Business Owner's Essentials - the Best Recruitment Interview

Recruiting staff is another essential element that you need for your business to grow. And a key part of the recruitment process is the interview. When you conduct an interview you are trying to establish a number of points:-

1. Will the candidate fit in your company?

This is often one of the most important issues. If you find a person with all the right skills but you know they won’t get on with anyone else in the company, this is going to cause a problem. When you find out that someone has left their last three positions due to disagreements with other staff you need to ask yourself whether it’s relevant that they appear to be the common factor.

Consider the attributes that are most common in your current staff and yourself. You are looking for similar people who can fit in well and get on with the job quickly with maximum cooperation from others.

2. Does the candidate have the required skills and experience to do the job?

If you have already had the CV or Résumé (and it’s not been too creative) then this should almost be taken as read at this stage. However, one in three people admit that they make false claims about qualifications, interests or previous experience when going for jobs. So you do need to be wary.

3. Does the candidate have the right attitude?

Attitude is often more important than skills and experience in most kinds of work. Is the candidate self-motivated or do they need to be told what to do? Do they always try to blame other people or take responsibility? Do they make excuses or find a way to achieve their aims?

4. Do the candidate’s answers make sense and are they consistent?

Take notes as you ask questions and don’t be afraid to quiz the candidate on inconsistencies (such as giving a different answer to a repeated or similar question). Do the answers match to the CV or Résumé?

5. Does the candidate have the right level of communication skills?

If you find you feel that the candidate seems to waffle on or answers a completely different question to the one you asked then there may be a communication issue between you. If you get frustrated with the way they communicate in an interview (when they should be on their best behaviour) imagine what it could be like working with them.

6. How does the candidate handle stress?

An interview can be a very stressful situation for both the candidate and the interviewer. You need to make the candidate feel at ease as much as possible but you also need a few tough questions to see how they react under a little extra stress. The real personality tends to come out in stressful situations and you need to know that you are happy with what that reveals.

Other essential tips for interviews:-

• Write out your structure and key questions beforehand

• Be consistent and ask the same questions of each candidate

• Prepare, and read CVs or Résumés in advance

• Take notes

• Focus on what concerns you and seek honest, clear answers

• Don’t be afraid to push for an answer and question inconsistencies with previous answers

• Use silence and pauses to get more information – most people will talk to fill the gaps.

• Avoid predictable questions that will elicit prepared answers (e.g. what are your strengths and weaknesses) and use variations such as “what do others say about you?”

• Leave time for them to ask questions of you

• Remember you need to sell your company to them too, so have your pitch prepared