Interviewing Skills Made Fun and Easy

Most people believe that interviewing is easy and it involves very little skill. They see the process of simply sitting in a room with a candidate asking a variety of questions, and then trusting your gut level response about the person. This approach will not yield the most qualified candidates for the organization. Effective interviewing is a developed skill that can be mastered with practice, patience, and perseverance.

Before I address how to conduct an effective Interview, I want to first cover what not to do. These are the ten major pitfalls to be avoided.

Failure to know the job requirements : This is where the interviewer hasn’t done their homework and is not sufficiently briefed to know what the job requires.

Talking too much : Some people are uncomfortable with the interviewing process. They will ask a question, and if the candidate doesn’t answer immediately they will fill the silence, or they will start talking about themselves.

Using a disorganized approach : During the interview he jumps from topic to topic. He may ask a question, and then start talking about the company. There is little structure to the meeting.

Not being fully prepared : This is the person who rushes in at the last moment, preoccupied with what has just transpired, and can’t find his interviewing materials.

Telegraphing the desired response : This is where you unconsciously let the person know what response you are looking for from the candidate.

Jumping to conclusions : This is where you don’t wait until all the data is gathered and you jump to a conclusion, which may or may not be accurate.

Capturing only the obvious : Each candidate wants you to see only their best side. They will try to conceal any weaknesses or character flaws. If you only capture the obvious, your will not have conducted a thorough interview.

Concluding with insufficient, irrelevant data to make an accurate assessment and evaluation:If you draw conclusions with inaccurate or inadequate data, it is unfair to the candidate and to your company because frankly it has proved to be a waste of everyone’s time.

Impatience : When you become impatient you are not in present time. You probably are stressed, have too much on your plate, and are not giving the person a fair deal.

Pre-conceived notions, pre-judging outcomes : When you enter the interview with preconceived notions and ideas you are often not open to what will present itself in the meeting to you.

The purpose of the job interview is to gather sufficient, relevant data to be able to accurately assess and evaluate applicants so that you will make the right choice about the person/job match and positively influence the applicant to make the right choice about their future.

Studies have discovered that people who follow their preferences, rather than their competencies have more job satisfaction for the long term. For instance, a candidate might be a terrific typist, but they love to travel and would ideally love to be a tour guide. If that person gets a job as a typist, they will be dissatisfied and listless.
There are 4 key answers that you want to be certain that you can answer after the interview is complete.
They are:

Does the applicant have the ability to do the job?

Does the applicant want to do the job (is it his/her preference)?

Does the applicant fit into the organizational culture?

Is this the best person for the job? Will they feel comfortable and at home in their new job? The person must integrate into the culture otherwise the situation will result in a short-term engagement rather than a long-term commitment. When people feel like they don’t belong they end up leaving when presented with the opportunity.

You ultimately want to choose the very best candidate for the job, not just someone who is acceptable, available, or presents well.

To help you determine whether this applicant is the right one for the job, here are some areas that address these specific questions.

To answer the question, “does the applicant have the ability?” we examine his/her capabilities, skills, experience, education, knowledge, technical expertise, specialized training, analytical skills, accomplishments, and flexibility to show that they know and have experienced a similar situation. You always want to ask questions rather than assuming that a person has the abilities and know-how.

To answer the question, “Is this job the person’s preference?” we look at Motivation/Desire, behavior, preferences, interests, their goals, their drive and energy, their reliability, cooperation and taking initiative.

To answer the question of the candidate’s fit into the organizational culture, we ask about their need for structure, autonomy, freedom, direction, and independence. We also want to know if their values are aligned with the majority of the group. Where these questions don’t constitute a legitimate “knock-out punch” they do provide some indicators of long-term integration or expulsion.
Here are some excellent questions for you to ask when you are conducting the interview…

What qualities do you bring to the job?

Why did you leave your last job?

What are your major accomplishments?

What gives you satisfaction?

What has been your most rewarding experience?

What was your favorite subject in college?

Why did you choose your university?

Why did you choose your major?

Why have you chosen our company?

What are you looking to gain from working in our company?

What do you know about our company?

What is most important to you in a job?

What did you like best about your last job?

What did you like least about your last job?

What was the biggest challenge you faced in your last job?

What was the most frustrating experience you encountered in your last job?

What is your ultimate career goal?

What criteria are you using to evaluate the company you will choose?

Tell me about leadership positions you have held?

Where do you see yourself at age 40 (50, 60)?

What is your best asset and your biggest challenge?

What community service have you done?

What is the profile of your ideal boss?

Why should I hire you for this position?

Why would you be the best candidate for the job?

How do you like to spend your time when you are not working?

How would you rank your achievements?

How would your friends describe you?

How would you describe your management style?

What appeals to you about this job and this organization?

What qualities do you think make someone successful in our company?

Give an example of a situation where you demonstrated leadership.

For instance, what was the toughest decision that you have made professionally?

What was the greatest ethical challenge to your leadership?

What questions do you have about our organization?

Did you get all of those?

If you missed any, you can go back and review the training.

By the way, It is illegal (in the U.S.) for an interviewer to ask questions pertaining to the following subjects:
Sex, Age, Race, Religion, National Origin, Marital Status and offspring, Anything not directly job-related

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