INTERVIEW for the Perfect Employee

Ok, you found someone to talk to about the job.  Now, on to the INTERVIEW.                      

First, don’t be fooled by industry-specific experience alone. You can hire smart, organized people with or without specific industry experience, and then train them.  In fact, that is one of the major points of this article. If you’re short of employees, you need to bring in new people. If you only look for industry experience, you will continue to be frustrated! The Chinese definition of insanity, I’ve heard, is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. When hiring salespeople, for example, you’ll have to distinguish the sale of intangibles vs. hard goods. But the skills transition well.

Carefully review cover letters. These are a reflection of commitment and professionalism. Don’t fall for glitz or style, read the use of words, and see if they just clicked on spell check or actually took the time to proof the letter.

In the resume, look for:

1. Good grammar
2. Clear concise writing style
3. Scholastic experience
4. Work experience
5. Professional and civic affiliations (is there a balance?)

The interview is as much work for the employer as the candidate. You must be prepared. Read all information about applicant in advance. Don’t wait till they are sitting in front of you to review the information if an HR professional has done the initial screening. Bring all paperwork about the applicant and job description with you to the meeting. Know what you are going to ask in advance. You can use a checklist, but there is one caution: don’t be so focused on the checklist that you fail to engage in a real conversation. The checklist is a great way to be consistent so you can ask all applicants the same core of questions. Test all candidates on appropriate skills.

Allow plenty of time (30-60 minutes) for each candidate. Do not allow interruptions or take calls!  That’s just rude no matter who you have in your office. It’s a good idea to have more than one person interview the applicant. It gives you another perspective on them and it gives the candidate an idea of personalities of your staff. Never hire with less than 3 interviews! People are different in the morning than they are in the afternoon. Interviewing over a meal is a great idea too. See if they know about basic etiquette.

Interview well! Open with a rapport builder; you want to really know this candidate and set them at ease so they will relax and show their true personality. Ask open-ended questions to give them a chance to tell their story. Don’t be afraid of silence; let them think a moment after you ask a question. Only ask questions related to the job (EEOC laws are tricky, get help with this if you need it from an HR attorney). Take notes! If you talk to a lot of people you want to remember one from the next. But never take notes on the resume itself (more EEOC stuff). Make a separate sheet of paper for each candidate. Listen, listen, listen!

Do reference and background checks! Never omit this step. You must use consistency among applicants, or you can be accused of discrimination. Do the checks between first and second interviews. Be sure to tell them you’ll be calling references. A great interview question to ask is “What will your former boss tell me about you when I call there?”