What does your interview process say about you?

It is universally acknowledged that the success of any company is largely dependent on its staff; therefore the choosing of those staff is critical.

Whether you use a Human Resources department or do the hiring yourself in the case of small to medium enterprises (SME’s) an effective recruitment process and crucially the interview ensures you are selecting quality staff who can contribute to the productivity of your organisation. Poor selection can be costly in terms of time, training, wages, staff morale and output!

It is often felt that, ‘the ball is in the employer’s court’, as far as the job market is
concerned. However, with such a high employment rate employers who are looking to employ high quality skilled staff to fill their vacancies would be wise to remember that they are also being vetted. Our experience shows that many quality candidates are able to pick and choose their opportunities. As well as the job you are offering in terms of its pay and conditions, the interview that you conduct with potential candidates also says a lot about your company, and is an opportunity for you to ‘sell’ your company.

Many experts recommend finding a Unique Selling Point (USP) as in any business that has a product. In the case of recruitment, your vacancy is your product so it may be worth asking your other successful employees why they enjoy working for you, and including that in your advertising and during the interview. You could also consider the successful placements you have made and ask yourself why they have worked well.

Other points to consider are:-

• Be organised, try not to keep candidates waiting or rush the interview, It will be obvious to the candidates and leaves a bad impression which can be
  damaging to the company reputation. Read their CV, have your questions ready and know the job you are offering, giving a clear outline of what the job entails, this can help your candidate give clear answers and examples.
• Focus on good interview questions as opposed to tough ones! Most people
  tend to become withdrawn and defensive under tough questioning. Yes you
  want people who work well under pressure, but you can find out more about a person’s abilities from effective questions and examples.
• Use open questions such as Who? How? Why? and What?, this will prompt
  broader answers from the candidate. A good interview should be 80%
  candidate speaking and 20% interviewer. 
• You may want to consider having a set criteria and using a rating system
  against each one. You can then rate each candidate and avoid recruiting
  someone you like as opposed to someone who can do the job. Consider using testing as part of the interview process, a good occupational or psychometric test will determine a candidate’s competency in a range of skills.

A good recruitment consultant will have already interviewed potential candidates and will have sent you only those CVs with profiles that match your requirements and are a fit for your company; however it is your company and your interview process that will ensure you are capturing the best employees.