- Write down the requirements
- Study the résumés
- Conduct an interview, not an oral exam
- Invite the right people
- Maintain neutrality
- Do not promise the impossible
- Focus on potential and enthusiasm
1. Write down the requirements
A job interview is about getting to know the person personally. Find out how they behave, what emotions they show, what presentation skills they have, and whether their character fits into the team, etc. Therefore, write down the requirements that an ideal candidate should meet. After each interview, you can then say what they fulfilled and what they did not.
2. Study the résumés
In a résumé, do not focus only on work experience, but also try to read between the lines. Why did they choose this particular job, what do they enjoy about it, why did they leave the previous company, and what do they do in their free time? All of this will give you insight into the character of the person.
3. Conduct a job interview, not an oral exam
To obtain similar information from all candidates, write a list of questions for the job interview. During the interview, avoid constantly writing notes. Do not write down every sentence the candidate says. If you want to note important information, do it in bullet points. You may be tempted to invent questions that can be answered only yes/no. This is not recommended. In such a case, conversation stalls, and you won’t learn much about the candidate. An interview is also not an interrogation or an oral exam. It is a conversation and getting to know both parties.
4. Invite the right people
The job interview should take place with a small group of people, so that the candidate feels comfortable and does not feel observed by 10 pairs of eyes. Ideally, the interviewer (usually an HR manager), the company boss, and possibly the person the new candidate will replace should sit opposite the candidate. Why invite a former employee to the interview? They know the job best and thus have an idea of what their successor should meet—both in terms of knowledge and personality.
5. Maintain neutrality
Do not give the candidate the impression that they are the right one unless you are sure you will really hire them. Likewise, do not show that you will prefer another candidate, and do not judge them for opinions that contradict yours or the company’s. Pay attention to your choice of words, glances, and facial expressions. Remember that an expression on your face can sometimes say more than a thousand words. Maintain a positive and friendly atmosphere until the end. Every candidate should leave the interview feeling good and with the impression that they want to work for the company, regardless of whether they will be hired.
6. Do not promise the impossible
When describing the job position, team, or the entire company, do not exaggerate. Do not promise anything that you cannot deliver in the future. At the start, a new employee could feel disappointed and hurt. Most likely, this would result in dissatisfaction on both sides, and you would be back at the beginning.
7. Focus on potential and enthusiasm
Not only current skills and knowledge are important, but also the potential of the person – what they could learn and how they could grow. Enthusiasm and personal motivation are also essential. If the person enjoys the job and does it willingly, you will usually notice immediately. Such people tend to be more effective and have a more open mind to new things than those who do their job well but do not enjoy it.
