August

If you missed last month’s solution regarding hiring, check it out before you read this month’s.

Many supervisors dislike interviewing job candidates. It’s time consuming and sometimes exhausting. However, it’s thought provoking, and, if you’re a people person, it can be fun.

1. Prepare the interview format/questions and a ranking matrix. Ask questions that focus on the candidate’s skills, experience, work ethic, and understanding of your business/organization and its culture. Regardless of the job you are hiring for, probe the candidate’s ability to communicate, take responsibility and initiative, be creative, and problem solve. Keep your ranking scale simple. For example, list categories such as skills, experience, knowledge of our organization on one axis, and the names of candidates on the other axis. Use a scoring range of low1 to high 5.
   
2. Set a realistic amount of time for each interview and schedule multiple interviews in the same time frame if at all possible so that you can more easily compare candidates.
   
3. Set a professional tone for the interview and keep it on track. It’s fine to be relaxed and casual, but an interview is not a social event.
   
4. Use the same interview questions and tasks with all candidates, including internal ones.
   
5. Give the candidate a valid and specific description of your business/organization’s mission, values, and goals. Elaborate on the job description the candidate has seen.
   
6. Inform the candidate of where you are in the hiring process, including when and how s/he can expect to hear from you. If the candidate has not already given you references, ask for them.
   
7. Write notes on candidates’ answers and comments during or immediately after the interview, and complete a ranking matrix. Be as objective as possible.
   
8. If other co-workers were involved in the interview, compare your notes and rankings and do a composite ranking.
   
9. List your candidates in rank order