Send A Job Offer To The Selected Candidate
The best way to inform the candidate that they got the job is to pick up a phone and them! When candidates confirm accepting your job offer via phone, you should send them a formal job offer letter or email as soon as possible! Formal job offer letter/email should include information on the position, compensation, additional compensation such as bonuses, working hours and different types of benefits. Make sure you also outline the next steps and provide necessary onboarding details.
Choose The Best Candidate
If you have completed the previous step, choosing the best candidate should be fairly easy. Use your scorecards to rate each candidate against your previously set criteria. After you have completed this process for each of your interviewees, select your top 3 candidates with the highest scores. Finally, compare them against each other and make your decision.
Great Tips To Make A Good Impression At Your Interview
Some of you may be graduating soon and you might be busy applying for your first biotech or life sciences job. Or if youre a PhD student, maybe youre thinking about a postdoc position. How well do you think youll perform at interview?
Interviews are difficult at any level, so here well guide you through some of the likely interview questions and situations you might find yourself having to deal with in a life sciences interview.
As a veteran interviewee of more years than I care to mention, here are my 10 top tips for how to make a great impression at your life sciences interview.
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Share Next Steps In The Interview Process
Near the end of the interview, consider outlining the next steps for the candidate to help set expectations. For example, share your intended timeline of making a hiring decision, when they can expect to hear from the company, or if another round of interviews is likely. Allowing the candidate to ask clarifying questions can also help establish an understanding of the next steps and expectations, too.
How Do Good Interviewers Conduct The Interview
Conducting interviews is a complex process. Good interviewers know that conducting a job interview is much more than simply asking questions and listening to candidates answers. Good interviewers also have to keep the interview on the right track, watch the time and be mindful of the candidates and their own body language – all at the same time!
To help you excel at all these important tasks, here are my best practice tips for conducting great job interviews:
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Optimize Your Interview Process
Whichever employee you end up sending a job offer letter to, you want to optimize the candidate experience for each applicant. Using recruitment software will make it easy to see all the candidates currently in the pipeline for various roles.
It will also provide key recruitment metrics which will provide insight into whether you need to recruit externally or promote internally and whether you have understaffing or overstaffing problems.
Resources for HR professionals
Ask Questions At The End
In the end you will be asked if you have any questions. Therefore, you should prepare some questions about the job, workplace, institution and personal development on the job. Even if the panel has covered most of what you wanted to know, ask a question that is relevant and thought-provoking. This can show that you’re genuinely interested in the role and really listening to the panel. To not ask a question may make you come across as disinterested.
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Explain The Companys Position
Consider starting the interview with a brief introduction of yourself, the role, and some of the organizations goals and objectives. This often provides candidates with a better understanding of job expectations and can give them topics to ask about later in the interview. If you need more information about the specific responsibilities of a role, you might ask the direct manager in advance.
Give A Background Of The Company And Details About The Job Role
It is a good idea to give a little background about the company at the beginning of the interview. We should also explain how the position they are interviewing for fits into the goals and objectives of the organization. Doing so will give the interviewee a better understanding of the responsibilities and expectations of the job role.
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Conduct The Perfect Job Interview In Twelve Simple Steps
Speaker, Inc. Magazine contributing editor, author of THE MOTIVATION MYTH, ghostwriter.
Your goal is to hire the best people you possibly can.
That means your interview should be the best it possibly can. The stakes are simply too high to do otherwise.
Here are 12 steps to help you conduct the perfect job interview:
1. Truly understand what you need.
Experience, qualifications, and credentials are all important. But great employees don’t just perform a job they solve at least one critical business need.
Identify that critical need, determine how you measure success in the position, assess the common attributes of your top performers, determine what qualities mesh with your culture… and tailor everything in your selection process finding the perfect person to solve that critical business need.
Otherwise youre just going through the motions.
2. Determine how you will find the perfect person to fill need that need.
Say you need an outstanding programmer. Great: Now determine how you will identify “outstanding.” That may include certifications, specific accomplishments, the right references, or even an on-the-spot test.
Then consider your culture. Skills are important, but attitude is often more important. Determine how you will identify the person with the right personality, interpersonal skills, and interests. That may involve a few lunches with key team members, or a day on the golf course, or an evening at a ball game.
You’re actually listening — and engaged.
S To A Successful Interview
Step 1 PREPARE for the InterviewGather InformationFirst, make sure that you know the time that the interview is scheduled for, where the interview will take place, the name and job title of the person who will interview you, and whether you need to bring anything to the interview.Then gather as much information as you can about the company. Having this background information also makes it easier for you to think of questions to ask the employer during your interview. Find out the essential elements of the job and think about how they match your skills and interests.Knowing in advance where the interview will take place increases your confidence and decreases the possibility of arriving late. Allow extra time for unexpected delays. If the place of interview is in a busy part of town or where parking spaces are limited, you may want to consider using public transportation.What to Bring
- Your list of questions that you would like to ask
Step 2 DRESS for Success
- Get a haircut
- Groom your hands and nails
- If you have a beard or moustache, trim it so it looks neat
- Lay your clothing out the night before so you are sure it is clean and all there
- Get a good night’s sleep
- Take a shower or bath
- Wash your hair
- Do not use perfume or aftershave
- Cover visible piercings or tattoos
- Eat a light meal or snack before the interview
- Brush and floss your teeth
- Use mouthwash or breath mints
- Light makeup
- Bring a small mirror, brush, and/or comb
Step 3 PRACTICE Makes PerfectStep 4 The INTERVIEW
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Scope Out Their Professional Goals
With all interviews, youre looking to hire for a specific role right now to fill an organizational gap. But for this interview, are you looking for someone who wants to grow with your company and move into a more senior position in your organization in the future? Being clear on this will help you know if you should hire with retention in mind. Regardless, you should find out where the candidate sees this role fitting into the larger vision of their career trajectory. A useful question for starting this conversation is: If you were successful at this job, what would come next?
The interviewee may not have thought of this beforehand, so give them some time to answer. If youre interested in an employee making a contribution to your company for a long time, but discover the interviewee is in graduate school for another field, it will help you ask the right follow-up questions and make an informed decision, reducing the possibility of unwanted employee retention surprises six months or a year down the line.
Poor Communication And Body Language
However valuable or insightful your answers are during an interview, poor communication or body language can discredit you.
Focus on being a polite and clear communicator during your interview. Don’t interrupt, no matter how eager you may be to answer the question. If you accidentally talk before the interviewer has finished, apologize quickly and let them continue speaking.
Speak clearly when it is your turn mumbling comes across as inconsiderate, and it diminishes your confidence.
Be aware of your body language. Nervous behaviors like fidgeting or tapping your knee are common in stressful situations, but in an interview setting, you run the risk of appearing rude or impatient. Sit up straight and avoid fidgeting as much as possible, and maintain appropriate eye contact.
The goal is to be engaged and interactive. Looking someone in the eye when they speak to you and while you’re responding indicates respect for the person and that you are present in the moment. Frequently looking away or over your shoulder while talking to them conveys disinterest.
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Have A Tech Backup Plan
Since you’re relying on technology which can be finicky just when you need it most have your computer plugged in and charging.
You’ll also need a back-up plan, in case you have issues with your Wi-Fi internet connection. If you have an unlimited plan on your phone, you can connect your computer to its hotspot. Or you can download the Zoom app on your phone and have the meeting there. While this isn’t ideal, it should work.
Interview Tips That Will Help You Get Hired
Even when you have gone on more interviews than you can count, job interviewing never seems to get any easier. With each job interview, you are meeting new people, selling yourself and your skills, and often getting the third degree about what you know or don’t know. And, you need to stay upbeat and enthusiastic through it all. This can be a challenge, especially when you’re interviewing for a job you would love to get hired for.
That said, there are ways to make a job interview feel much less stressful. Just a little preparation time can go a long way. The more time you take in advance to get ready, the more comfortable you’ll feel during the actual interview.
Remember, though, that a job interview is not an exam: you dont need to study for hours on end. Rather, you just need to do due diligence in researching the company, understand exactly what they are looking for in a new hire, and ensure that youre able to discuss your experience and what makes you a great fit for the job.
It is a good idea to focus on your communication skills in particular, so you can speak clearly and concisely about the assets you can offer the employer.
Ultimately, the key to effective interviewing is to project confidence, stay positive, and be able to share examples of your workplace skills and your qualifications for the job. Take the time to work on your interview skills so that you can develop effective strategies to use in all of your interviews.
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Develop A Rating System
Develop a rating system with precise criteria for each and every one of your selected job interview questions. This is extremely important! Many recruiters skip this part, but that is a big mistake. Without it, you wont be able to assess your candidates answers in an objective and transparent way.
Be On Message From The Outset
Politicians coached in handling the media are always advised to have a maximum of three key messages to get across, which they should stick to and repeat throughout any interview.
Similarly, its a good idea to have two or three key points that you want to make about what you have to offer and what youre looking for for example, Im ready for the challenge of managing a team, I combine compliance experience with technical expertise, in my career, Ive developed an extensive digital transformation skillset.
These are the three key points that you want your interviewer to remember about you. So try and work them in naturally whenever you can, even in the first few minutes. Its also important to have a ready answer for some of the most common questions that come up early on such as Tell me why you want this job and Whats your understanding of what this job involves?
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Stay Up To Date With The Latest Employer Insights & Events
The following interviewer tips will help you to conduct the perfect interview.
1. Understand what you are looking for
Before the job interview starts, its important that you know what youre looking for in a candidate. You need more than a well-written job description.
Think about how your ideal employee would behave in the role. As the interviewer, you need to ask interview questions that test your interviewee against your expectations.
Writing a checklist of these expectations will help you compare interviewees and make it easier for you to make a decision on who to hire.
2. Know what questions to ask
Its essential you prepare a list of questions when running a job interview. The balance of question types is equally important.
You should include competency questions to see how the interviewee would approach the role. Character questions test how the candidate will fit with your team. Asking about career goals lets you learn what motivates your interviewee. Remember to ask open questions that cant be answered yes or no to encourage the candidate to talk in more detail.
Preparation is key: from greetings to the final question, make sure you have all bases covered.
3. Prepare beyond the job interview
Dont underestimate the importance of little details in the job interview. You want your interviewee to be comfortable enough to get their true personality across.
4. Practice makes perfect
5. Make it a conversation
6. Listen more
7. Be aware of unconscious bias
What Comes Next
Everything has been covered and saidwhat next? Once you have all the information you need and both the hiring manager and the applicant are satisfied with the interview, its time to explain the next steps of the process.
Indicate how long it will take for them to hear back from you, what the next step will be if he or she will be moving on in the interview process when the job commences, and so on.
Remember, it is neither considerate nor professional to leave the applicant hanging when theyre expecting a response. It reflects badly on your company and employer branding. If you have many applicants, consider using an applicant tracking system to keep track.
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What Not To Do:
I once heard someone standing outside our building, smoking furiously and complaining loudly on their phone about the early start time of their meeting and wondering aloud why they were even there. When I got to my next interview, I realised to my dismay the noisy moaner was my next candidate! Not a great start
Tips For After The Interview
When the interview is over, give yourself the best chances of moving forward by doing the following:
20. Ask about next steps. After your interview, it is appropriate to ask either your interviewer, hiring manager or recruiter about what you should expect next. This will likely be a follow-up email with results from your interview, additional requirements like an assignment or reference list or another interview.
21. Send a personalized thank you letter after the interview. Ask for the business card of each person you speak with during the interview process so that you can follow up individually with a separate thank you email. If you interviewed in the morning, send your follow-up emails the same day. If you interviewed in the afternoon, the next morning is fine. Make certain that each email is distinct from the others, using the notes you took during the conversations.
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Make Sure You Can Be Seen And Heard And Emote
Just like you would for an in-person interview, it’s necessary to practice and prepare questions you want to ask but there are a couple additional things to keep in mind. First, make sure your audio works and your video camera is clear. If it’s not, check out your Zoom settings by clicking the arrow next to Stop Video. You’ll find the audio settings there and can adjust accordingly.
Second, make sure your excitement and personality shows through the computer. This can be more difficult than it would be with an in-person interview, so focus on your body language, eye contact, tone and energy while you practice. If you want feedback, you can always record yourself and watch it over, or connect with a professional interview coach, who will set up a mock video interview and provide feedback.
What Is Zoom Is It Safe
Zoom is an online platform for video- and audio-conferencing, much like Skype, Google Hangouts, or even FaceTime. However, Zoom offers a lot more features, and many companies use it to host online meetings, training sessions, seminars, and now video interviews.
You may have heard of Zoom in the news. Since its explosion in popularity, its privacy and safety has been questioned, with technology and security experts digging into the software in recent months and finding some lapses in security. However, Zoom continues to address these issues and release new features to help protect your privacy.
Wired recently reported that Zoom’s security is just fine for most people. If you’re interviewing for a job, you shouldn’t be too concerned. Chances are, the hiring manager you’re interviewing with has taken the proper steps needed to make sure your meeting is private.
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