Operating a successful team starts with recruiting the right hires. Candidates are more than just their resumes. These days, it’s important to get a good feel for an applicant to see if they’ll make an acceptable addition to your team. We’ve compiled our top ten tips on how to interview effectively.
1. Be Prepared
Professionals don’t wing it. You need to have a script for interviewing applicants that should be similar across any openings. You don’t want to appear biased as a hiring manager by varying your interview technique. It’ll also help you stay focused and strong as an interviewer: having a script in front of you can remind you of the most important information to gather.
2. Ask Follow-Up Questions
Probe for more detailed responses when necessary. Don’t settle for a subpar answer. Stay alert to listen for the answer you’re looking for, and be sure your interviewee is giving a sufficient response. It’s easy to hear a long explanation and lose sight of the actual answer to your question.
3. Try STAR
Using the STAR interview method is very popular in the industry. STAR, which stands for situation, task, action, and result, is a behavioral interviewing technique intending to help employers get to the root of their questions. Posing a situation and having the interviewee take you through the steps to their success will help you identify their strengths as a candidate.
4. Open-Ended Questions
Instead of asking yes or no questions, focus on extracting lengthier, more detailed responses. There’s no way to properly assess a candidate that gives one-word answers. Your planned questions should always start with, “Share a time that you did X” or “Explain your approach to X”.
5. Keep Your Questions Square
It is paramount to avoid inappropriate questions – age, orientation, religious beliefs. Respecting the basic rights of your applicants is absolutely essential. It’s the right thing to do, plus, if you break these rules, you may risk your company’s reputation.
6. Lower the Stakes
Help your candidate feel comfortable. If you can help them shake the nervous jitters, you’ll likely be able to obtain better answers from an interviewee. A stressed candidate doesn’t help you, as they’re less likely to advocate for themselves and demonstrate how they can be a strong asset to your team.
7. Streamline the Process
Be consistent in your entire hiring process. From start to finish, make sure all candidates receive the same treatment. It’s a mistake to require phone screens for one person but bring another straight in for an in-person interview. Again, this helps you stay focused and avoid bias.
8. Track Responses
Take notes! Some interviewers skip this step, but you should record responses, particularly if you’re new to interviewing or taking back-to-back meetings. You don’t want to mix up your applicants. Write down key phrases if the interviewee mentions them, or salient points you may want to revisit later if you hire them. It can also be helpful to add a picture to the interview pile, or take one that day. Tying a face to a resume will help you evaluate more accurately.
9. Body Language
Monitor non-verbal responses of your candidates. Keeping your head down and listening to an applicant leaves out half of the communication process. Note the behavior of your applicant. Are they confident and well-spoken? Or are they showing red flags, such as abbreviated answers or dismissive body language? This can clue you in and help you avoid hiring errors.
10. Delegate
Have a seasoned staffing agency take the reins. If you’re tired of hiring struggles, leave it to the professionals so you can get back to the tasks that matter.
Call Us Today
If you want to know how we can help, check out CCS Construction Staffing. Our professionals are experts on hiring great candidates at a quick pace. Contact us today if you’re ready to get started.