3 Things You Can Do to Make Interviewing Job Candidates Easier
While startup founders are well-known for their skills in selling their business, they’re also known for being smart about hiring. Small business owners, especially long-term owners or new entrepreneurs, may not be as hiring savvy. If you’re new to the hiring process, here’s a few strategies you can employ for a more successful interview.
Prepare to Sell the Position
A job interview is a two-way street. The candidate is interviewing you every bit as much as you are interviewing them. You will need to give a candidate a reason to want to work for you, knowing that they may have several employment options available to them. In order to prepare, you should figure out ahead of time what the selling points of your organization are and prepare an elevator pitch. Rehearse how to work them into the interview. Expect that every candidate who walks in the door will be the right candidate for the job and be ready ahead of time to seal the deal.
Prepare Questions Beforehand
Job interviews are generally not very long. Before you know it, you are saying goodbye to the job candidate and sending them on their way. Wasting time during an interview helps neither you nor the candidate. By taking some time before the interview to plan the flow of the interview and the questions you’ll be asking, you can use the scheduled time more effectively. Just like you can sense that a candidate came unprepared, they can sense the same of you. Not only does a little preparation go a long way to making a good impression, it also helps to guide the conversation. Come up with a few questions that you believe will give you a sense of your candidate’s abilities. It’s also a good idea to know who you can and can’t hire.
Practice Active Listening
President Lyndon Johnson once said, “You aren’t learning anything when you’re talking.” This holds true when you are conducting an interview as talking too much is one of the common mistakes that interviewers make. While you want to sell your company, an interview is also your chance to see how a job candidate handles certain situations and responds to pressure. It is difficult to get a sense of the candidate when you are the one who is doing all of the talking. At the same time, practicing active listening does not necessarily equal silence as it is possible to listen and still participate in the conversation.
By knowing ahead of time how best to conduct a job interview, you can go a long way to ensuring that interview will be productive. A good job interview helps you schedule fewer interviews, spend less time interviewing, and ultimately find the right candidate quicker.
If you would like share your interviewing tips and experiences with other new employers, please comment below!