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Top tips for interviewing

7 replies

Limewine · 12/08/2021 20:43

We run a small company and we're growing and need new team members. I would like top tips for interviewing, what you find useful and not so useful - we want to get the very best out of the people we talk to. So little is written on it and I am so very shiny and new at it - I need to get good at it and fast and on Teams it feels even harder to connect and relax.

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maxelly · 13/08/2021 16:05

It might be worth as a company investing in some recruitment training, you may be able to buy a package online for not much cost and could avoid expensive mistakes? In general though here are my top tips:

Check if candidates have any disabilities requiring adjustments beforehand, e.g. sight loss meaning they need any written resources in a specific format, hearing loss meaning they need certain audio adjustments. It's no good learning about this on the day of the interview!

Always interview in at least pairs, never alone, I know this can be hard with limited resources but (a) it's invaluable to have a second opinion, can really help limit the impact of any personal hang-ups, biases or prejudices and (b) in the worst case scenario of some kind of complaint, gives you back-up of what was said and done.

Prepare your questions in advance and stick to the same list for each candidate, you can ask tailored follow-ups but stick to the same basic structure so you can compare candidates afterwards.

Always ask open questions not closed ones, so e.g. 'tell us about your experience in sales to high end clients' not 'have you worked with high end clients?'.

Ask questions in a way which prompts candidates to give examples and evidence of what they've done, not to answer in generalities or hypotheticals. So 'tell me about a time when you've dealt with a difficult customer' not 'how would you deal with a difficult customer'. If they do answer in a vague/general way, say 'that's great, can you give me an example of when you put that into practice?'. This goes some way (although not fully) to identifying the bullshit merchants who can talk the talk but have never actually done anything!

Always do a welcome opening schpiel introducing yourself and your co-interviewer, explaining what will happen, who will talk etc. and then ask an easy warm up question like 'tell us why you've applied for the role' - gives candidates time to settle in and warm up before the harder questions later.

Keep your own body language and tone nice and open and warm, candidates should then mimic you - if you mumble, hunch, look at your keyboard rather than at them etc. candidates will often feel you are disinterested and respond accordingly.

Don't be afraid to use tests, written exercises, presentations (if relevant for the role) etc as well as interviews, interviewing well is a real skill and not one everyone has, using a broader range of techniques can get you the best candidates including those you might miss because they are a nervous or reticent interviewee. For tests I often use (edited/anonymised) examples of real life work they'd have to do, e.g. here's an email from a client, you've got 15 minutes to draft a response (obviously not anything that requires specialist knowledge of your company/working practices), here's some stats on an excel sheet, you have 30 mins to draft this into a presentation format, here's 10 tasks, you have 10 mins to prioritise them and tell me which you'd handle first and why, that kind of thing, it doesn't have to be super complicated....

Good luck!

Limewine · 13/08/2021 21:58

Thank you @maxelly for your response. We are doing most of your suggestions - although I interviewed solely via Zoom we recorded the interview so colleagues could review when it suited them. I reviewed my interview and made notes afterwards - that was hard, watching myself.
Despite going in with full intentions of being warm and relaxed, I was nervous and I know i struggled to connect - I think in person would have been easier - the candidate was lovely but I need to get better at interviewing, need to get better at it being more a conversation.

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Rainbowqueeen · 13/08/2021 22:05

Great ideas above. I’d also give marks out of 10 for each question to each candidate immediately after each interview so if there are a few that are really close you can use this to go back and rank them

Always ask if they have any questions for you

Limewine · 13/08/2021 23:48

@rainbowqueen - thank you - I do marks out of 5 - have a list of negative and positive indicators for each question - so I know what we are measuring them against. And I ask about any questions before and after the interview. The prep work has been done I think, I just need to start feeling more comfortable with the process - I'd feel so much better in person or sitting beside someone else while I practice and gain confidence but it just isn't practical atm.

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StartupRepair · 13/08/2021 23:52

Check all your assumptions. With your fellow interviewer both before and after the interview, say 'what assumptions are we making here?'.

Quitelikeacatslife · 13/08/2021 23:57

On the application, I really hated filling out the companies own one, use cv for basic info and focus on the supporting statement, ask them to include certain information, good first test.
I think doing a job related times task is a great idea. Get someone doing that role to try it out, make it achievable. This could help if you can't decide.
Definitely ask each candidate same questions and prepare a grid for notes for yourself.
If there is a couple of you interviewing split the questions.
I've had quite a few interviews in last few years, worst ones were just a chat, no structure. A good candidate will expect job related competency based questions but also allow one question re that persons cv. If something they have said puzzles you or interests you ask about it.

Limewine · 19/08/2021 13:59

Just finished my second ever interview - so much better practiced the flow of the questions, upped my energy levels for Zoom. And the candidate said he really enjoyed it! So pleased and he was brilliant - I just hope we can convince him to join us.

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