People are always giving advice on what job applicants need to keep in mind when they go to an interview. However, hiring managers should also be prepared before they interview a potential candidate. It’s important that hiring managers customize their interview based on the applicant and job position, as this will help both you and the person interviewing get the most out of the process.
In this article, we will share 6 things hiring managers need to keep in mind to help them prepare for their next interview.
1.) Get to know the applicant before the interview.
One of the most common mistakes HR managers make is going to an interview without sufficient knowledge of the person they are about to meet. If it’s your first time to meet an applicant, do your due diligence of familiarizing yourself with their professional background and credentials.
Apart from knowing their qualifications, try to check out their social media pages as well to get a glimpse of the candidates outside their resume. Apart from getting a sense of whether they will be a good fit within the company based on their posts, social media is also a way of looking at other skills such as their creativity on Instagram, if the job requires creative skills, or their work ethic through LinkedIn recommendations.
2.) Think of your questions beforehand.
Every interview with an applicant is critical to the evaluation process so make sure that you maximize each one of them. Apart from asking the obvious questions on topics such as career background, skills and credentials, also assess whether an applicant is qualified for the job by asking them behavioral questions.
Behavioral questions are based on work-related situations such as handling difficult customers, working with a difficult boss, or managing stubborn subordinates. Asking behavioral questions provides the interviewer an idea of how a candidate will perform or make decisions when they are already on the job. This questioning technique prompts interviewees to share insights drawn from their own experiences and how they were able to handle such situations, giving the hiring manager an opportunity to assess their soft skills on top of the usual technical qualifications needed for the job.
Learn more about what it takes to conduct a behavioral interview with Glassdoor’s step-by-step guide, which includes questions and templates.
3.) Remember that some interview questions – though seemingly harmless – are illegal.
Always be mindful of avoiding illegal questions by familiarizing yourself with prohibited topics to ask about during interviews. Some HR managers might ask them unknowingly but questions that fall under protected categories of particular state and federal laws such as national origin, age, marital status, disabilities, race or gender are considered illegal, especially if they don’t have a direct relation to the qualifications needed for the job.
4.) Give the applicant enough time to talk during the interview.
Provide necessary information about the open position but avoid delivering monologues about the job and the company. Remember to give the applicant enough time to talk about their background and work experiences and try to follow an 80/20 split with 80% of the interview time spent listening to what the applicant has to say. Furthermore, give them ample time to process information, and avoid rushing them to answer your questions.
5.) Spell out the next steps of the application process.
After the interview, provide clear next steps to the applicant to manage the expectations of both parties by giving them a timeframe on when to expect feedback from the company.
If an applicant is not qualified for the position, make sure to send them a thank you note and a letter of regret as soon as possible. One of the things that hiring managers tend to forget is to treat an applicant the same way they would treat a valued customer.
Remember to end an application process properly to avoid giving them a bad experience with your hiring process. This will also minimize chances of an applicant voicing out negative feedback about your company to their friends and colleagues.
6.) Don’t make rushed judgements and assessments after the first interview.
Hiring decisions shouldn’t be based on a single interview and shouldn’t depend on one person’s judgement. Solely basing an assessment on a first impression might lead to hasty hiring decisions that can lead to wrong hires or dismissal of promising candidates.
Involve and gather feedback from different team members to determine whether an applicant is qualified for the job or not. Do this by letting other team members interview an applicant using a structured interviewing technique, an interview style where interviewers ask the same set of predetermined questions to evaluate an applicant in an apples-to-apples way and avoid hiring biases.
Bottom Line
While conducting regular interviews makes a hiring manager well-versed with the process, it is still advisable to revisit these simple reminders every once in awhile. What we advise is to conduct a regular review of your interview process to make sure that you’re on track with your hiring practices and not missing out on anything important.
Marc Prosser is the co-founder and managing partner of Fit Small Business, a site that provides reviews and articles for small business owners. Prior to starting Fit Small Business, Marc was the CMO of FXCM for ten years. He joined as FXCM's first employee and grew the company to more than 700 employees.
