Interviewing Techniques

Using the right interviewing techniques can be a great way to find the best employees. The job interview is an integral part of the hiring and selection process. Although it does not fully tell you the capability of the applicants, the interview can give you a brief background on their character and it could test a candidate’s cultural fit.

Here are some interviewing techniques that you could use to source out the employees that you need:

At the start of the interview, introduce yourself and explain the purpose of the interview. Let the applicants know that you will be jotting down notes, but anything they say will remain confidential. It’s important that you follow through on this promise because talking about the interview or the applicant to other people will put a shadow on your professionalism and work ethics.

Encourage them to speak openly and to be candid about their response. Since the aim is to obtain information about the applicants, avoid giving comments about their response and simply listen or ask follow up questions if their answer is vague. Talk in a calm and clear tone of voice. Do not tell them your views and reaction to their answers. Remember that this interview is about the applicant, not about you. You have to be encouraging and pleasant to talk to so as to put them at ease with you. This is especially important for applicants who are not used to expressing their views.

Maintain good posture and eye contact. Keep your facial expressions at bay even if you hear from them things that are negative or shocking on your part. It would not be good if you would appear to be judging a person’s answers. This will prompt the applicants to clam up and be careful with their answers, depriving you of the honest answers that you most need. Display warmth and interest to what they are saying instead of coldness, disapproval, or indifference.

Prepare a set of questions which would clearly identify if the applicant has the qualities that would fit your company and the job vacancy. Test the questionnaire on a friend or colleague to check if there are problems with the questions and to eliminate those that will not give you any meaningful data. Avoid leading questions that tell the applicant “this is what I want to hear”, or “this is how you should answer”.

Be open and listen to the answers, but when the applicant seems to be story-telling already, gently change the topic so that you can move on to the next questions. Sometimes, applicants talk at length about a certain topic. If you allow them to control the interview and talk about irrelevant matters, you will be spending more time than what is necessary. If this happens, shift the topic or make a safe comment and then ask next question. Do this without appearing rude.

At the end of the interview, thank them for their time and explain to them the next step. For example, you could tell them that they would know the result of the interview after a specific period of time.

Follow these interview techniques and you could be on your way to hiring individuals who will be assets of your company.