subject: Perfman HR: INTERVIEWING 101: THE BASICS [print this page] Perfman HR: INTERVIEWING 101: THE BASICS Perfman HR: INTERVIEWING 101: THE BASICS
Once you've screened candidateseither viaphone interviews, online questions, or by givingthem a knowledge test to completeyou are ready to bring the best of the crop in for interviews.The goal of every interview is to assess thecandidate's specific skills, to get a sense of howthe person will fit in with your organization, andto judge the applicant's enthusiasm for the position.Determining whether the new employeewill be handling specific tasks, supervisingothers, meeting with clients, or working independentlywill help you decide how to approachthe interview. Varying the interview style, frominformal to formal, as appropriate, can helphighlight the candidate's qualities.Decide on an interviewing plan from the outset.Ideally, if an applicant is to be interviewedby several managers, the same group should seeall candidates. You could split the interviewinginto two rounds, with one group handling initialinterviews and another group interviewing onlythe most successful candidates. Or you couldhave some or all interviewers meet with a candidatemore than once. Each person can ask thesame questions, so you can compare notes, ordifferent interviewers can probe different aspectsof the candidate's skills and experience. It's bestto coordinate the group's approach beforehand.Use your job description and the list of skills,abilities, and behaviors required to do the job toformulate a list of questions that will guide yourdiscussion during the interview and elicit relevantinformation from the candidate. This techniquenot only ensures thorough and organized questioning;it also keeps your group's questionsconsistent from one interview to the next, if that'syour intention.It's critical for forming an objective opinionthat all applicants be treated the same. At the endof each round of interviews, or at the end of thefinal interview, the management panel should gettogether to discuss the applicants and then rankthem before making their decision.
WHY YOU INTERVIEW PEOPLE
Richard Nelson Bolles, author of thephenomenally successful job-huntingmanual What Color Is Your Parachute?,says that all interview questions arereally addressing just four topics:
Why are you here?
What can you do for us?
What kind of person are you (thatis, honest, ethical, dependable,responsible)?
Can we afford you?
SOURCE: Managing for Dummies by Bob Nelson andPeter Economy.
Atin Dasgupta is director and co- founder ofPerfman HR
