A DIFFERENT WAY TO INTERVIEW CANDIDATES

There are many internet sites that will provide you with 6, 10, or 14 of the best questions to ask a candidate. Instant interview guides. That’s one way of trying to assess a person’s qualifications but there is also another way. 

After you have sorted the 3 or 4 people you are interested in meeting from the tens or hundreds of possible prospects you need to list the top three or four activities you want this person to excel at doing.

Then you highlight those areas on the resume that contain those specific activities. Magic markers are great for this. 

Next you frame a series of questions around those areas with regards to that specific person. The questions depend on the job you are interviewing for and some examples are: What part of this activity did you find most challenging? Where there any tools you used to help you? How was your productivity measured and evaluated in this area? 

 After the normal back and forth keep in mind that you are trying to determine not who has the best interview technique but who will do the best job for the role you are looking to fill. And how good a fit they are with your group.  

The next thing you want to do is to present your company as a great place to work and grow their skills. It could be that you are a fast paced department with lots of interaction with other groups within and outside the company. How the field is growing which is why the company is expanding. Emphasize the stress on continuing education and how the company encourages this. Put forth the social aspect of bowling nights, baseball or hockey games, picnics and other ways the company increases group spirit. And add a few reasons why you enjoy working for the company. 

 The candidate should feel great after leaving the meeting with you. Perhaps they may be meeting with other companies, but they will have been so impressed with your thorough interview style and enthusiasm for your company that even if they have competitive offers they will choose yours if you decide to offer them the job. 

Keep track of your hires and try to find out what it was in the interview of your best and worst ones, so you can up your percentage of bringing on board more and more great employees.

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Herbert Hess is the founder of Hess Associates, a recruitment firm involved in placing contract and permanent staff in the IT, Medical Device, and Biotechnology sectors.