What Interests You About This Role
Hiring managers often ask this question to ensure you understand the role and give you an opportunity to highlight your relevant skills. Study the job description carefully and compare its requirements to your skills and experience. Choose a few responsibilities you particularly enjoy or excel at and focus on those in your answer.
Example answer: While I highly valued my time at my previous company, there are no longer opportunities for growth that align with my career goals. This position fits perfectly with my skill set and how Im looking to grow in my career. Im also looking for a position at a company like yours that supports underserved communities, which is a personal passion of mine.
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If Youre Not Successful
If the employer does not offer you the job:
- try to be positive – this is a chance to learn from your experience and build your resilience
- ask for feedback on your interview
- think about the things that did not go so well and what you could do to improve next time
- get some interview practice. Ask friends, family, colleagues or a careers adviser to help
Test Your Technology 15 Minutes Before The Call
One of the best Zoom interview tips for employers is to test technology 15 minutes before your call. No matter how many times you have conducted online interviews, technology can malfunction.
Arriving late to an interview because your software was updating is not the best first impression, nor is showing up with the Grinch Zoom background you used for your companys virtual holiday party. Taking time to troubleshoot buggy webcams or microphones before the call leaves more time for conversation during the interview.
Be sure you are comfortable with the programs functions, like file drop, screen sharing, and digital whiteboard. Fumbling to find a button or setting wastes time and makes you look less tech savvy.
Also, having a background plan in case of technical difficulties is helpful. For instance, if Zoom will not load, chat on Google Meet instead.
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Successfully Handle Any Type Of Interview
Review tips on how to handle interviews that are different from a typical one-on-one meeting. These include tips for phone interviews, second interviews, lunch and dinner interviews, behavioral interviews, interviewing in public, and more advice for interview success.
Also review these signs that your job interview went well, so you can see what skills you may need to brush up for next time.
Review Your Job Description
Before you go into an interview, review all the materials youve provided the interviewee, especially the job description. The job description should outline all of the requirements and responsibilities youre looking for based on the specific candidate persona for the role.
Create at least a few questions that revolve around the candidates skills and experience to get a better idea of their qualifications for the role. Candidates may come into the interview with questions about the roles requirements, so be prepared to answer them.
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Would The Candidate Like To Ask You Any Questions
Dont get so preoccupied with getting your own questions right that you forget to prepare yourself for those questions the candidate might ask you. For example, the candidate may well ask you how the role came about. Whatever you do, do not say anything negative about the predecessor for this role. Even if they left on bad terms, theres no need to share this information.The candidate may also ask you about some of the challenges you face as a business or within your team. After all, challenges at work are inevitable. But again, this type of question still demands a positive and professional answer. Yes, you can talk about the trials you are sometimes up against, but place the emphasis on how you work to overcome them.
Communicate Expectations To Potential Hires
Candidates can range the gamut from first-time online interviewers to seasoned video interview pros. Not to mention, virtual interviewing processes can vary greatly from company to company.
It helps to share:
Compiling these details into one bulleted email is helpful. However, if you do not send this information automatically, then be ready to answer succinctly when the interviewee asks, what are the next steps?
Communicating the process puts potential hires at ease and leads to better prepped, more insightful interviews.
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Understanding The Candidates Ability
Understanding whether the candidate has the ability to perform in your job role is a vital but also sensitive area of the interview process.
To achieve that you must keep your HR team up to date with relevant employment law, provide them with go-to information on what they can and cannot ask and offer a regular interview refresher session for anyone involved in the interviewing process.
It may be a good idea to bring in a HR consultant on these occasions to help consolidate your teams interviewing skills.
Aside from keeping your HR team in the loop, its important to remember that every question you ask in an interview must only be relevant to the job youre recruiting for. Never make any assumptions about a candidates ability or disability.
Top tip
Make sure every question you ask is tied to the job role and the job roles requirements. Carefully plan your questions and use clear language that states the relevance of the question to the job.
Behavioral Interviews Work Best When You Have A Strong Collaborative Hiring Team
Remember, behavioral interviews arenât black and white. The responses your candidates give are abstract, and therefore tricky to measure in terms of impact.
The answers your candidates give will be drawn on past experiences, emotional state, and from a more âhumanâ angle. As such, you may miss a few things here and there.
If youâre hiring solo, failing to capture the details in the questions may result in an unsuccessful hire or allowing your best candidate to walk out the door.
So, itâs effective to put together a collaborative hiring team to help you during a behavioral interview.
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Best Interview Practices For After The Interview
After the interview, consider these final tips to help you gain some clarity from the experience and follow up with the hiring manager:
- Ask about what to expect next: One way to help close out the interview is to ask about what you should expect next. This will communicate to the hiring manager your continued interest in the position. It may provide you with a timeline for when to expect a reply and how to progress in your job search.
- Express gratitude: Thank the hiring manager for the time they spent meeting with you and for the opportunity to interview. Smile and politely mention something unique you enjoyed about the interview or the process. Interviews are valuable experiences that can lead to more job opportunities and help you prepare for the next time you sit in the hiring chair.
- Send a follow-up email or letter: Soon after the interview, consider sending a personalized email or letter to serve as a formal thank you. Consider differentiating yourself by including some details from your interview to help make you stand out from the other candidates. This minor act will keep you in the mind of the hiring manager and is a thoughtful professional courtesy to someone who may be a future colleague.
The above interview practices can help make sure your next interview goes smoothly and professionally. Be sure to prepare well in advance.
Create A Casual Interview Environment
Not all interviews require formal attire, a leather resume folder and the nervous sweats. Instead, keep it casual and ask candidates to grab a meal or coffee instead of meeting in a stuffy conference room in your office.
Consider inviting a candidate to your next team outing to create a more casual interview environment. If youve read over their application and resume, you probably dont need to go over it line by line. Instead, having a casual conversation in a comfortable environment will allow candidates to relax and get to know your team on a more personal, authentic level.
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Analyze The Job Posting
As you start preparing for a job interview, have a copy of the job description at your disposal. Review the job posting to help you understand what the company wants in a candidate. Consider the skills, knowledge and other qualities they’re looking for. Then, model your practice sessions in a way that helps you emphasize each of these qualifications.
Best Interview Practices For Employers
Preparing for an interview can be quite different depending on which role you are playing. The interviewees review their resumes, sharpen their conversational skills, and practice their answers to common interview questions. The interviewers spend time creating interview questions and determining what metrics to assess candidates on. However, its common for companies and hiring managers to put minimal effort into determining the questions they will ask candidates and how they will measure the responses.
How many times have you asked a candidate What are you looking for in your next role? or What are your strengths and weaknesses? These can be valuable questions, but have you ever stopped to determine what the right and wrong answers are? What are you planning to do with this information? How will these answers help you make a hiring decision? Unfortunately, many hiring decisions come from gut feelings, and while personality fit is important when selecting a candidate, it shouldnt be the only requirement.
There are certain strategies that you can utilize as an employer or hiring manager to streamline your interview process and ensure that your efforts to find the best candidate will be fruitful and accurate. Research has shown that structured, well-organized interviews are more effective than unstructured interviews. While this seems obvious, there are specific aspects of structured interviews that companies may not be implementing in their process.
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Treat Your New Hire With Respect
Once a candidate accepts an offer, make it a point to keep in touch. Be open to questions. Explain any internal politics before they arrive. Prep their staff, direct reports and supervisors so that the Team will receive them openly and with positive expectations. Inform the Team of the hire. Be upfront about your expectations and the candidate’s readiness to deliver measurable results. Also, do not forget the little details. Make sure that all office equipment and furnishings are in good working order. Complete as much paperwork as possible before he comes on board. Introduce him or her to the Team — before the start date if possible. Plan a social event where the new hire can meet and greet staff on an informal basis. Make is easy for the new hire to become a part of the Team. Then, empower him/her to be successful by explaining any organizational quirks well before they become a challenge and providing a listening ear as the new leader settles in. Success comes to those who plan for it.
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“With execsearches.com you know you’re going to get qualified candidates who are actively seeking professional employment. We are thrilled with the reach and pool of candidates…”Kathleen N. Spears, President at Powers Four Good
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Be Mindful Of The Red Flags
There are things a candidate may say or do during the interview that should be an immediate red flag. Some of them are fairly obvious like if an interviewee shows up to the office late or looks entirely disheveled. However, some red flags are not as obvious, and part of the employer interviewing best practices include watching out for the little details that show a potential candidate may not be the best fit. For example, if you ask the interviewee to talk about his or her biggest weakness and he or she says there is none, then you should take that as a sign that the candidate is unwilling to discuss what areas need to be improved upon.
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Why Should We Hire You
While this question may seem like an intimidation tactic, interviewers generally ask to offer another opportunity to explain why youre the best candidate. Your answer should address the skills and experience you offer, why youre a good culture fit and what you believe youd bring to the role.
One thing to remember as youre discussing your fitness for the company with employers is that the idea of culture fit can sometimes be used as a way to eliminate and discriminate against candidates, however unknowingly, who dont think, act or look like existing employees.
A better alternative concept you might consider addressing is culture add, or your ability to bring fresh and additive ideas and feedback to the team. Culture adds make the company stronger by diversifying the experiences and perspectives of its workforce.
Example answer: My experience accurately managing inventory intake and skills in creating effective, streamlined schedules make me uniquely qualified to succeed in this kitchen manager position.
I understand that you require a highly organized candidate with acute attention to detail. In my previous job, I successfully handled schedules for 20 employees and reduced food waste by 15%. Im confident in my ability to use my organizational skills to bring efficiency and order to your restaurant.
Read more: Interview Question: Why Should We Hire You?
Beware Of Questions Not To Ask
Certain interview questions are prohibited by state regulations and by the laws enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Such interview questions could potentially make your company liable in an employment discrimination lawsuit. Avoid questions, including but not limited to those below, that touch upon:
- An individual’s race, ethnicity, religion, or gender
- A candidate’s citizenship status or place of birth
- Any physical or mental disability
- Whether a candidate is pregnant
- Prior salary history
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Why Do You Want To Work Here
Interviewers often ask this question to determine whether or not you took the time to research the company and think critically about whether youre a good fit. The best way to prepare for this question is to do your homework and learn about the products, services, mission, history and culture of this workplace. In your answer, mention the aspects of the company that appeals to you and aligns with your values and career goals.
Example answer: The companys mission to help college grads pay off their student loan debt resonates with me. Ive been in student loan debt myself and would love the opportunity to work with a company thats making a difference. Finding a company with a positive work environment and values that align with my own has remained a priority throughout my job search and this company ranks at the top of the list.
Read more: Interview Question: Why Do You Want to Work Here?
Beware Of Interviewer Errors
While we all may be prone to making snap impressions of someone we meet for the first time, it’s best to curb that impulse during a job interview. Left unchecked, a first impression can cloud everything that happens afterward. Stick to the prepared questions and leave your snap impressions out of the equation.
Similarly, beware of the so-called “halo effect.” This happens when a candidate’s strong point colors the interviewer’s experience. Any single factor shouldn’t influence the entirety of the conversation.
Do your best to approach every candidate interview with an open mind.
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Understand The Type Of Interview
When you prepare for an interview, it helps to know the type of interview you’re having. For example, since a group interview works a little differently than a video interview, it’s best to model your practice sessions on the type of interview you’re having. Here are some types of job interviews and tips for how best to prepare for each:
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Group interview: During a group interview, you’re either asked questions by a panel or you interview alongside other candidates. To practice for this type of interview, practice your answers and your listening skills.
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Phone or video interview: For these types of interviews, you need to know how to use different technologies. You also need a quiet place for the interview and the right technologies to ensure the interview goes smoothly. Make sure all your necessary technologies work properly by testing them out prior to the day of the interview.
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Out-of-office interview: If you have a lunch or dinner interview, review proper dining etiquette. It’s also important to check the establishment’s website ahead of time to determine the appropriate attire and get familiar with the menu.
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Interview Questions For Job Candidates
To elicit the elements and insights derived from using the STAR approach of behavioral interviewing, prepare a series of questions that build on behavioral interview question models that start with:
Questions constructed around each of these models offer the potential for answers that say a lot about a candidate’s personality and interpersonal style. They can also spark a meaningful discussion that leads to the interviewer’s deeper understanding of past situations, tasks, actions, and results the applicant has experienced.
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