How to prepare for interviews… as an employer

While the focus is often on how candidates should prepare for interviews, it’s just as important for employers to get it right too in order to secure the best talent for their business. Our latest blog explains how you can do this.

Wimbledon is being served up to us over the next fortnight. The preparation that the competitors subject themselves to as elite athletes is an example to all.

“Fail to prepare. Prepare to fail.” as the saying goes. In the business world, job interviews are a case in point – for you the employer, as well as candidates.

While it may be unsuccessful candidates with a feeling of failure after an interview, the jeopardy can be just as real for you: missing out on your first choices because you didn’t make a good enough impression; choosing poorly because you did not probe sufficiently.

Where should I focus my preparation?

The recruitment process is far more than just the interview, of course. But for the purpose of this blog, we will assume that you’ve already nailed the job description, person specification and advertising, and have a good list of candidates.

We’ll also assume that you have good follow-up after the interview, and keep your preferred candidate engaged up to, and during, their induction.

Pre-screening telephone interviews

Once you have your job applications in and you have screened the CVs, you may have a shortlist in mind, or at least a longlist of candidates. Keep an open mind, avoiding pre-conceived ideas or stereotypes.

Doing your main interviews well will take time, so with the concept of “less haste, more speed”, slowing down and doing further pre-screening should lead to a more efficient process overall.

A basic telephone interview can serve to verify their qualifications for the role, act as a soft introduction, and collect information such as where they heard of the position. This will then confirm or revise your short list, making the full interview process cleaner for everyone.

Interview setting

Make intentional choices about the setting of your interview: Its location, who will be present, how long it will be, will it include any testing/assignments?

You won’t want to overwhelm candidates with people sitting opposite them, but the presence of another person/people on your side may have a number of advantages – signposting your company culture, an extra opportunity for rapport, another pair of ears and input on your decision-making.

On location, comfort, distraction, accessibility will all be considerations (rules about reasonable accommodation apply at the job interview stage).

Make sure you allocate appropriate time in your diary. The interview should be neither too long nor too short – both would be counter-productive. And just as their being late would count against them, so would poor time-keeping on your part reflect badly on your company.

Interview questions

The quality of your questions are fundamental to a successful interview. It may sound basic, but ensure you know what you are looking for in your ideal candidate.

Prepare a round of questions that you can use for every applicant to keep things fair; and avoid anything that touches on protected grounds under equality law, even if asked innocently.

Open-ended questions will encourage more free-flowing conversation, rather than a series of stilted yes’s and no’s. One structure for such questions is known as the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result). For example. “Tell us about a time when you had to overcome adversity at work and how did it help you professionally develop?”

Your questions should probe widely, not just focusing on their capability to perform the tasks required. Also consider their cultural fit, softer skills and how they envisage their development.

Your decision

It goes without saying that to help you with your decision-making you will need to listen attentively throughout the interview. Contemporaneous notetaking, or notes made immediately afterwards will help your accuracy too, and serve as evidence should something go awry.

You may have a scoring matrix (aligned with your questions) to help you assess fairly. It’s okay to use your instinct too. But be aware of the dangers of biases, especially unconscious ones.

Help from The HR Dept

From recruitment to retirement (and any other end to the employment relationship), we are here to help you prevent people problems. If you would like help with a specific job interview project or a general review of your current processes, please contact us. Call us on 0117 970 2955 or visit our website www.hrdept.co.uk