Conducting Killer Interviews: 7 Ways to Excel When Hiring

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Is your team getting ready to expand and onboard new employees? Hiring can be one of the most exciting parts of growing your company and one of the most difficult to handle properly. Today’s workplace is shifting rapidly, and with employees more attuned to seeking positions that are mutually beneficial, your interviewing skills need to be focused on not only weeding out unsuitable candidates but also enticing the right fit.

At Pivot HR, we proudly partner with clients throughout British Columbia as well as the rest of Canada to assist with pre-hiring and onboarding practices to ensure that you always have the support you need while growing your team. To help you take your interviewing skills to the next level, our experts have compiled a quick list of tips to keep in mind. Read on to learn more!

1. Do Your Homework

While you can (and certainly should) expect your candidates to show up prepared, it’s your job to do the same. No matter how pressed for time and busy you may be between interviews, take the time to briefly review each resume prior to sitting down with anyone. Doing so will enable you to be more engage, communicate a genuine interest to your prospect, and set a good tone for both parties.

2. Ease Them In

Creating a calm, open environment will make it far easier to get to know your potential new hire and allow them to open up and answer your questions fully. We all know that interviews are a stressful experience, but if you start out slow and fair, you might be surprised just how much both you, and your interview prospect can enjoy getting to know each other.

3. Hone Your Tone

Everyone’s heard stories about “good cop/bad cop” interviews and interviewers who love to “keep ‘em on their toes” by asking hard questions and throwing sudden curveballs. Unfortunately, while these interview styles may succeed in garnering some shock factor and catching candidates off guard, they’re rarely conducive to getting the information you really need during the process. Keep in mind, an interview is not meant to be an adversarial event, but rather a collaborative discussion that allows both parties to decide if there’s a mutual fit. Put your best foot forward and allow your candidate to do the same by keeping things fair, focused, and even keeled through the whole interview.

4. Ask Open Ended Questions

Conversation is the name of the game where interviews are concerned, and even though you do want to keep things quite focused and timely, asking open-ended questions will give the prospect a chance to talk more at length and showcase their true capabilities and perspective.

5. Ask Follow-Ups

As with above, interviews need to do more than just scratching the surface. By asking follow-ups, you’ll communicate your own engagement and interest to the interviewee, but also give yourself the chance to garner far more intel.

6. Listen

Though it might seem overly simplistic, you’d be surprised how many interviewers can get too far ahead of themselves while conducting an interview and focus on the next question and how they want to shape things rather than actually listening to the replies they’re getting. Take the time to really hear what your candidate is saying; doing so will let them know that you’re serious about your interest in hiring them, as well as make them feel more comfortable sharing.

7. Be Respectful and Set Clear Expectations

As we’ve mentioned above, the hiring process and interviews are a stressful experience for candidates, as well as employers. Respect the time that someone has given you by showing up and showing their continued interest in joining your team by being transparent about where you are in the hiring process (i.e. are you conducting more rounds? When are you hoping for someone to start once you find the right fit?), as well as clearly communicating the next steps they can expect should you be interested in moving forward. Thank the candidate for joining you, and endeavour to be as quick as possible when following up with those making it to the next round. Doing so will not only move things along for your team but make it far more likely that the right fit will be eager to join you.

Build Your Dream Team With Pivot HR

If you’re ready to grow your team and take your hiring to the next level, Pivot HR is here to help! Learn more about our hiring support services by contacting our team today!

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