How to Conduct a Great Interview

How to Conduct a Great Interview

Everyone knows you need to have good interviewing skills in order to land a job, but it’s also important for an employer to have good interviewing skills. After all, you don’t want to go through the hiring process only to discover that you’ve hired the wrong person. To make sure this doesn’t happen to you, follow these tips for conducting a good interview:

1. Know what you’re looking for: Before you even begin searching for potential employees, narrow down exactly what qualities you are looking for in an ideal candidate. Think about previous employees who have held that position; what knowledge, skills and qualities did they possess that made them successful or unsuccessful? Make a list of things the perfect candidate would possess and start searching from there.

2. Have an interview partner: You might have a different idea about what a certain position entails than other employees at your company. For that reason, it’s a great idea to collaborate with another one of your company’s employees in an interview—specifically someone who will be working with the candidate who is hired. That way, you won’t miss any important questions during the interview.

3. Start with safe and personal questions: It’s important to make the interviewee feel comfortable, especially if you are interviewing them in a two-on-one setting. Start by asking them to tell you a little bit about themselves, what their interests are, where they are from, etc. This helps to relax the atmosphere and allows you to experience the candidate’s personality.

4. Ask some open-ended questions: While some closed-ended questions are obvious (ie. How many years did you work at ________? Where did you last work?), it’s important to ask some open-ended questions as well. Some great examples are: What was your favourite/least favourite part of your previous job? Where do you see yourself in 5 years? What kind of work are you interested in that you haven’t been able to experience yet? Asking these kinds of questions will help you get to know more about a potential candidate’s work ethic and gauge how they will fit in at your company.

5. Take notes: It’s important to take notes during an interview, not only so you can remember what the interviewee’s answers were, but also so you can remember your thoughts. If you notice that the candidate seems uncomfortable or unprepared, make note of it. These notes could help you decide between two candidates during the final stages of the hiring process.

6. Allow the applicant to ask questions: Giving applicants the opportunity to ask you questions at the end of an interview can help you gauge their level of interest in the position. It also ensures that they fully understand what the position they are applying for entails.

Want to learn more about interviewing candidates? Contact ABL Employment. ABL Employment is an employment office in Burlington, Hamilton, Mississauga, North York, London, Woodstock and Milton. There’s even an ABL agency in BC! We specialize in finding employees for general labour jobs, including: packaging jobs, assembly jobs, automotive assembly jobs and industrial jobs. Visit us online at https://www.ablemployment.com/ to find out more information.

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