Interviews – Gaining Successful Outcomes

Interviews – Gaining Successful Outcomes

It is more important than ever to ensure that you select the right person for the job when there is a labour shortage. With a smaller pool to draw from, the temptation can be to ‘take what you can get’, but this can cost your business more in the long term and be detrimental for both parties.

Aim of Interviews

You will know that interviewing is about matching the right candidate with the job, so any interviewer wants to establish 3 key things:

  1. Have they got the skills, knowledge, and experience to perform the job?
  2. Are they enthusiastic and interested in the job and the company?
  3. Will they fit into the team, culture, and company?

Some Issues with Interviews

Various problems can occur when interviewing, as listed below. Which of these do you come across?

  • Because of inflation, people may be expecting greater pay than you can afford.
  • Mis-aligned expectations from the job not being what the candidate thought or the employer not happy with the candidate.
  • Lack of experience or confidence by the interviewer to ensure the best candidate is selected.
  • The interview process is too short to get a proper picture.
  • The pressure of making sure the person is the best fit for the job.
  • Pre-judging someone too early in an interview.
  • People not being truthful about their capabilities or ambitions.
  • Not providing the candidate the platform to sell themselves to the best of their ability.

Here are ideas that were shared on our recent Effective Interviewing workshop to overcome some of these.

Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail

It may seem obvious to say, but proper preparation can make a huge difference to the outcome.

  • Advertise more about what the Company has to offer rather than what the candidate needs to bring. You can align the advert to your company culture and purpose, in terms of why they should choose to work for you. Think carefully about the words you use.

Some years ago, a manufacturing company in the Midlands advertised for technicians. The advert covered the skills they were looking for. They only had one applicant reply, and he was totally unsuitable. They changed their advert headline to ‘Do You Want to Have Fun at Work? We guarantee if you get the job done, we will provide the fun.’ They had 200 applications!

  • Create a person specification in consultation with the team, which is aligned to your values.
  • Consider the criteria you will be matching against. What must this person have, what do they need to have?
  • Make yourself familiar with current employment laws about inclusivity and diversity.
  • Clearly brief the interviewing team so they know their roles and the structure of the interview.
  • Decide what psychometric assessments or other processes you will use, if any.
  • Agree a rating system to score answers which can ensure fairness and consistency.
  • Research the applicants by reading their CV and checking their social media. This can help identify suitable questions to get to know the person better.
  • Plan your questions carefully before the interview to ascertain the above. Consider questions which focus on the attributes and behaviours needed in the job.
  • Whilst you may want to ask all candidates the same questions, you need to build in some flexibility in response to where their answers lead.  

Process During the Interview

  • Interviews can be a nerve-racking experience. You can help candidates by making them feel at ease. A warm friendly welcome and easy questions at first can help them settle and give of their best. Leaving your ego behind, being empathic, and using a casual, approachable tone can also help.
  • You can provide some certainty and structure if you explain what will happen and what the expectations are for the interview, as well as any assessments or tests that will be used.  You may want to check whether the applicant has any need for adjustments due to a disability.
  • If you start by getting them to talk about themselves, you can find out about their personality.
  • The quality of the answer often depends on the quality of the question, which means using open questions, being creative and flexible, whilst avoiding leading questions or bias.
  • Really listen and use the 80-20 rule of them talking more than you. This can be difficult for some interviewers, especially if they are inexperienced or nervous. Remember you are not learning much if your lips are moving!
  • Linked to this is not being afraid of silence – let them know it is OK to have time to think.
  • Explore current work by asking for examples. Put the focus on what have they done rather than what would they do, as this leads to reality rather than theory.
  • Watch out for any warning signs that they are not being truthful, or danger signals of future problems. You can check your perceptions out by exploring deeper.
  • Find out what they already know or want to know about the company rather than bombard them with a lot of information about it.
  • Score, using your chosen method, and record your results. Consult with your interviewing team to get different perspectives and reduce bias.

Process after

  • Notify candidates of the result as soon as possible after the interview. It can help to set a timeframe for this.
  • Give constructive feedback where possible to successful and unsuccessful candidates.
  • If you want to improve your process, you can also ask for feedback from them.
  • Establish clear expectations of what the next steps will be for the successful person.

Summary of Best Practice

  • Research the topic and prepare well before doing the interview.
  • Leave your ego at the door.
  • Overcome the interviewees’ fears and put them at ease.
  • Explain the structure and expectations for the interview.
  • Gather information from them by asking quality questions.
  • Give them time to express themselves.
  • Listen.
  • Be flexible, patient, and empathic.
  • Be aware of and reduce prejudices or ‘sore thumbs’ by being open minded
  • Give constructive feedback.
  • Promote the company honestly and positively.

Interviews are not just about recruiting, but are important in appraisals, promotion and disciplinaries. If you would like to find out more about successful interviews, then please contact me.

When interviewing, the quality of your questions will help you get the answers you need to make the
right decision. Here are some possible questions to ask or adapt to your needs.


Also published on Medium.

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