If you conduct job interviews can you give me tips on interviewing people.

[ItchyScratch]

I am going to be responsible for taking on a new accountant at the accountancy practice I work at (I am a team leader not a manager but the manager is trusting me to do it)

I have narrowed down 6 interviewees from their CVs

I have interviewed people before but its always been with someone higher than me and it’s now been 2 years since I did them.

Please can you give me your best questions to ask at an interview. And maybe even which not to ask.
Just so I can get the best out of the time I have with each applicant so I can decide who should be offered the job.

Thank you!

I agree with pp. The only thing the weakness question tests is whether or not they prepped for the interview.

Instead I’d ask questions such as, “How would your current colleagues describe you if I asked them?” If a new graduate ask, “how would your closest friend describe you?”

@SinkGirl. Totally agree Re: asking the question about what your weaknesses are. It’s meant to be about self awareness but in reality badly rehearsed answers about turning a negative into a positive which no one believes for one moment.

Just remember that your job is to get the best out of them, not to try and trip them up. Agree with pp’s, keep questions open so it is conversational, let them do most of the talking, actively listen and don’t ask ‘what’s your biggest weakness’ 😆

Oh and also remember, it’s a two way decision, so try and make a good impression too. Don’t talk for ages but do try and give a nice impression of the role and company culture etc.

@teateaandmoretea
Those types of questions are prescisely why those with Aspergers Find interviews so tricky

First of all ask HR for a list of questions. Most companies have lists of questions for various jobs so you can be consistent in what you ask and cover all the areas you need to. They may also have a marking system so check for that as well.

Key for me is examples of what they have done that prove they can match the skills and experience required of the role. I could tell you this that and the other in my CV, but that's no guarantee it is the truth or that I am not bigging myself up.

Also don't forget the practicalities, ensure there is water for you and the candidates, you have paper to record you thoughts on each answer so you can prove, if ever challenged, why you chose the successful candidate. Maybe a note on the door so you are not disturbed etc.

God no don't ask them a load of "personality" type questions, or what their greatest weakness is, or what they would take with them in the event of a zombie apocalypse. Those sorts of questions always threw me when being interviewed, and I would say something totally nutty. You gage someone's personality by chatting to them, not by asking for an example of a time they were disappointed or if they think dogs have souls, or any one of the vague and random crap I have been asked in the past!
Just, pick the main things you need from the person spec and write some clear and simple questions asking them for a bit of detail of situations where they have used that particular skill.
Make sure the questions are unambigous and plainly set out what they are actually asking. SO many interviewers are rubbish at constructing clear questions.
And, please, please don't assume that someone who is about your age and wears clothes you quite like is automatically going to be a good fit. Be prepared to be open minded, hire based on on current and potential skill (the ability to learn new things is essential in every new job)and not because their face fits.

Modern interviews are supposed to be competency based. So, "give an example of". This is a technical role so cover all those bases.

I work for a small charity and I really like our interview methods.

All candidates are given a list of the questions and have 15 minutes to read them, make notes and prepare. They then have their questions and notes in front of them to refer to throughout.

It really helps those who are nervous and avoids us giving jobs to the biggest bullshitters! I've never come across this before but it's really successful.

We always interview with a panel of three and we score each answer. For some roles we also give them a scenario (e.g. a safeguarding concern) and they can also prepare a response during the 15 minutes.

Instead I’d ask questions such as, “How would your current colleagues describe you if I asked them?” If a new graduate ask, “how would your closest friend describe you?
Good Christ. See, if asked that I would be sorely tempted to reply "drunk".
Just stick to things about the job!

Try to also get across something of your workplace culture - interviews are 2 way - people want to know if they will fit too.

One job I had you were expected to go away on a one month training course 6 months into the job. Residential - 3 hours away from home - no one thought to mention it at the interview - they wasted 4 months on me before they tried to book me into their accommodation and let me know I'd "be away for the month", I had caring responsibilities.

If you are expected to cover for other's sickness or leave, if you are expected to work extra hours near the end of a contract, if you can be called on at short notice or have leave cancelled - let people know - before you employ them. Saves a lot of people's time.

I have always thought interviews are not the best way to find the right candidate, but anyway I would give the questions based around the job description beforehand - a day or 2 so the candidates have the opportunity to prepare and give you meaningful answers. If they’re not well prepared that gives you information about them too. And follow up their answers to get more details about it. Not just right, tick, next question. On the spot questions can cause people to miss out key information or examples and you can end up going for the most confident when really you want the one with substance.

We use a 3 person panel - 2 people ask the questions and the third observes and note takes only. All 3 will use a 1-5 matrix score for each question 1= no!!!!! and 5= outstanding. 3 = could do the job.

All questions are based on competency and values (the important ones for the job are worked out in advance), so may be along the lines of "Tell me of a time you engaged with stakeholders to overcome an obstacle to delivery".
What we would be scoring is did they collaborate, did they listen to the issue and all the people involved, did they consider different solutions and was the desired out come achieved, if not why and what did they learn from the experience.

Good interview technique will answer in the STAR model - Situation, Task, Action and Result. We expect internal candidates to all use this model, because we have all been trained to do it as part of our day jobs. External candidates can have a more freeform answer so long as they cover all the bases.

In the scoring we try to avoid giving value to "we" or "I" as women and some BAME candidates are more likely to say "we" when they mean "I" - We look for the specifics of what they have done & will drill down into each candidates involvement.

We also avoid job specific questions - we take the view that skills can be learnt. Soft skills an values are much harder to learn.

The person sifting the CVs is not the person who interviews to avoid bias based on any of the protected characteristics. The interviewer will get the wordy bits of the CV without any personal information & the covering letter is stripped from the information given to the interviewer.

IfNot

Instead I’d ask questions such as, “How would your current colleagues describe you if I asked them?” If a new graduate ask, “how would your closest friend describe you?

Good Christ. See, if asked that I would be sorely tempted to reply "drunk".
Just stick to things about the job!

I was interviewed recently for a senior management position & asked a version of this. I did professional coaching in advance & they brought it up. It's very standard.

Knowing how people reflect on themselves & can describe how others see them is a key part of the job!

I agree about the receptionist - or if there's someone from the office who interacts with the candidate before or after the interview. Especially useful when an otherwise great candidate has struggled with nerves.

Tell me of a time you engaged with stakeholders to overcome an obstacle to delivery".
I actually find this kind of language confusing. I KNOW it's standard office speak, but I would more likely to (tailored to what industry they currently work in) say something like " when you have run into a snag on a project, how have you communicated with the people involved in order to get it back on track."?
I hate words like engaged and stakeholders. They make my head fuzzy. Just be clear.
Also, you can't really know how other people would honestly describe you when you are not there, so it's a meaningless question!
I realise I am probably in the minority though and it's why I just can't handle corporate life!

I really like the idea of giving the candidates questions in advance! I've interviewed a lot in the last year and there were some clearly brilliant candidates who got fazed by odd wording or initially getting the wrong end of the stick, and it was a struggle to get what we needed out of them in time.
In contrast there were a couple guys, internal applicants, who had lovely answers with all the buzzwords, but about nothing. I really wanted to summarise feedback as "excellent attempt to polish a turd".

Agree that asking 'why you want this job' discriminates against non-neurotyoicals or anyone less familiar with white-collar UK recruitment, if you actually mean 'why should we give you this job'. I've had interviews where they've started with the latter which has worked well (for me).

@Teateaandmoretea - it's true that everyone has a prepared answer for the question about their greatest weakness, but those prepared answers are still revealing. No one will actually tell the truth but what they choose to say is quite a good indicator of who they are.

Thank you all some great tips for me there.

@IfNot when you said about asking if dogs have souls I laughed out loud so hard my tea came out of my nose !!! Haha thank you

Remember, it's a buyers market for most occupations today.

The candidates are also interviewing you, and they can be as selective as they like. Don't get in the trap of thinking that you have the upper hand and they should be grateful for the job. This isn't the case anymore. Don't ask stupid questions, none of this "if you were a bird what colour feathers would you have" or other rubbish.

@KickBishopBrennanUpTheArse I wish more places would do that. I get very nervous in interviews and if there is a slightly random question it just throws me. If I knew what the questions were and had time to quickly jot down my answers I would perform so much better.

Isn't the accountancy standard to hold a technical interview first and then invite a couple back for the do they fit type interview?

No one will actually tell the truth but what they choose to say is quite a good indicator of who they are.

But surely you are trying to guage if they can do the job not 'who they are'. I agree though with the pp who said interviews aren't really a good way of finding out if people will actually be good at the job anyway. If you want to find out who they are then an informal chat over a coffee seems more sensible than an interview to me.

KickBishopBrennanUpTheArse I wish more places would do that.

Me too. So much about most places interview process seems to be to catch you out, not to see if you can do the job, or be trained to do the job