Seven ways to interview candidates more effectively
Author: Scott Fiore
What could be easier than sitting down and asking someone a few questions from a list?
When put that way, interviewing sounds easy. But as you may know, it’s not as simple as it sounds. The process of interviewing candidates for a job requires organization, preparation, and the knowledge to ask the right questions.
Save time, money, and stress with smart interviewing
Finding the right candidate for an influential position within your company can be time-consuming, expensive, and stressful. It can also be risky because the wrong hire can cost you even more time and money to correct the mistake and begin the hiring process again.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the price of a bad hire is at least 30 percent of the employee’s first-year earnings. Ouch! That’s a financial pain that will take some time to heal.
But finding the best person for a job doesn’t have to be that painful, and interviewing smartly and effectively can be the most important step to get you on track to make the right hire.
Here are seven tips from for interviewing candidates effectively
- Establish an organized process for conducting interviews. Good interviewing doesn’t just happen. You must have a plan: Which people on your staff will conduct interviews? What do you need to know about the candidates? What questions will you ask? What will you tell them about your company?
- Make sure everyone who is interviewing candidates knows the duties of the job. This avoids giving mixed and confusing messages to candidates about what is expected of them.
- Be accommodating and make candidates feel comfortable and at ease. This will build a better rapport with them and encourage them to respond openly and honestly to you.
- Ask questions that will give you insight to the candidates’ knowledge, skills, and personal qualities. “What do you know about our company?” “Give us an example of a work environment that allowed you to do your best work?” “Describe to us a project where you were able to utilize your skills to accomplish it?”
- Ask candidates the same set of questions. This enables you to compare and rate candidates fairly. Granted, some follow-up questions may differ from candidate to candidate.
- Avoid questions that are unproductive, waste time, or are off limits. Everyone who will be interviewing should know what questions they can and can’t ask. See our earlier blog posts on “Avoid unproductive interview questions” and “Beware of the dirty dozen interview questions.”
- Encourage the candidate to ask you questions, too. The interview should be a two-way conversation, with both sides seeking important information to make a decision on each other
Need help with interviewing? Contact our Lancaster recruitment agency
When done properly, interviewing isn’t easy—it takes time and effort. That’s why companies often use a professional recruiter or recruiting agency for the first phase of the interviewing process. A recruiter not only knows how to find the right candidates but also how to ask the right questions to screen them for you.
If you are thinking of outsourcing your recruitment process or need help with interviewing to find the best candidates, talk with us here at TriStarr, an employment agency and HR consulting firm with recruiters (yes, sometimes we’re called headhunters) in Lancaster, PA.
We back our recruiting with our Good People Guarantee. If you aren’t pleased with a new hire within the first few months, our guarantee takes effect. We will replace the person with another candidate at no cost or provide an agreed-upon, prorated refund. But our clients rarely request that, because we find the candidates who are a great fit almost every time.
What could be easier than sitting down and asking someone a few questions from a list?
When put that way, interviewing sounds easy. But as you may know, it’s not as simple as it sounds. The process of interviewing candidates for a job requires organization, preparation, and the knowledge to ask the right questions.
Save time, money, and stress with smart interviewing
Finding the right candidate for an influential position within your company can be time-consuming, expensive, and stressful. It can also be risky because the wrong hire can cost you even more time and money to correct the mistake and begin the hiring process again.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the price of a bad hire is at least 30 percent of the employee’s first-year earnings. Ouch! That’s a financial pain that will take some time to heal.
But finding the best person for a job doesn’t have to be that painful, and interviewing smartly and effectively can be the most important step to get you on track to make the right hire.
Here are seven tips from for interviewing candidates effectively
- Establish an organized process for conducting interviews. Good interviewing doesn’t just happen. You must have a plan: Which people on your staff will conduct interviews? What do you need to know about the candidates? What questions will you ask? What will you tell them about your company?
- Make sure everyone who is interviewing candidates knows the duties of the job. This avoids giving mixed and confusing messages to candidates about what is expected of them.
- Be accommodating and make candidates feel comfortable and at ease. This will build a better rapport with them and encourage them to respond openly and honestly to you.
- Ask questions that will give you insight to the candidates’ knowledge, skills, and personal qualities. “What do you know about our company?” “Give us an example of a work environment that allowed you to do your best work?” “Describe to us a project where you were able to utilize your skills to accomplish it?”
- Ask candidates the same set of questions. This enables you to compare and rate candidates fairly. Granted, some follow-up questions may differ from candidate to candidate.
- Avoid questions that are unproductive, waste time, or are off limits. Everyone who will be interviewing should know what questions they can and can’t ask. See our earlier blog posts on “Avoid unproductive interview questions” and “Beware of the dirty dozen interview questions.”
- Encourage the candidate to ask you questions, too. The interview should be a two-way conversation, with both sides seeking important information to make a decision on each other
Need help with interviewing? Contact our Lancaster recruitment agency
When done properly, interviewing isn’t easy—it takes time and effort. That’s why companies often use a professional recruiter or recruiting agency for the first phase of the interviewing process. A recruiter not only knows how to find the right candidates but also how to ask the right questions to screen them for you.
If you are thinking of outsourcing your recruitment process or need help with interviewing to find the best candidates, talk with us here at TriStarr, an employment agency and HR consulting firm with recruiters (yes, sometimes we’re called headhunters) in Lancaster, PA.
We back our recruiting with our Good People Guarantee. If you aren’t pleased with a new hire within the first few months, our guarantee takes effect. We will replace the person with another candidate at no cost or provide an agreed-upon, prorated refund. But our clients rarely request that, because we find the candidates who are a great fit almost every time.
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