Interview Tips
Hiring an addition to your staff is an investment and you want to make
the right choice. While Aureus Group will identify and recruit the highest
quality candidates for your position, the process culminates with the
candidate’s interview with you.
As important as it is for the candidate to prepare for an interview, it is
just as critical for you, the hiring official, to also have a plan.
This will ensure you are able to thoroughly evaluate the candidate and make
the very best hiring decision for your organization.
Interview Prep:
- Review the position's skill requirements, responsibilities, and expectations
- Success factors - what does it take to be a top
performer in this position?
- Prepare interview questions in advance. Don’t wait to
decide on your questions during the interview. Preparing
them ahead of time will ensure that you hit on all of the
important points and enable you to gather all of the
information you need about the candidate’s skills,
abilities, and the ability to work within your company’s
culture/environment.
Click here for sample questions
Click here for Power Hiring Tools, Tips, & Techniques
Pre-Interview:
- Make the candidate feel comfortable. Ensure the candidate is
greeted in a friendly and professional manner, is made to feel
welcome, and is personally escorted to the interview location.
- Don't judge on first impressions. Sometimes candidates that
don’t make the greatest first impression end up being the most
outstanding employees. Allow candidates to fully present
themselves before making a judgment one way or the other.
During the Interview:
- Talk with the candidate about the position. Provide a brief
summary, including expectations of the position, general
responsibilities, who the employee would report to, and any
major challenges of the position. The candidate will then be
able to offer relevant examples and responses during the
interview.
- Be flexible: Although you have your questions planned in
advance, don’t be afraid to let the conversation steer the
interview. Building questions from the candidate’s responses
will also help keep the candidate at ease.
- Listen more than you speak. In general, try to spend 80 percent
of the time during the interview listening while taking notes
and 20 percent talking. Otherwise, you will not be able to
obtain all of the necessary information you need from the
candidate.
- Open it up to questions. A candidate truly interested in the
position will likely have some questions for you. This is also
the time when you may be able to uncover the motivating factors
behind the candidate applying for the position. If you aren’t
able to answer a question, tell the candidate you will find out
and follow up.
- Stay within legal guidelines. There are certain questions that
are able to be asked during an interview and others that are
illegal. Understanding legal hiring guidelines before entering
into an interview with a candidate is critical. You may only ask
questions that relate to the job itself. You must refrain from
asking any questions that may have the potential to elicit bias.
- Promote your organization. This is an area that many employers
overlook during the interview but it may just make the
difference between hiring a talented candidate and losing the
individual to another company. Remember that you are competing
with other organizations for the very best talent. Just as
candidates are selling themselves to you, it’s important that
you sell your company to them. Talk about your company’s best
attributes, what separates your organization from the rest, and
why the candidate should want to work for you.
After the Interview:
- Be clear about the next step. Don’t leave the candidate
hanging. Be honest about what the candidate can expect from you.
If you promise to follow up, make sure that you do. Let the
candidate know a timeframe for your final hiring decision.
- Evaluate. If the candidate interviewed with several people from
your company, compare notes. Be ready to provide examples from
your interview.