a. setting up a clear and comfortable context

It’s normal for some candidates to feel nervous, especially at the start of the interview. So you may want to think about how you can put them at ease. It can be challenging for you to get an accurate idea of their skills and personality if they are too nervous to be themselves.

You can maintain a calm demeanour yourself, greet them with a warm handshake and smile, ask some casual questions about their commute or take a generally lighthearted tone that encourages them to relax and speak freely. Instead of bombarding them with questions right away, you can:

Introduce yourself - speak briefly about your role in the company and why you’re interested to interview them.
Set the expectation - Explain the format of the interview, how long it will be and what will happen after.

Once that’s done, you can properly move on to evaluate them on the 3 criteria.

b. job fit

Evaluating the applicant's ability to do the job to a high standard should be your top priority. You should be looking for people who have the necessary core skills and experience for the role.They should also be genuinely interested in doing a good job and continuing to learn and develop with your company.

There are many possible questions that can help you evaluate job fit, such as:

In your last performance appraisal, what did your manager identify as your biggest strengths?
What are some of the systems that you operate on and how long did it take you to learn them?
What are your key areas for improvement?
Which aspects of this job do you think you would find most interesting or enjoyable?
Which parts of the job do you think would be challenging?

Most of your questions to determine their job fit would have been prepared in advance, but you should also be ready to improvise and ask additional questions.

You might want them to expand on a certain point, or it may be necessary to rephrase a question to get a more enlightening answer. Getting more information from the interviewee would help you better evaluate their technical background and knowledge to better evaluate if they are qualified to perform the tasks that are expected of them.

During the course of the interview, pay close attention to how the applicant frames their answers and be ready to take notes on anything you notice. If you ask a question about past mistakes or weaknesses, look for indications that the interviewee is aware of their shortcomings, but is eager to develop and expand their skill set. Someone who is conscientious and willing to learn could make a better hire than someone who is technically competent but lacks motivation.

c. boss fit

Relationships between managers and employees are a critical part of work productivity. This is why you should always evaluate how well a candidate will work with you as their potential direct report as well as how well they work with others.

Tailor your questions to yield answers that will help you judge whether a candidate shares the values and beliefs as you.

You might consider asking:

Who was the best manager you ever had and why did you enjoy working with them?
Can you tell me about a time when you found it difficult working with a particular boss?
What, specifically, did you dislike about their approach and how did you manage this situation?

You can analyse the applicant's ability to work with common management styles that are practised in your company. This is particularly important if the person with whom this candidate could be working - whether that's you or someone else - has a very particular approach of communicating and motivating your team.

d. company fit

Focusing on how well a potential recruit will integrate into your company can help you avoid the various costs of a bad hire - from the expenses involved in re-advertising the job to the productivity losses while the role remains unfilled.

Knowing your company values and way of work would help you determine whether the candidate will be a good culture fit for your company.

You can start to build a picture of these characteristics by asking questions like:

Which of your past companies did you most enjoy working for and why?
Can you tell me about a time when you were part of a highly successful team?
What was the key to that team's success?
What do you know about our company?

Key indicators to look out for in the answers include common uses of 'we', 'us' and 'our', rather than 'I', 'me' and 'mine', which you could take as a sign that this person is a natural team player.

It's also worth remembering that workplace conflicts and disagreements are inevitable, and the most important thing to focus on is the candidate’s ability to manage these situations gracefully when they occur.

3. post-interview follow-up

Once the job interview is completed, wrap it up by thanking the candidates for their time and outlining the next steps. It's particularly important to state how and when they can expect to receive feedback.

Note down your first thoughts and impressions immediately after the interview has finished while your memory is still fresh. It can be useful to ask yourself:

What are this applicant's clearest strengths and weaknesses?
Can gaps in their capabilities and experience be filled through training and development?
Does this person seem like a natural fit with the rest of the team and the business?

Once you have clarified your own thoughts on the candidate, you can share any results and insights from the interview with other stakeholders either through e-mail or in-person.

Remember that the candidate invested their time to attend the interview and may have other offers on the table, so it's important to inform them of your decision as quickly as possible. Even if they won’t be proceeding further in the recruitment process, you should still provide feedback and share some tips to create a positive candidate experience.

These peer evaluations are important for job seekers as they will gain a clearer understanding of the interview outcomes. These hiring practices create a good experience for the candidates as they get the opportunity to learn more about themselves. It will also help strengthen your company reputation and employer brand as an organisation that genuinely cares about people.

we can help you find the perfect match

If you want to improve your recruitment efficiency, you can start by auditing your whole interview process to identify gaps that may lead to a poor candidate experience and create solutions to improve the outcomes.

Get in touch with us to secure your best-fit talent and to streamline your recruiting process. Find out more about our specialised talent recruitment services and let us help you build a winning talent attraction strategy.

If you're still unsure of how you can improve your ability to attract talent, read and download our Employer Brand Research to be well-versed in discussing the latest workforce trends, regional statistics and labour expectations in today’s changing talent landscape.

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