Interview Fundamentals: Setting the Stage for Success

interview process questions

Are you one of the many businesses across Canada focused on increasing your workforce and hiring new candidates to fill reopened roles and positions left vacant? With hiring becoming an increasing focus once again across multiple sectors, knowing how to conduct proper interviews is essential. At Pivot HR, we’re proud to partner with companies and organizations across Canada to ensure you have the human resources support you need to succeed, including assistance with hiring, onboarding, and more.

Below, we’ll cover some of the top tips for employers to keep in mind when interviewing potential candidates. Read on to learn more!

Create the Right Environment

Interviews can be nerve-racking for candidates, and while it’s understandable for people to feel a little nervous, creating a quiet and comfortable environment will give applicants a chance to shine. Choose a private room that prevents noise leakage and ideally minimizes outside distractions so everyone can stay focused and encourage the best interview possible.

Ask Open Ended Questions

Nailing the questions you ask is a vital part of the interview process. As much as you want to ensure you’re inquiring about existing skillsets and background experience, it’s also important to ensure that you’re asking questions the right way. Tailor each question to be open-ended to allow your candidates to respond fully and potentially offer supplementary information that gives you even more to work with.

Take Notes

Interviews can move fast, and with important information being discussed, it’s crucial to ensure you have supporting documentation to review later on. Take detailed notes as you go, both to give yourself the chance to ask follow-up questions as well as to go over them once you wrap up.

Listen and Engage

Interviews should be a two-way street, with both employers and candidates having the opportunity to get to know each other. No matter how busy you may be, and even if you’re not sure if the person in front of you is the best fit, it’s important to stay engaged, actively listen, and do your best to give the right impression as you go.

Know What You Can/Can’t Ask

One of the easiest ways to accidentally ruin your interview process and potentially cause significant future issues for your organization is asking the wrong questions when speaking with candidates. Several questions are not only impolite to ask but are also illegal in Canada. Steer clear of any inquiries regarding age, religion, gender and/or sexual orientation, race, family/marital status, extremely personal details, etc. These questions are off-limits, should be irrelevant to your placement process, and only cause problems for everyone involved.

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Need help dealing with day-to-day HR matters like recruiting and candidate screening? Pivot HR is pleased to be a leading HR consultancy across Canada. We offer HR expertise and support across a wide range of matters including employment, workplace disputes, diversity and inclusion, and more.

Learn more about how we can help your small business succeed by contacting us today!

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