How To Interview Someone For An Article
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If you need to interview someone for an article but you have never interviewed before, it can be intimidating. Here are some tips for preparing for and conducting a successful interview.
What If A Job Candidate Shows Up Unprepared
Its possible a job candidate applied to your job out of obligationsuch as to fulfill a requirement for unemployment. If its clear the candidate is not qualified, is unprepared, or simply not a good fit, its certainly okay to end the interview early. For this reason, the phone interview methodology for first-round interviews may be best. They can be brief and the interviewer can quickly disqualify obvious candidates who will not be considered for the position.
It does not have to be uncomfortable or difficult to end interviews. You might say, I appreciate you taking the time to come in and see us. However, it appears youre unprepared for the interview and I dont want to waste your time. I encourage you to look for additional job postings that may be a better fit for you in the future.
Conduct A Phone Screen Or A One
Its wise to conduct a screening phone call in advance to filter out any unqualified candidates that made it past the pre-screening phase. You can ask candidates deal-breaker questions about the role and verify facts on their resumes to assess whether theyre deserving of a full interview.
As an alternative, many companies also use video screening questions as a replacement or in addition to a screening call.
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Define The Role Requirements And Write A Clear Job Description
This point may seem obvious, but the nuances shouldnt be overlooked. Hopefully, you did this before you posted the job description. If somehow you made it to this point without writing a great job description, then now is the time to answer some important questions, like:
- What qualities are you looking for in a candidate?
- What hard or soft skills do other top performers in your organization possess?
- What gaps currently exist on your team?
- What are your deal breakers?
The more you can explicitly define the role and the qualities youre looking for in a candidate, the easier it will be to know what to ask during the interview.
Common Interview Preparation Mistakes To Avoid
When it comes to preparing for an interview, the biggest mistake you can make is not doing it at all. Even if youre a highly-skilled professional overflowing with potential and natural poise, you cant assume that is enough.
On average, it takes five job interviews before youll land a job.
Wow, right?
Plus, 57 percent of professionals say theyve had a job interview go poorly. Thats more than half of all professionals, people who know their jobs well and are likely at least reasonably successful.
An interview isnt like a normal conversation with a colleague. Instead, youre being tested, put on the spot, and asked to defend your resume. Some questions are designed to put you back on your heels. Others are so open-ended, that its easy to drift off-topic.
Preparation allows you to be at your best when that fateful interview day arrives. Youll have great answers just waiting to be deployed, and a strategy that can help you navigate the unexpected. In turn, youll be more likely to succeed, making all of the effort worthwhile.
However, thats not the only misstep aspiring new hires make. Choosing the wrong mock interview questions can also hurt you. For example, some candidates spend all of their time on generic interview questions. Sure, you need to be ready for classics like, Tell me about yourself and What motivates you? but you also need to be prepared to face off against field- or job-specific ones, too.
MIKE’S TIP:
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Provide A Welcoming Environment
In order to get the best answers from the people you interview, you’ve got to create a welcoming environment for them.
A comfortable person, one who feels as if they are just having a conversation with a friend, will be more likely to give beefier information in a more enthusiastic and friendly tone, which benefits everyone.
Here are some ways to create a comfortable environment for the person you’re interviewing:
- Let them know before you even start recording that its really just a conversation about two people connecting with each other.
- Make sure they know all of the details about the interview beforehand.
- Ask them if they’d like to see the questions first.
- Thank them for the interview before you even start and welcome them to your audience.
- Have them listen to a pre-written or rehearsed introduction before getting to the questions.
- Be enthusiastic and actually want to conduct the interview!
Determine How You Will Rate Each Candidate
Creating and using a rating system for the candidates you interview is the final important step in conducting effective interviews. You should take notes during the interview process and decide on a set rating system to rate each person. You may decide on a certain rating system for each skill you are looking for or give each candidate an overall rating. The important thing is to stay consistent and use the same system for every candidate.
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Why Is A Job Interview Important
Job interviews are important because they give you insight into whether you want to hire a candidate. Often in conversation form, the questions asked in an interview can show you a persons skills, job capabilities, and how they contribute to the success of a team or organization. You can use job interviews to compare candidates or build a list of future talent options for other open positions.
Most Interviews Include These Stages:
1. Introductory stage. | estimated length of a few minutes.
The interviewer will greet you and establish rapport. Extend your hand for a handshake as you meet. Listen carefully to your interviewer’s name. State your full name, and don’t speak too quickly. During this time, the interviewer gets the very important first impression of you, based on your greeting and introduction, handshake, appearance, and demeanor.
There might be friendly small talk as you are greeted and escorted to the interview room. Be alert to signals, listen, and give short responses. For example if asked if you had trouble with directions to the office, respond that you did not.
Sit when you are directed to do so, not before.
Address your interviewer as Ms./Mr./Dr. . If your interviewer insists on being addressed by her/his first name, you can do so. Don’t use her/his first name until told to do so. Starting with formality and moving to less formality is appropriate. If you start informally, and that is not welcome, this can be awkward and embarrassing.
There might be brief discussion of logistics, what will happen during the interview, verification that the interviewer and candidate each have appropriate information, etc. You could offer an updated copy of your resume, and any other paperwork you were asked to bring.
2. Information from the interviewer to the candidate. | estimated length of a few minutes.
3. Questions from the interviewer to the candidate. | majority of the interview time.
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Be Clear About What The Job Will Require And What You Are Looking For
Another important aspect of a successful interview is being clear about what you are looking for in a candidate as well as what the job will entail. Even if the job posting was specific and descriptive, it’s still imperative that you review this information with the candidate and ensure they have a good understanding of what you expect. This can give the candidate an opportunity to make sure the job is right for them as well as verify that they possess the skills and experience needed to be successful in the position.
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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Choose A Job Interview Structure
Its important to establish an effective interview structure that builds a framework that puts all interviewees within the same context. Although we will go into more detail further in the article, a typical interview structure contains the following parts:
- Introduction: Includes initial greetings and small talk
- Presenting information: The interviewer might explain the position in more detail
- Questions : The bulk of the interview, where the interviewer asks the prepared questions as well as follow-ups
- Exercise : Candidates can be tested with an exercise, for example, a writing drill or problem-solving task
- Questions : Allows some time for the candidates to ask any questions they might have
- Wrap up: Interviewers would explain any next steps in the hiring process, plus the farewells
In addition to setting the framework for the interview, you should also consider the different types of interview formats you want to use. There are many interview formats to choose from, each with its own advantage:
- One-on-one interview: The traditional kind of interview where the hiring manager interviews the candidate face-to-face, over the phone, or on a video conference. This type of interview can be more efficient and faster than others but is susceptible to the biases of the single interviewer.
Learn From Your Mistakes
A good interviewer views mistakes and failures as opportunities to improve. Here are a few things you can do to learn from your interviewing experience more deliberately:
- Keep records. Recording and filing your notes helps you as an interviewer since you can refer back to them any time. And your company can also use them in court, in the unlikely event that they face a lawsuit.
- Monitor results. Ask your teammates who are responsible for tracking recruiting metrics for information about candidate experience and quality of hire metrics. Its also a good idea to keep track of your companys online reviews on Glassdoor. Take constructive feedback to heart and work to improve on feedback you receive.
- Seek advice. Look for resources online and, if possible, ask more experienced recruiters or interviewers in your company for advice. If you plan to interview often, you could also make a case for attending interview trainings or workshops.
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Preparing For An Interview
Preparing for an interview primarily means taking time to thoughtfully consider your goals and qualifications relative to the position and employer. To accomplish this, you should perform research on the company and carefully review the job description to understand why you would be a good fit. Lets look at the steps to preparing for an interview.
Know What You Are Looking For In A Candidate
Once you know what the job requires, think about what kind of candidate you believe would be best for the job. Think about the skills your team members already have and how well they meet your needs. Also, think about the characteristics you wish your team had that could make a difference in your business performance.
Skills
Some people divide skills into soft skills and hard skills. Soft skills are those that are needed and desired for all jobs. They include skills such as public speaking, critical thinking, leadership, and others. Hard skills, on the other hand, are those that are specific to a particular job. These can include knowledge of a particular software suite, fluency in a particular language, and other abilities that are needed to effectively perform a specific job.
Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence is defined as the capacity to understand and manage personal emotions in ones self and in others. Candidates with high emotional intelligence are likely to ask relevant questions during the interview. You can better assess a candidates EI by providing a hypothetical situation and seeing how they would react or by asking to speak on a personal experience.
Experience
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Practice Your Interviewing Skills
Its not a bad idea to practice asking your selected questions in advance with a peer. That helps you prepare for the kind of responses youre likely to get from candidates. It can also prevent you from getting off track during your interview or veering into dangerous territory with your follow-up questions. It further builds your confidence in how to ask questions and pausing to hear the response. And best of all, it gives you a sense of how long it will take to conduct the interview.
How To Interview Candidates
Effective interviews expose potential red flags, reveal strengths, ensure that expectations fit with salary, compensation, and personality, and verify qualifications, skills, and abilities. They’re an essential part of the hiring process.
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Prepare A List Of Flexible Open
You should prepare a list of questions that will act as a template for the interviewa guide for the path that you want to take from start to finish.
Not a shopping list that you should stick to 100 percent.
For each question you should come up with two or three possible follow-up questions that might be suitable to ask, depending on the answer.
You probably won’t get to them all, but because they are there it’s a good reminder just in case the perfect opportunity comes up to dig deeper into a topic of interest.
As far as the questions themselves, here are a few basic rules:
How To Interview A Suspect
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The successful interrogation of a suspect is mostly about psychology and quick thinking. You shouldn’t try to interrogate anyone if you lose your nerve or have a prejudice as to the innocence of the person. Be calm and try to find the truth, not to prove you’re right in your suspicions. Be suspicious yourself so that the suspect is mystified.
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Listen Actively And Intentionally
While you want the conversation to flow somewhat naturally, an interview isnt a typical back-and-forth conversation. Your main job in the interview is to listen.
A reasonable benchmark as the interviewer is to aim for the 80/20 rule: 80% listening and 20% talking.
Actively listen for the specific qualities and skills you identified as crucial to the role in advance. And listen for potentialyou may discover motivations or hidden nuggets that didnt show up on their resume.
Consider Your Answers To Common Interview Questions
While you wont be able to predict every question youll be asked in an interview, there are a few common questions you can plan answers for. You might also consider developing an elevator pitch that quickly describes who you are, what you do and what you want.
There are some jobs that may involve a test or evaluation during the interview process. For example, if you are interviewing for a computer programming, development or analytics role, you might also be asked to write or evaluate lines of code. It might be helpful to consult with colleagues in the industry for examples of tests theyve been given to prepare.
You should also prepare to discuss your salary expectations, just in case. If youre unsure about what salary is appropriate to ask for the position youre applying to, visit Indeed’s Salary Calculator to get a free, personalized pay range based on your location, industry and experience.
Here are a few examples of common interview questions:
Why do you want to work here?The best way to prepare for this question is to learn about the products, services, mission, history and culture of the company. In your answer, mention the aspects of the company that appeal to you and align with your career goals.
Example:Id 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.
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