It has been reported that on average, candidates have approximately seven seconds to make a good first impression in an interview.
The art of conducting a successful job interview requires hiring managers to gain a thorough understanding of the candidates and determine whether they will be suited for a role at the company.
In this article, we will discuss nine of the best interview tips and strategies to consider. Making use of these in your next interview process might just help you find quality talent.
interview techniques
1. Carefully Review the Candidates Resume
Before you start the job interview process, it is recommended that you go over the candidate’s resume and cover letter in detail. Brush up on their background so that this information is fresh in your mind.
This will help you find more pertinent talking points and cover relevant details in your interview questions. It will also stop you from asking time-wasting questions the candidate already answered in their resume.
2. Keep it Conversational
Job interviews shouldn’t feel confrontational or be nerve-wracking experiences. To get to know the applicants better, try to keep interviews conversational and friendly.
This will help the candidate feel more at ease, and it will reveal more information about them. You will walk away with a better idea of their personality and whether they’re the right fit for your company culture.
On the other hand, if the interviewing technique is too stiff and formal, you will probably receive scripted answers and make the candidate feel uncomfortable.
A tried and tested tactic here is to start the interview with an ice-breaker, for example, offer the candidate a glass of water or ask them about their passions outside of work. Doing so can set them at ease and help them to relax during the interview.
3. Formulate A Proper Interview Structure
Your interview structure should include all the standard, common interview questions. This will ensure that you cover all your bases. You should also include more unique, high-level questions. This will help to gain deeper insights about the interviewee.
This is good interview practice as it can open a window and encourage the candidate to go into depth about all the skills and experience they have gained. And how they can put it into practice for the role in question.
It is also important to ask all candidates a standard set of interview questions. This will put them all on a level playing field, and help you better gauge which candidate stands out and is the right fit.
4. Consider Candidate Demeanor
It isn’t only about the interview answers, it’s also about how the candidate approaches the interview. Are they properly prepared? Did they dress appropriately? What does their body language tell you? Did they arrive early for the interview? Do they hold eye contact?
The job interview should reveal a lot about the candidate’s personality through the way that they express themselves. Consider this – if the candidate was hired and the interview was a meeting with a client – would they make a good impression?
It is important to watch how they respond to questions. Do they seem confident in their answers and the skills they would bring to your organization?
Of course, this also comes down to the interviewer’s demeanor. As mentioned, the more comfortable you make the interview, the more likely you will be to get to know the person being interviewed.
5. Start With Light Interview Questions
To make candidates feel more comfortable, start with light and easy questions, and dig deeper as the interview progresses. Start with common questions, like asking about their background, and then ask more insightful questions as they settle into the interview process.
6. Guide the Conversation
One of the most important interview techniques is to pay attention to the candidate’s answers and build on them whenever something interesting comes up. Don’t just take down answers to your standard questions. Instead, unpack answers and let the information unfold and progress in other directions.
For example, if a candidate mentions a certain achievement or interesting fact, you might want to divert the job interview in this direction. Even if it’s “off script”, it’s important to still maintain a level of flexibility in the interview process.
7. Ask Open-Ended Questions
The aim of an interview is to extract good, solid information and get a good feel of the person you are interviewing. Ask open-ended questions to enable them to provide elaborate answers. This will give you an adequate understanding of their previous experience.
8. Take Notes
This is an obvious but often overlooked interview practice. It’s important that the hiring manager takes notes during the actual interview. Even if the answers seem memorable, chances are you are interviewing many other candidates. After a long day of interviews, it’s easy to forget about specific candidates and answers.
9. Follow Up After the Interview
It’s always important to follow up with candidates soon after the interviewing process. Even if the candidate will not get a job offer, take the time to reach out. This is standard practice and will help your organization to gain a more positive reputation.
Always thank candidates for their time, and give feedback as to what they did well in the interview, and constructive feedback in terms of what they should improve on for future interviews.
Summary
Using the interview techniques listed above can help you create a more effective interview process. Doing so will help you to understand job candidates better and get more meaningful information from each meeting you have.
Ultimately, this can help you gauge whether a potential candidate is suitable for a role at your company and a good fit for the company culture. Top talent is hard to come by and putting your best foot forward will help you win over the people you want for your team.
