basic interviewing techniques
Basic Interviewing Techniques
Interviewing candidate after candidate can be quite a tiresome process, especially when you aren't sure of how to evaluate them lest you miss out something crucial. Here's what you should be doing to ensure you have interviewed a candidate properly.
- Make sure you inform the candidate about the venue and timing of the interview well in advance. Also, it is considered polite to convey the approximate duration of the interview to the candidate.
- Before the interview you, make sure you have a clear idea of the qualities and technical skills that you are looking out for.
- Plan the structure of the interview, determine if you want to keep it a rigorous question answer session, or want the candidate to speak his mind about general issues. If you want to keep it a question answer session, make sure you list down all the probable questions and even if you want to make it an impromptu affair, it is better to list down the general points that you want to address during the interview.
- In case you already have the candidate's resume, reference letters, or any other documents which have been submitted beforehand, make it a point to go through the documents. It will give you an idea about the candidate's educational qualification, work experience, and other useful information. This will help you answer better and more relevant questions.
- Greet the person with a smile and a professional handshake. Make sure the candidate is comfortable. Do not intimidate the candidate.
- Make sure to mention things from the candidate's resume or other submitted material that you find impressive or problematic.
- Do not ask personal questions during a job interview.
- Listen carefully while your candidate speaks. Ask questions about the things that the candidate mentions during the interview.
- In case the candidate seems reluctant or is stuck at a particular point, make sure to lead the conversation further by introducing another issue.
- Keep the interview like a healthy conversation rather than making it a question answer or quiz session.
- Keep an eye on the time, make sure the interview doesn't extend way beyond the set time.
- At the end of the interview, make sure you tell the candidate the time frame within which you will inform him the decision, or schedule the next interview.