Do not approach the interview process casually. You must prepare just as the candidate must prepare. Here are a few suggestions:

STANDARD INTERVIEW

Companies often do not treat hiring as a high priority. Interviews always get bumped or delayed in favor of other meetings. It's a lot of work, but you can't treat it like an intrusion. Schedule iinterviews like a project. Dedicate a week or a day (as appropriate) to conducting the interviews, and don't let anything else get in the way. You'll be able to make direct comparisons of the candidates if you conduct the interviews in a reasonably compressed time frame.

Nail down the timetable, personnel and protocol involved in the interview process before you begin. Have a start date for the new employee in mind and work backwards.

Generate a clear, concise, concrete job description (not just one generated by your HR department). Include a list of the nuts-and-bolts items on which the company can be flexible and those that are set in stone. This includes things like office hours, working at home, benefits or perks, etc. Circulate this document to anyone who will be interviewing the candidate. Inconsistency creates an image of confusion and will turn off good candidates.

All of the people interviewing the candidate must be prepared to provide three specific, concrete reasons why this opportunity is superior to others. The more specific and quantifiable (percentages, rankings, dollars) the better. Comments about the "culture" are o.k. if accompanied by a specific example or anecdote. Mid- to upper-level management should be prepared to discuss specific financials which positively differentiate the company from its competitors, i.e., revenue growth, market share, budget allocations for products or internal improvements, book of business, pricing competitiveness, market conditions, and trends, etc. Again use numbers instead of concepts whenever possible.

Identify the 4-5 key traits you need in the candidate. Write them down. Come up with at least two questions you can ask to elicit examples of that trait in the candidate's background. For example "Tell me about a time when," or "Give me and example of." This is called behavior-based interviewing, and industrial psychologists have repeatedly demonstrated its effectiveness.

Ask "hypothetical" questions regarding real-life problems your company has experienced. You know what was done and the outcome-see how the candidate would solve that problem.

Avoid cliché questions about strengths and weaknesses and open ended questions like "Tell me about yourself." You'll get rehearsed answers. Good candidates also view these questions as a sign that the employer is unprepared for the interview.

Good candidates will ask about your personal short- and long-term goals and those of your department and company. Be ready to respond.

Be open about telling a candidate what your concerns about them might be. You may be laboring under a misconception, and this gives the candidate a chance to clear it up.

Don't talk about salary until you believe you might pursue the candidate. Ask what they're currently making rather than what they need. Let them volunteer the latter.

Write your thoughts down thoroughly, immediately after the interview. Require all who interview the candidate to do the same. It helps if you have a standardized form to organize your thoughts so you can more directly compare notes/traits/impressions on different candidates. We provide a suggested form on this Website. Please contact our office and we'll send you a copy, or just print the form from this site.





PESMC - Scottsdale
14350 North 87th Street, Suite 165, Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
Phone (480) 368-0880 Fax (480) 315-8601