How to Conduct a Job Interview
While there are many tips out there to help job applicants ace their dream jobs through a job interview, it’s never easy for human resources specialists and company executives to interview a potential employee. Interviewers need to have keen senses for detail to evaluate the value and importance of an applicant for their organization. If you’re interviewing a potential employee, here’s how you can get started.
Start and End With a Firm Handshake
All good business deals start and end with a friendly handshake. A job interview is a business deal, where both the company and the applicant should get mutual benefits from the employment contract. A firm handshake seals the deal, but it also welcomes your prospective employee into your organization. Remember that just because the applicant is not up to your company’s needs and requirements doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t shake his or her hand. Do not wait for the applicant to offer the handshake; to give the employee a good image of professionalism, you should always offer your hand first.
Be Friendly, But Command Respect
Remember that a job interview is not the right time or place to say that you’re the boss. The prospective employee is not a subordinate; he or she is applying for a position in your organization. It doesn’t mean, however, that you should not project the image that you earned your position in the company, and that you should be respected. Here are some ways that you can project the right image to a potential employee:
Dress properly. Even if your company is not very strict with its dress code, it’s still important for you to project a professional image even on casual Friday. The point is to look impressive and to present your company as a place where the applicant’s career can grow.
Be respectful. No matter what position the prospective employee is applying for, he or she deserves the kind of open, sincere respect your company can offer. Do not treat the prospective employee as a subordinate, but as a partner and co-equal for mutual success.
Disclose the necessary information. No employee or applicant wants to be left out on important information about the company, but there are some things that people not within the organization do not have to know. Exercise your own good judgment when talking about the details of your company.
Be free to answer questions. While it’s your job to ask questions during a job interview, you should be open to answer any questions the applicant may also have. Be very careful not to answer questions that are personal, or that aim to disclose details about your company’s business strategies and secrets.
Keep the Candidate Relaxed, But On Edge
The trick to getting to know more about an applicant’s prospected performance is to keep him or her comfortable, but at the same time ready to answer difficult questions. That way, you can gauge an applicant’s competitiveness and ability to cope with high-stress situations in your company. It takes a while before you can master this skill, but it’s very important for you to treat the interview as a very serious matter. Remember that by the time this person is hired, he or she will have to share the load of your company. More than that, he or she becomes your responsibility, because you brought him or her to the company in the first place.
Avoid Leading Questions
Some interviewers think that a job interview is a way to verify facts in the applicant’s resume. Job interviews are not yes-or-no question-and-answer portions, but a way to determine whether or not a prospective employee is useful for your organization. Keep the conversation fluid; the applicant wants to know more about your company just as you want to know about him or her.
The trick is not to ask leading questions during a job interview. The best job interviews proceed like casual conversations with a serious tone and a serious topic. Try to avoid the usual clichés like “Where did you last work for?” or “Where do you see yourself 10 or 20 years from now?” Instead, you can ask relevant questions like lessons he or she learned during his or her past job, or what is his or her idea of a sound business strategy.
Take Down Notes
The worst you could do as a job interviewer is to not take down relevant information about the job interview. Jot down as much information as you can about the prospective employee, as long as you keep it natural. Job interviewing requires multi-tasking skills.
There are always two parts to a job interview: the interviewee, and the interviewer. The interviewer is no less important in the process than the applicant. With these tips to help you conduct an effective job interview, you can be at the forefront of great changes and achievements in your company or organization.