Interview Planning for Successful Recruitment

Recruiting the right person for the job is crucial as poor recruitment decisions can be costly to both the organisation and the team.

Many of us are used to interviewing and recruiting staff however for some of you it may be a relatively new experience. In this section we have prepared some tips that will help ensure that the right decision is made.

Preparation

The first stage in the recruitment process is to prepare a job specification and job description as this will provide you with a clear understanding of the skills, knowledge, attitude and competencies required for the role. With this information you are now in a position to begin the recruitment process by matching any potential candidates against the criteria you have set.

The first interview

The first interview should take no more than 45 minutes to 1 hour and the ratio of speaking should be in the region of 40% by the interviewer and 60% by the candidate.

The aim of the first interview is to ensure the candidate has a clear understanding of the business; it’s aims, objectives and structure. It is an opportunity to clarify what the job involves, the salary and promotion prospects, training prospects, conditions of employment and also an example of the “types” of people who tend to do well in the organisation. This first interview should enable you to assess the candidate and match their skills, knowledge, attitude and competencies against those you have created for the role. It will also help you to assess areas of strength, weakness and provide you with points to explore more fully during a second interview.

A key point to remember – when you are interviewing a candidate you are representing your business and it is imperative that each candidate whether suitable or not leaves the interview with a positive impression of the company. With this is mind it is important that you are able to anticipate questions that may be asked and be professional in your approach, keeping your objectives in mind and not allowing yourself to get sidetracked. To be successful you must not only be objective but be seen to be objective. This means not pre-judging the candidate but assessing them on their own merits and keeping an open mind.

The Interview Environment

To give a good first impression ensure that the candidate is greeted upon arrival and keep waiting time to a minimum. Use a room or office that will be distraction free and ensure that you will not be interrupted at any time. If the environment is right the candidate will feel at ease and give their best and if not they will leave with a poor impression of the company.

The Interview Structure

It is important to remember that an interview is not an interrogation but an opportunity to explore and find out more about the potential suitability of a candidate. This is best achieved by the use of open-ended questions e.g. What? When? Why? Where? Which? & How? – Try to avoid closed questions unless really necessary.

There are three main areas the candidate must talk about; the past, present & future and in order to interview thoroughly and successfully you must have a clear idea of how you will structure the interview and by following a structure you will help to ensure that you keep control, do not miss anything out and present yourself professionally.

Firstly introduce yourself, your job title and thank them for coming and then explain what the process will be for the next 45 minutes to 1 hour ensuring that they are aware that the interview is a two-way process. Then give a brief description of the company history its aims and objectives. Using both the notes you have prepared and the candidates CV or application form interview the candidate using open-ended questions. Explain the job and expectations in more detail inviting questions as you move through the process. Discuss career prospects and training and if tell them about the salary and conditions of employment. Finally when the first interview draws to a close explain what the next step will be.

The Second Interview

The second interview is an opportunity to explore in more depth the candidate’s suitability for the job and provides the candidate with the opportunity to ask further questions and gain a greater understanding of the job, responsibilities and opportunities for future development.

It is at this stage of the recruitment process that you are able to clarify that the candidate understands what the job involves, check their level of commitment, probe further on past career history, get examples of their experience demonstrating that they have the skills, knowledge and competencies to excel in the role and also how well they work as part of a team. It is also at this stage that the candidate may want to know more about salary and reviews, training, staff turnover, future opportunities and job prospects.

At the end of the second interview explain what will happen next together with time scales and invite any further questions before closing the interview.

OCC HRD runs tailored Recruitment Interviewing and Selection training programmes for managers and those responsible for recruiting staff. To download a copy of the course outline please click here. In addition we can work with you to establish Recruitment Competencies required when recruiting staff  – information on Competency based Recruitment can be found on the “Training & Development” section of this site or click here to download information in word format.