear in mind when preparing thoroughly for a series of candidate interviews.
- Make a note of preliminary Candidate research
It’s clearly good to familiarize yourself with candidates as much as possible before the interview. Obviously you will read their CV, but it’s also good to check their social media accounts. Sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn can give you a better picture of the kind of person you are about to interview.
However, the important thing here is to record the opinions you form at this stage. When you get to the interview, you can remind yourself of these initial opinions/notes to construct more perceptive lines of questioning.
- Pre-interview Questions
To make the actual interview more effective, efficient and less time consuming, consider sending candidates a list of pre-interview questions.
These could be standard questions that need to be asked at some point, but are given to the candidates to answer beforehand, so as not to take up valuable interview time.
Review the answers to these questions and record your opinions on the candidate. Again, reminding yourself of those opinions will help you use face-to-face interview time to explore the candidate’s skills and character in more depth.
If you can, ask the candidates to respond to at least one of the pre-interview questions by video. Getting an initial impression of how well the candidates present themselves can be of great help.
- Consult your colleagues on the best interview Questions
You (or the interview panel) may make the hiring decision, but the successful candidate is likely to be working with a wide variety of people when they start. Ask your colleagues to suggest what questions they would consider important to ask during the interview.
This will help you understand different perspectives, and the feedback will often confirm the type of person who would be ideal for the position.
Make a record of all the suggested questions. You probably won’t be able to ask them all, but can pick out and use the best ones.
- Check your ATS database for previous questions
It will make life easier if you can review the questions that candidates for similar roles were asked in the past. These can form a good foundation on which to build your pre-prepared list of interview questions.
- Be clear about what your questions are designed to judge
Obviously, the answer given to questions will enable you to form an opinion on the candidate. However, make sure to create a list of skills and characteristics on which you will judge the candidate.
It is often very helpful to assign or link specific questions to the candidate attributes you are about to judge.
For example, a question like this :
“Everyone makes mistakes at work. It’s impossible not to at some stage. So can you tell me about the last time you made a mistake how you reacted once you found out about the mistake?”
would be a possible way of helping you to judge the “character” attribute of the candidate. The question would therefore be designated as a “character” question.
“OK, so all the above is logical and even obvious advice. However, I definitely don’t have the time or access to systems which will allow me implement this stuff”
If that’s the case, click here to see how Interview Coordinator can help