by: Yin Lo | Client Relationship Manager
Once you’ve phone-screened and qualified a candidate, the next step would be to invite the candidate in for a more formal face-to-face interview. Interviewing styles and techniques will differ depending on the employer and the position requirements.
Many companies follow a standardized interview sheet with questions such as “What were your previous responsibilities and duties? or “What do you consider are your strengths and weaknesses?” This format may be helpful when determining skill set; however, it can be a bit deceiving because candidates expect the standardized questions and prepare standardized answers. It also lacks real-life situations that produce action-reaction results. Below are some tips on how to construct a more effective interview:
Tip #1: Be Flexible
As the Interviewer, you will have to be flexible with the type of questions you ask. The more probing and questioning you do, the more information you’re bound to find out. There’s nothing wrong with using an interview sheet as a guide but make sure you tailor your interview questions from there depending on a candidate’s answer. This will help you focus on some main questions but allow enough leeway to dig deeper!
Tip #2: Use Situational Interviewing
Situational interviewing is another popular interview method. These types of questions may include “Describe a time when…” or “How did you handle…”. These questions help probe into an individual’s thought-process or more directly, how they may handle a certain situation. It’s effective because you can easily determine whether an individual possesses real-life experiences and how they approached and resolved the situation.
Tip #3: Use Behavioral Interviewing
Recently some companies have started to utilize behavioral interviewing. This form of interviewing requires candidates to think fast and apply their knowledge, skills, and personality to their responses. Behavioral interviewing strays away from typical questions and actually puts candidates in real-life situations. This differs from situational interviewing because you are not asking candidates to describe a situation but instead put them in the situation. For example, you may have a candidate perform a function that may be required on-the-job (i.e. placing a call t to a client), or you may test their personality by putting them in a stressful situation and observing their actions. Though this method can be very effective, you should be careful to choose appropriate behavioral interviewing that applies to their position. The last thing you want to do is overwhelm or scare away a strong candidate! This is a newer form of interviewing and it allows individuals to react instead of recite.
Each position within a company will require a different set of skills, personality, and ability. By catering your interview to fit the job duties and functions, it will help you better select the top candidates amongst your pool of viable candidates. I recommend utilizing a little bit of each method!
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