How To Successfully Interview Someone

Begin With The General Questions You Prepared

How To Do A Phone Interview Successfully – Phone Interview Tips

The types of questions you ask play one of the most important roles in the hiring process. Its important to ask about the candidates interest in the position. Remember to vary your questions, between those of behavioral and situational questions.

You cant get to know the applicant with questions that evoke a simple yes or no answer. Make sure to focus on open ended questions which will allow the candidate to shine.

There is also such a thing as pointless questions. Avoid falling into the trap of asking the kinds of questions that give you meaningless answers. For example, asking a question such as, Do you enjoy coming to work? will probably not lead to a very satisfying answer.

Prepare The Relevant Interview Questions

Its handy to prepare a list of interview questions that are relevant to the position you are hiring for. Deciding on the interview questions you intend to ask candidates takes up a significant part of the preparation process. Consider using the tips below to come up with practical questions:

Pay attention to behavioral and situational questions.
Avoid cliché questions since they provide canned answers.
Focus on candidates who can bring different perspectives to your company, rather than just being a cultural fit.
Tie the questions to the job requirements. Consider tailoring the questions to match specific skills that you are interested in.

Additionally, ensure that you prepare follow-up questions to help get details beyond canned responses. In practice, follow-up questions are guaranteed to provide more revealing answers as compared to standard questions. Listen to the candidates response then follow up with why, when, how, who or what questions.

In Order To Achieve A Great Interview You Need Two Things

To interview someone is like a journey together with the person in front of the camera. The most important thing while youre traveling together is to explore and be curious.

1. a brave interview guest who can open up to the viewer and 2. an interviewer who is even bolder and dares to ask curious questions, come what may

After thousands of interviews, Ive conducted in the last decades, this is actually already my trick of all tricks:

Be curious, have the chutzpah and yet respect for your interviewee!

With that in mind, youll be surprised what great stories you can elicit from your interviewee.

However, there are still some details that are worth taking a look at. All the following tricks have one goal: To give your interviewee an atmosphere in which he can open himself up.

Also Check: What Are Questions That Are Asked In Interviews

Interviewing Techniques Tip : Be Prepared

Interviews range from conversations lasting a few minutes to several formal meetings, sometimes with more than one interviewer. Interviews allow you to demonstrate that you are the right candidate for the job, but you are not alone if interviews make you nervous. The better prepared you are, the more relaxed and comfortable you will be when the questions start coming your way.

Interviews Journalists And Content Marketing

A good interview is a good conversation. Nothing more, nothing less. Yes, there are journalist formalities to follow, but interviews should be fun and friendly, and I try hard not to view them as ‘work’, so to speak.

In this age of content-driven marketing, interviews are your key differentiator. Whether you’re a journalist, Copywriter or Content person, it’s the real-world research you do that will make your writing valuable, unique and authoritative.

Desk research will only get you so far…

Let’s talk about it

Schedule a chat to see how we can help grow your B2B tech business.

Advance Information To The Interviewee

You can simplify the conversation for you and your counterpart with a few little hints in advance:

Please answer in full sentences. The easiest way is to include parts of my question in your response. So if I ask you, Whats the weather like today? Then do not answer Its nice., but The weather is beautiful today.
Should I repeat a question, it is not because of my forgetfulness. Its just because we need another version of your answer for editing. In this case please be careful not to say As I said before
Avoid one sentences. Instead, refer to yourself as the one who is making that point.
Please look at me, the camera is not present. and that is easier said than done :).

Think Of Two Reasons Youre Interested In The Company

Use the company research youve done to come up with a business-related reason youre excited about them. It could be a new business model, new clients, new partnership, etc.

Actual example: I recently had a phone interview with a tech company that was built as a review/info website. They recently started handling transactions instead of sending the buyers out to other websites to complete the transaction. I read this in the news and mentioned it as an exciting development and a really good business move. The interviewer was extremely impressed that I had read the news, and understood the implications. Total time spent researching: less than 3 minutes.

Along with one business reason, try to come up with a secondary reason too. Maybe community involvement. Or company culture. Almost every company has a blurb about their culture on the website. Read it and mention what you read as a secondary reason for being interested.

Youll seem extremely well-prepared and well-rounded for having two very different reasons.

Also Check: What Is One Way Video Interview

Prepare A List Of Flexible Open

You should prepare a list of questions that will act as a template for the interviewâa 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:

Don’t ask YES or NO questions.

Don’t ask more than one question at a time.

Keep them relevant but be creative.

Phrase the questions in a way that will allow the person being interviewed to expand.

Offer to show the questions to the person you’re interviewing to make sure they’re comfortable with them, which goes along with . . .

First Prepare Notes Then Toss Them

how to face job interview successfully ?

Good interviewers always study up on their subjects background many even have a staff whose job it is to collect those resources.

If you can do so in advance, research the person or people with whom youll be speaking. A bit of familiarity will make you feel more confident and will prime your subject to open up to you.

But during the moment of truth, you rarely see a professional interviewer following a script or referring to notes. A better, more casual approach is to stay in the moment and allow talk to flow naturally, as TV talk show veteran Dick Cavett advises.

My former boss and idol for many years as a viewer, Jack Paar, called me before I started doing a talk show and said, Hey kid, dont do interviews. And I said, What do I do, then, sing or just read to the audience? And he said, No, interviews are boring. Thats just Whats your favorite color? and thats dull. Make it a conversation. And thats almost the best secret. Throw your notes aside, if necessary.

A good interviewer knows how to make subjects comfortable enough to open up and reveal something real and true about themselves and that only comes when both parties get a little vulnerable. Thats why comedian Marc Maron, host of cult favorite podcast WTF, focuses more on connection than research.

The more comfortable you make someone feel, the better interview youre ultimately going to get, says interview veteran Katie Couric.

Recommended Reading: What Are Some Good Interview Questions To Ask A Candidate

How To Interview Candidates Not Educate Them

A director of sales was frustrated by the fact that her boss was always more impressed with certain sales candidates than she was. She interviewed these people when they rst came into the ofce and did not nd them to be all that remarkable. Then other sales managers interviewed each candidate.

Finally, the candidate met with her superior, the senior vice president, at the end of the day. By that time, the interviewees really knew how to sell themselves and wowed her boss. Why?

It turned out that that the other sales managers were spending too much time talking about the company and not enough time asking good questions. Instead of digging into peoples past sales accomplishments, these interviewers were educating job candidates about the company and its industry. Being salespeople, the candidates used this information to hone their personal sales pitches.

To remedy this situation, the company moved to a team interview approach. It controlled the questions that were asked and the amount of information that was provided to job candidates early in the interview process. This helped to reduce its hiring mistakes. Here’s how to make sure job candidates do their homework and you dont do it for them.

Closed-Ended Interview QuestionsDo you consider yourself to be a leader? This question lets candidates off the hook by allowing them to give a one-word answer.You have learned nothing.

Know exactly what to ask job seekers

Job Titles Can Be Difficult

Sometimes people have very long-winded or obscure titles. These don’t work well on the printed page. If this is the case, I like to get a more informal job description agreed with the interviewee.

Tech companies are notorious for acronym-laden job titles. The important thing is to get the interviewee’s agreement to whatever you use. I like to ask: ‘how would you like me to describe you in the article.’

You May Like: How To Interview For A Promotion

How To Be A Good Interviewer

Interviewing is a crucial part of the recruiting process. To be a good interviewer, you have to be prepared, ask the right questions, listen carefully, and evaluate the candidate to see if they’re the right fit for your company.

Completely free trial, no card required.
Reach over 250 million candidates.

Spend Some Time Reviewing Your Resume

This may seem unnecessary, but most resumes are in chronological order, and people tend to think in terms of their experiences. Also, you should be prepared if the interviewer says something like “Tell me about what you enjoyed about your role from 2002 to 2004”.

Take a few extra copies of your resume to the interview. This will show that you are prepared, and may even help you gain favor should one of the interviewers not be as prepared.

Recommended Reading: How To Watch Meghan And Harry Interview

Your Equipment Must Work 1000%

What I hate the most are interruptions due to technical problems. When the cameraman suddenly says, Oh, can we do the last question again, the camera didnt record. or Sorry, I have to change the battery.

All this destroys the trusting atmosphere that you have built between you and your interviewee. Exclude all sources of distraction before your interviewee enters the room.

Low on battery? Attach the camera to a power adapter.
The memory card is full? Check that you can record consistently for at least half an hour without having to change the card.
Coworkers are entering the room again and again with an Oh, sorry? Place a sign outside the door: Attention TV recordings! Silence please!
The lighting has to be adjusted because the subjects glasses reflect? Have the cameraman test and set up the lights with him before the interview.
Suddenly the sun beams through the window? Close the curtains so that its not disturbing you.

Choosing the right location already solves some of these problems.

Study The Candidates Resume Or Cv

Look over the candidates resume. Using a blind resume might offer an opportunity to limit the influence of unconscious bias. You can familiarize yourself with their work history and background. Reviewing the CV in depth ahead of time ensures that you maximize the time you have in the interview. Why?

Many general questions are often easily answered with just a quick scan of someones CV. When you start with this knowledge already in hand, you can take advantage of the interview to really dig deep into the candidates skills and abilities.

You can also take the time to highlight any areas in their resume that may seem vague or unclear, or perhaps that contains something that may be unknown to you, such as a unique hobby. Allow the interviewee the opportunity to expand on those areas as it may reveal possible behaviors or personality traits that will have an impact on effective job performance.

You May Like: What Is Coding Test In Interview

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.

Look Your Interviewer In The Eye

How to successfully pass the interview? Blitz questions to a real interviewer!

In the online environment, eye contact is importanteven though it isnt true eye contact.

Instead of looking at the person on the screen, look directly into the webcam and stay engaged. It can be tricky to look at the camera when you see a person on the screen. But, looking at the screen will make you look like you are staring down .

If youve taken a selfie before, then you probably know the deal. But, somehow, video is harder.

Pro Tip: If you are uncomfortable, put a picture of someone you know up by the webcam. This way, you feel as though you’re chatting with a friend. If you have a webcam on a stand, you can even place it in front of the persons face to make this a little easier.

You May Like: What Can You Ask In An Interview

How To Conduct An Interview

Even if youre a veteran of interviewing candidates, its still a good idea to make sure youre following the right process. If you are unsure of what the entire hiring process entails, you can, before starting the process of recruitment.

Here are the key points HR managers should follow to ensure a successful interview process.

Prepare To Describe Your Work History Briefly

Most interviewers will ask you to give a quick walkthrough of your background at the start of the interview. Thats why I mentioned reviewing your resume beforehand. Its a pretty commonly overlooked but its one of my favorite job interview tips and its so easy to do!

If youve prepared a good, brief narrative of your career, you can impress them right off the bat. What got you interested in this field? What have you accomplished recently?

But it has to be concise. Nobody wants to hire somebody that rambles on or sounds scattered, and thats the biggest mistake people make with this relatively open-ended question.

Spend most of your time on the recent portion of your career. Go through the beginning rather quickly. 2-3 minutes total should be your target.

Gauging The Candidates Level Of Self

As you try to determine a candidates awareness of themselves and how they fit into organizations, consider opening your interview with a question like:

Walk me through your progression in your career leading me up to your current role.

This is a good way to get a candidates job history as well as their view of their progression. Once you have their answer, follow up with questions such as:

How have you had to reinvent your job in light of your organizations changing needs?
What makes you stand out among your peers?
What would your most respected critic say of your strengths, areas for development, and future potential in your field?

In addition to probing an individuals assessment of themselves, you also want to ask questions about how they assess their organizations, with questions like:

How many employees does your company have?
Whats your organizations annual revenue base?
How is your department structured in terms of reporting relationships?
How exactly does your company make money, and what are its two biggest expenses?

Depending on the level of the candidate youre interviewing, their responses can provide excellent insights into their level of business acumen and self-awareness.

Don’t Miss: How To Prepare For A Special Education Teacher Interview