Conducting a Job Interview

Conducting a job interview can be a very stressful process. You are taking a group of applicants and narrowing it down to one person who you feel can do that job. You are basing that decision using their application, resume, and talking to the person for usually no more than 30 minutes. That's not a lot to determine if someone deserves the position. Below I will go through some personal experiences as well as some tips I picked up along the way.

Ironically enough this experience happened the last time I conducted a job interview, which was about six months ago. I was conducting the interview alone (big mistake on my part, as another set of eyes and ears may have helped). The person seemed outgoing, excited, and willing to do the job. I was eager to hire her and get her on my team. When I offered her the position she seemed very happy to receive it. Unfortunately starting from day one she turned out to be a different person. A month or so later she realized the job wasn't for her and returned to her previous position. I felt like I let my boss down and my office down in not hiring the right employee for our department. I'm not saying that the person I hired was a bad employee, she just may not have been a right fit. Maybe another set of eyes and a more detailed look at her application would have helped. In the end I wasted the time and money of our organization.

In another experience I was conducting interviews for a supervisory position. My boss and I were conducting the interviews together. This person came in and from the get go I could tell she wouldn't work out. She was easily distracted, talked about random topics, and didn't seem to have a straight, coherent thought. But her application showed she had the ability. In the end we decided not to choose her. Other applicants for that supervisory position either came in nervous, lacking confidence, or just didn't impress. It took me awhile to see those signs.

In another interview my boss and I conducted for a non-supervisory position, we bypassed someone because they were too qualified. The person would have been able to do the work easily, but was going to be off to bigger and better things in no time at all. Not worth spending the time and money in. Sometimes candidates are too good to be true!

This last experience was me being interviewed by three people. One of them happened to be heavily pregnant. She didn't seem that enthused and may not have been feeling well at the time. If you are sick or not feeling well, hold off on conducting the interview if you can. Your own mood could be messed up. You don't want to give the impression that you don't like the person. They may assume they didn't get the job and look elsewhere.

Interviewing general staff members is what the majority of your interviews will consist of. The tips below should help detail on what you should do to prepare for those interviews.

• Throughly review the duties of the position, including the pay, benefits, and anything else the applicant may ask you. You are on the inside and should know the basic items of the job you are conducting interviews for. If the applicant sees you don't care enough to know about the position and the benefits offered, they may not even want the position.
• Review the person's application and resume fully. Same as above, if you don't show great care in what the person previously did before this interview, they may feel you won't care enough about them if they were to get the job. You will also want to know about any critical experience that may apply to the position itself, and expand upon that while talking to them during the interviews.
• Plan out your questions ahead of time. Don't go in unprepared. Ask questions relevant to the work they will be doing. You should even ask some of your own staff if they have any suggestions for potential questions to ask. Also ensure you ask questions regarding how they get along with their co-workers and supervisors. Most jobs require human interaction, and you want to ensure they can handle that.
• Ask about previous terminations. But you will rarely have to end up asking about it at all. Applicants typically are willing to share details on why they were dismissed from a job. They want to explain their side of the story. You will want these details to see if there will be similar issues in the position you are interviewing for.
• Find at least one other person to conduct the interviews with. Having someone else with you to conduct the interview will help you in a couple of different ways. First, if you ask questions back and forth, you can study and listen to the persons responses more effectively. Second, once the interview is concluded, you can ask the other person what they thought of the applicant and get their opinion. Although...
• Don't overload the applicant with multiple people conducting the interview. In one interview I was on I had seven people asking me questions. That is just way too many people. You could be making the applicant more nervous than they already are. Plus you will have to contend with multiple opinions of the applicant. If they are all conflicting that could be trouble.
• Don't make them wait. Even if they are early, don't make them stew around for 30 minutes. That makes the applicant nervous. If you know you are conducting an interview, get it started. You will make you decision that much faster.
• Put all of the focus on them. Shut your phone off, close your e-mail, etc. Have your computer ready just in case you have to look up something relevant to the interview. But otherwise keep the focus on them. This goes with any problems going on in the office at that time. Leave them at the door. The interview is about the job. A bad mood shouldn't interfere with that.
• Don't read too much into the nervousness. Everyone is nervous when they go on a job interview - it happens to the best of us. Look past that to see how the person responds to the questions. Most people tend to calm down as the interview progresses. So you may want to save your deeper questions until the end. You can help them relax as well by having some small talk prior to the interview taking place.
• Don't act bored! This is one mistake I made during an interview. I placed my hand on my face to prop it up. I looked bored and I am sure it didn't come across very well. Don't act uninterested or bored in what they have to say. On the flip-side though...
• Don't let your emotions speak for you. Some applicants will try to use sympathy to earn a position. They may talk about family problems, financial problems, etc. Don't act too sad or too happy to whatever they have to say. Try to maintain a positive, yet neutral, attitude. You don't want to promise them something you can't provide. That could get your organization in some hot water.
• Show the person around. When the interview is concluded, it doesn't hurt to show the person around the office and briefly go over what they will be doing. It will give them some insight into the job and give them a chance to turn it down if they see how the operation works. Plus you can see their reactions as you explain the duties, thus giving you more insight into the applicant.
• Give them a chance to ask any questions they want. Pay, benefits, etc. are fair questions to ask in my opinion. We aren't working for fun, we are working for the pay. You work for money and benefits, so it's only fair that they know the information you readily have available to you.
• Don't judge a book by it's cover. If someone is dressed nice and gives you all the right answers, don't assume they are perfect. Try to dig deeper. If you see a minor flaw with one of their answers - explore it. The same goes for those who may not be perfectly dressed. Don't assume that they won't be suitable for the position just because they got dressed up.
• Treat them with respect. You may think you can pick and choose who you want due to the poor economy and job market. For now, yes, that is very true. However eventually the economy will get better. Then you will have applicants being in control in what job they decide to go with. If you treat someone with respect immediately, they could stay with your company even if you don't offer the most money.
• Give them an opportunity to say what they want. Typically at the end I ask them why they feel they deserve the position. I let them speak their mind. This is where I get many honest answers.

The tips above should apply to interviewing supervisors, but here are a few more that should be considered when interviewing for a supervisory position:

• Those conducting interviews with you should be supervisors or leaders themselves. You want other supervisors there to see if they have the same qualities necessary to be a supervisor in your organization.
• In this case how the person reacts and acts is very relevant. If you have a shy, introverted person they won't be able to lead effectively. If you have someone who is more interested in telling people what to do, that won't be good either. Watch for the right balance in that personality.
• When asking questions, focus more on what they would do as a supervisor. How they would handle a problem employee, their decision process, etc. The work can easily be taught, but being a good supervisor can not. You should also have scenario based questions to learn how they would respond as a supervisor.
• Find out any bad traits the applicant may have. Everyone has poor traits, it's human nature. You just have to decide which ones won't be that detrimental in your organization. Line staff tend to watch what their supervisor does like a hawk. If they see them do something bad, they will assume it's ok and repeat it. Figuring out any bad trait ahead of time could save you a headache in the future.
• Advise them if they will be a working supervisor. A working supervisor is someone who may have to do the job of those below them. You don't want someone who wouldn't be willing to do the job of their subordinates. For them to effectively supervise they need to learn and know the job themselves.

The hardest part of any job interview is when you call them up and tell them they didn't receive the job. I know not all places do this. Some employers only call the applicant if they are to be offered the position. Everyone deserves to know the results of their job interview. The tough decision is telling them why they didn't get the job. Don't tell them. Offer it to them. Some people like hearing it, some don't, and some may already know why. Some may use your words to improve upon what they did wrong, and come back stronger the second time. They may also respect you more by calling them and letting them know directly why they didn't receive the position.