Finding and hiring the top talent is no longer as easy as it once used to be – ask any headhunter (we don’t mean the tribal version) or recruiter and they would tell you instantly that it is a candidate-driven market. Knowing the latest interview techniques can help candidates to crack interview smartly.
And let’s face it, choosing the right candidate is not easy; it never was but has now been compounded by the fact that you would have to deal with recruitment marketing where the top talent in the market is often picked up by recruitment vendors.
Here are a few interview techniques which should help you get the right person for the job.
Table of Contents
- Prepare to put the candidates at ease
- Ask them about themselves
- Ask them about why they want to work for your company
- Ask them to tell you more about certain aspects of their resume
- Find out about why they are out looking for a job
- Ask the candidate as to why he should be hired
- Ask the candidate about his future prospects
- Conflict
- Dream Job
- Team/ co-workers
- Listen
- Stress
- Ask them about their expectation regarding their remuneration
- Ask the candidate if they have any questions
- The next step
1. Prepare to put the candidates at ease
When you head into an interview, you may want to avoid the usual behavior questions that most interviews are rife with. The first thing that you need to do is to attempt to put the candidate at ease; this is easier said than done given that the prospective candidate is already sweating bullets.
You may want to start the session with a few icebreaker questions that should enable you to help the candidate to relax. You can ask the candidate as to what they do in their spare time, about their current interests and so on.
You can even ask them what they consider to be the most important when it comes to their career? And of course, you can get them to talk about the job search that resulted in this interview.
The point of all these interview techniques is to help put the candidate at ease so that he is more focused on the interview and which in turn, should enable you to determine if he is a good fit for your company or not.
You can also send them an email prior to the interview, letting them know that the questions would be focused on so that they can be better prepared for the same.
2. Ask them about themselves
This question is common enough and often tells you more about the candidate than any other question that you may have queued up.
For starters, if the candidate stumbles over this question, then it usually tells you that he is not that confident about himself or his abilities to perform in your company.
If on the other hand, he waxes on over his achievements or what he can accomplish, then that can tell you that he does come with an over-inflated opinion of himself and therefore, an ego to deal with as well.
Moreover, if the candidate takes a lot of time to talk about his interests, then that should tell you that he is not that well prepared for the interview at hand.
3. Ask them about why they want to work for your company
The one question technique that you may want to ask the candidate is as to why they would want to work for your company.
This question enables you to determine as to why the candidate wants to work for your company and more importantly, as to why he wants to work for the same.
The above question should allow you to glean important information as to what the candidate thinks about your company, what he had heard so far, etc.
4. Ask them to tell you more about certain aspects of their resume
You can ask the candidate about their resume and to tell you more about the same.
Most candidates are often quite proud of their resume, irrespective of whether it is long or short.
And when they wax on length about certain aspects of their resume, it should allow you to gauge about their inherent talents, and what value they bring to the table.
5. Find out about why they are out looking for a job
This questioning technique may seem innocuous enough but it is anything but that.
For starters, it would enable you to determine as to why the candidate is out looking for a job and why he remains jobless at the moment.
It should also enable you to find out if the candidate has a high turnover rate in which case, he may not stick around for more than a few months.
6. Ask the candidate as to why he should be hired
This direct and pointed question should get the candidate to tell you what he thinks he brings to the table.
In other words, the candidate would list all the skills that he possesses and would be of value to the company. At the least, this question should allow you to guess how the candidate views himself and his skill set.
7. Ask the candidate as to why he should be hired
One good technique that you can adopt in an interview is to ask them about their future prospects and where they see themselves in 5 years.
Granted that this is a bit heavy-handed, but this question should allow you to find out if the candidate has indeed prepped for the interview and had researched the company and its top management as well.
Bottom line, this question should enable you to determine if the candidate has indeed set some realistic goals as far as his career is concerned.
Read Also: How To Give Positive Feedback To Employees
8. Conflict
You may want to ask the candidate as to whether he had faced any conflict in an office setting and how he managed to resolve the same.
Conflict resolution is an important aspect of any company and naturally, this query should enable you to determine if the candidate possesses the right personality and character to fit in your company.
9. Dream Job
Asking this question too is a bit heavy handed but this question like the one regarding the candidate’s future prospects, should enable you to learn if the candidate in question is realistic enough when setting goals or assessing situations.
It should also tell you if the candidate focuses too much on personal goals as opposed to career goals.
10. Team/ co-workers
It is a good idea to know whether the candidate would work well with others and/or in a team set up.
That’s why it makes sense to ask the candidate as to what he thinks of his team or co-workers and allows you to gauge as to whether he would be able to fit into your organization.
11. Listen
It pays to listen and more so, especially when you are interviewing a candidate for your organization. You need to be sure that you have picked out the right person for the job and to that end; you need to ask them the right questions.
But more importantly, you need to actively listen to their response so as to be able to judge as to whether they would be a good fit for your organization or not.
12. Stress
If the post in question is generally considered to be stressful, then you may want to ask the candidate as to how he or she would handle the stress.
The answer to this question should tell you if the candidate can indeed handle stress in a positive manner and still remain focused on this work and key deliverable.
At the least, it should tell you how the candidate handles any stress, which should tell you more about the candidate.
13. Ask them about their expectation regarding their remuneration
Granted that most interview candidates think that they are worth any pay but like other similar questions above, this one should enable you to determine if the candidate is realistic enough regarding his own prospects and his own self-worth.
14. Ask the candidate if they have any questions
At the end of the session, you may want to ask the candidate as to whether they have any questions. If the candidate answers in the negative, it means that they have not adequately prepared for the interview.
It is always a good idea to have a set of questions as it can help the candidate learn more about the company in question and this, in turn, should tell you how serious the candidate is, regarding his offer.
Read Also: 45 Motivational Quotes For Employees
15. The next step
At the end of the interview session, it is always a good idea to tell the candidate as to when they can expect to hear regarding the job in question.
Moreover, by this point, you should have a good idea as to who to offer the job to and you may as well start crafting your offer letter.
Conclusion
These are some of the job interview techniques and questions that you may want to consider before headlining your next interview session. With these interview techniques, you should be able to effectively choose the right candidate for your company without any hassle.