What are some of the best practices for conducting a fair and effective job interview?

Here are some best practices for conducting a fair and effective job interview: 1. Prepare a structured and consistent interview process 2. Avoid asking questions that could be discriminatory 3. Give each candidate an equal opportunity to answer 4. Avoid making assumptions or judgments 5. Listen actively to the candidate's responses. 6. Provide a clear job description and expectations for the position 7. Use behavioral interview questions 8. Take notes during the interview 9. Provide an opportunity for the candidate to ask questions. 10. Finally, treat all candidates with respect and professionalism.

I am a huge fan of sending an email to qualified candidates, letting them know: 1-number of interview stages 2-focus of each interview (Ex: meet and greet, skill evaluation including star method) 3-level of and/or person conducting 4-length of time allotted per interview and time in between each Then re-iterating between each stage in the form of an interview, asking if they have questions, comments or concerns. It’s easier to find your A players when you’re fully transparent!

Establishing clear criteria is a pivotal step in conducting fair and effective job interviews. Begin by defining the specific job requirements, core competencies, behavioral indicators, and cultural fit needed for the role. Prioritize these qualifications, ranking them based on their importance. This structured approach ensures consistency throughout the evaluation process and facilitates the identification of the most suitable candidate. While adhering to the criteria, it's also essential to remain open to unexpected strengths that may not align precisely with the predefined standards. By incorporating this practice, organizations can enhance fairness, maintain consistency, and ultimately make well-informed hiring decisions.

This is the time when a recruiter begins to act as the Talent Advisor to hiring managers. Challenge the norms, ask the probing questions about wants versus needs and help to uncover the unconscious bias.

How about, at the very least, a form email stating that the employer will not pursuing your candidacy. (I understand that for liability-sake, you don't mention reasons why not.) It's incredibly rude to have someone complete what is often a very extensive application and not show those minimal manners. Particularly if the company makes much of how much they value all those who've applied on a website. It's actively, aggressively rude.

Binary ("Yes" or "No") questions have limited usefulness. You'll learn more about a candidate if you ask, "Tell me about a time you successfully pitched a product to a client" than you will if you ask, "Do you have experience with pitch presentations?".

Preparing interview questions in advance is crucial for a successful job interview. It allows for thoughtful and relevant inquiries tailored to the position, ensuring a comprehensive assessment of candidates. By preparing questions beforehand, interviewers can focus on evaluating responses, actively listening, and engaging in meaningful discussions with candidates, ultimately leading to more effective hiring decisions.

Working with your talent team to learn how to ask, listen and follow up in an interview is key. Remember that one of the main purposes of an interview is to provide a candidate with the opportunity to show you who they are and how they work. It's not a personality contest. Showing interest with follow up questions opens the candidate up and they feel more comfortable.

The STAR interview method is a technique I use to prepare behavioral and situational interview questions. I like to collaborate with the interview panel on the questions to help each other focus on the talent needs of the role, the skills the candidate brings, and how they align with the company culture and values. An example question is, "Have you ever had to make an unpopular decision? And how did you handle it?"

I find that in preparing the questions, you should be able to clearly justify WHY you are asking that question. You may even wish to explain this prior to asking it during the interview. Avoid questions that are overly complicated, or combine multiple questions into one. Finally, prepare some possible probing questions, this gives interviewers additional questions to help understand the suitability of the candidate in front of them. Without this, you risk the interviewer going off on a tangent and moving away from the core purpose of the question at hand!

I like to wrap up the interview process by asking the candidates if there were any interview questions they were hoping I'd ask, but didn't. This gives them a chance to highlight some skills and success stories not captured in the interview which might wind up being differentiating factors in the decision-making process. It also ends the interview on a positive note for the candidate enhancing their candidate experience as well as your employment brand. You must leave enough time in your interview to provide the opportunity for each candidate to answer this question in order to keep your process fair and consistent.

New to conducting interviews? Here's a quick & simple guide: Before - Review resume for strengths & weaknesses - Prioritise interviews of those candidate with most +ves - Craft around 6 questions based on resume content. Focus on conversation skills, quick thinking & attention to detail During: - Take notes - Interview length 30 mins: 15 mins for the interview, 5 mins to discuss job role, 5 mins to understand motivations & salary expectations & 5 mins for Q&A - Maintain a conversational tone. Avoid dominance - Observe body language for quick thinking & confidence - Discuss salary & joining date personally - If interested, assign a case-based task Post: - Clearly communicate next steps - If all good, don't wait, roll out the offer 👍

We’re forgetting the most important part of conducting the interview: real-time documentation. This is where you need to have some technological support, and I’m not talking about a spreadsheet. Every interviewer should be given access to a platform that guides them through the conversation, but doesn’t distract them. The criteria you’ve set should be defined as answers to each interview question so that as the candidate answers, the interviewer can just check things off as they hear them, or leave them blank if they don’t. Finally, the interviewer can quickly score each question and move on. At the end of the interview process, you now have an apples-to-apples comparison organized in a clean way to make a data-driven hire.

Be aware of local law when taking interview notes. You should not include, or consider as part of your decision-making, any information that could be subject to bias, such as child-bearing status, disability status, religion, etc. You may also not be allowed to ask, retain information, about past salary in some jurisdictions.

Conducting effective interviews requires following best practices to ensure fairness, gather relevant information, and make informed decisions. First, establish clear criteria and job requirements to evaluate candidates consistently. Prepare thoughtful and targeted questions that assess qualifications, skills, and cultural fit. Create a welcoming environment to put candidates at ease and encourage open communication. Practice active listening, taking comprehensive notes, and avoiding biases. Use behavioral interviewing techniques to gauge past performance and behavior. Maintain professionalism, provide clear communication about the next steps, and offer feedback when possible.

To avoid unconscious bias, it is a best practice to form a small team for every interview. At least one person should be present at all interviews to ensure consistency. All interviewers should share notes for each applicant shortly after the session for the recruiting manager to review and make a decision.

This is one of the most common areas that bias can be found. I've seen great results with structuring the interview process using a set number of one-on-one interviews/designated topics, then holding a debrief session once all interviews are completed. All feedback is held until that session to avoid any type of bias or influence occurring before an interview. The debrief provides an opportunity to discuss the candidate's responses from different perspectives, which can be helpful for uncovering and addressing bias. Most importantly, it is a method that provides consistency when evaluating qualifications against the criteria of the position.

I recommend against giving specific feedback when declining a candidate, for liability reasons. If you choose to give feedback, keep it general and polite, such as, "We appreciate your interest, however, we have decided to move forward with other candidates."

It is important to make sure the outcome of the interview is communicated in a timely manner. Keeping candidates waiting is a good way to lose them, they have put the time in to attend an interview and deserve the same time put into them to let them know. I'd also add, if there is any reason why a decision is still being made (e.g. budget sign-off, senior stakeholder sign off etc), this needs to be communicated to the candidate too.

Be curious about what is not in a candidate’s resume. A question you can ask is, what would you like me to know about you that you have not captured in your resume?

Wouldn't be ideal if interviews addressed the business challenge that the Hiring Panel wanted to solve? Here's where a 'real' conversation can occur. Here's where a candidate can provide details on how they've solved this very problem (or a similar problem) with relevant examples. Together they can discuss the skills needed, the results delivered in order to find alignment - or not. This is a far more fair and effective way to interview. The Hiring Manager has a business problem to solve. The candidate has a potential solution for their problem. Does it align? As part of the conversation(s), you can also assess how the candidate fits into the team dynamic. And vice versa. It's a simple shift in thinking that can create a better outcome.

Remember that candidates are assessing your organization as well. Ensure clear communication about the interview process, promptly provide feedback, and treat all candidates respectfully. A positive candidate experience, regardless of the outcome, promotes your employer brand.