Interview dos and don’ts for employers

/0 Comments/in /by

Interviews…a crucial element in the recruitment process. If you don’t make a candidate feel at ease you may not get the best from them and miss an outstanding hire. If you don’t dig deep enough and you may find that the candidate is looking to use your role as a stepping stone to somewhere else.

We’ve lost count of the number of job interviews we’ve undertaken here at Elevate Recruitment. We’ve pulled together a list of our top dos and don’ts of the interview process for employers.

Dos: 

  1. Establish a rapport with the candidate. Make them feel at ease so they are comfortable as they can be during the interview process, you’ll be more likely to see the ‘real’ person to establish if they’re a good fit for your team.
  2. Be positive. Although it is important to be realistic when describing the nature of the role, make sure you’re ‘selling’ the company and promoting the positive things the business has achieved and the great things they can expect as part of the role – whether that be the amazing team they’ll be working with or perks or benefits offered by the company.
  3. Allow a realistic schedule. If you have a number of candidates you’re interviewing for the same role make sure you allow enough time for the interview as well as additional to cover any questions the candidate may have. Also, allow enough time so no one is waiting for another interview to wrap up – each candidate wants to feel special.  If you make them feel like just a number it won’t leave a good impression of your company.
  4. Use open-ended questions. How, what, when, why – for example – Tell me about a time when a project you were working on did not go to plan. What did you learn from this experience? Open-ended questions encourage the candidate to open up and talk, prompting them to go into more detail if necessary. The last part of this question we think is key – everyone makes mistakes, it’s how we learn. You want to know that the candidate has learned from their mistakes and what they do now to avoid making the same mistake over and over.
  5. Use criteria to compare candidates. Decide what the key competencies are prior to a series of interviews. Evaluate your interview notes and if necessary mark candidates on each competency, especially if your interviews are spread out over several days.
  6. Thank candidates for their time. Candidates often have to take time off to attend interviews, some travel long distances, and some put in hours preparing for the interview. Even if they are not successful in getting the role, if you show appreciation for their time and give constructive feedback (if asked for), this will leave them with a positive impression of your company.

Don’ts:

  1. Be unprepared – especially if you are running a series of interviews. To make it easier to compare candidates each candidate should be asked the same (or very similar) question that covers one of your key competencies. Top candidates will see if you’re unprepared and you’ll come across as unprofessional.
  2. Spend more time talking than listening. You are there to find out as much as you can about a candidate in a short space of time. A potential employee wants to leave the interview feeling like they’ve had a great opportunity to present themselves in the best way possible – not leave feeling like they couldn’t get a word in sideways.
  3. Don’t ask unprofessional questions – including about the potential employee’s race, religion, age, marital status and sexual orientation.
  4. Don’t speak negatively about the company or co-workers. You do not want to create doubt in the mind of a potential employee because of something negative said about the company or a co-worker at an interview. Remember top candidates will be in the running for more than one role – they are as much interviewing you as you are them.
  5. Don’t over-promise. Be honest and avoid making false promises on job details in regard to salary expectations, career prospects, employee benefits and other job details as this will leave you in a no-win situation.

We can help you pre-screening, providing you with a short list of candidates that we know can do the role – leaving you to decide which one is the best fit for your company. Not finding the right candidate costs time and money, our goal here at Elevate Recruitment is to make sure you get the right person for your team. We’re so confident in our ability to do this that we offer a candidate guarantee.*

*If your new staff member doesn’t work out for any reason during the agreed timeframe, we’ll find a replacement at no extra charge. Ts and Cs apply. Contact sean@elevaterecruit.com.au for more details.