When hiring new employees, interviewing potential candidates is a vital part of the hiring process. To find the best person for the job, the interviewer has to be effective. Many don’t think about the preparation of the interviewer and focus more on the person bring interviewed. Though the interviewer may be asking the same questions to all the candidates, they must be prepared for the varying answers. Here are some tips to become a better interviewer.
Be Prepared
Most people think that only the potential candidate must be prepared for the interview; however, it is equally essential for the interviewer to be prepared. Make sure you have effective questions and know about the interviewee’s employment history and qualifications beforehand. Also, have a copy of their resume, cover letter, and application for reference during the interview. Just as the candidate should know the company they are applying to before an interview, the interviewer should know something about the person being interviewed.
Choose Questions Wisely
The interview questions should be designed specifically for the position you are hiring for and should include questions about skills, work history, and job knowledge. There should also be situational questions and other behavioral questions to determine how a potential employee will handle themselves in common workplace scenarios.
Keep the Interview Structured
An informal and unstructured interview can easily stray off-topic and become a waste of time for both the interviewer and interviewee. Keep the structure and interview flow consistent with each candidate to make there is a good use of time and be fair to all candidates. A good structure to follow should be introductions, interviewer-prepared questions and answers, and opportunities for the candidate to ask questions they may have.
Actively Listen and Take Notes
Actively listening and taking notes will be crucial to the interview process. You, as an interviewer, will likely be interviewing several candidates. These notes and recall from actively listening will be vital to calling candidates for a second interview or making a final decision. If the interviewer is not the only person making the decision, these notes will be necessary for the other decision-maker(s) to read and assess.
Know Your Biases
Every person has subconscious biases. As an interviewer, you must identify what yours are, so you will not allow them to color your opinion of a potentially qualified candidate. Like a judge in a courtroom, an interviewer must not allow personal bias to interfere in making a decision that is potentially unfair to the candidate or prevent the right person from being hired. Don’t beat yourself up if you are carrying biases, everyone does, but identifying them and minimizing or destroying them is important before interviewing anyone. Once you are aware of them you will naturally steer away from them.
Practice Interviewing
Just like any other skill, practice makes perfect. To become a better interviewer, conduct mock interviews with co-workers. Doing these practice interviews will not only help you become a better interviewer, but it will allow you to add or improve questions to make the interview as effective as possible. During the practice, proceed through the interview as though your practice candidate is the actual interviewee. This practice will help you maintain focus so even if the interview does not go exactly as planned, you will be able to control the flow and keep things on track.
Conclusion
Being an excellent interviewer is as important as being the right candidate for the job in an interview. If the person conducting the interview is unprepared or doesn’t ask the right questions, the process will not identify the best person for the job. Being prepared, choosing questions wisely, keeping it structured, listening actively, knowing your biases, and practicing the interview will ensure that everything goes smoothly.
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