by Too many employers think that within a quick conversation they can find out what someone’s like. However, what we have found from years of experience is that it takes 45 minutes to 60 minutes to more accurately find out what someone is like. Longer the better!
Firstly, you need to relax them in an interview – they need to stop being strategic in trying to guess the answer that you want to hear.
How do we got over that, we spend the first 15 minutes purely talking about things that they’re interested in, doing this also means we learn a lot about them.
Suggested warm up questions:
I see you are interested in (topics taken from CV) what do you enjoy? Why?
What has been the most memorable moment?
One of the great questions we ask is – “There are a lot of questions that we can’t ask you but what would you love to tell us about yourself?”
Then the secret is to be quiet do NOT interrupt do NOT share your own experiences – just nod and smile to show your interest and show you are listening.
The secret to keeping them talking is what I call ‘the power of the ‘pause’. And this a really cool thing to do.
So, when they finish speaking just hold for a few seconds. I guarantee you if you pause for a few seconds – before talking again, they will continue to speak and now they are really in relax mode. They are now really enjoying the interview.
Another key skill in interviewing is asking open questions.
When we’ve trained managers and we’ve trained hundreds of them, many unconsciously ask close questions, even though they had a list of open questions to use.
What they do not see or understand is that an interview cannot last for 45 – 60 minutes if you’re asking closed questions. Then the candidate just gets to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ or provide quick simple answers.
This was a really big learning for many managers who have participated in our recruitment training course.
Open questions in an interview open up the conversation – the important word here being ‘conversation’.
An interview should be an open conversation between the interviewer and candidate. It should also be full of open questions that lead the candidate through the journey you have created to ensure you discover the information you need to know about each candidate. This will enable you to choose the best possible person.
It’s also a really good idea, with each candidates permission, to record the interview, this way you can give them 100% of your attention without having to focus on taking notes. Listen to the recording after they leave, write down your notes and delete for confidentiality and integrity.
We cover all of these interview skills as a key component in detail, in our recruitment manual plus all of the other steps that lead up to the actual interviews,
- Defining your needs – the key to effective staff recruitment is identifying and planning your requirements.
- Attracting the best possible person – how will you do this? How to write great advertisements that have people actually want to apply for the job. We work through gathering information, developing one main selling point and we provide highly successful examples and templates.
- Screening CV’s, Telephone calls and Application forms – The process of effective Staff Recruitment is time consuming and we all know that time is money. Therefore, it is important not to waste any of it – time or money! It is vital that no shortcuts are taken throughout the process to avoid running the risk of making a bad hiring decision. ‘Hire in haste – repent at leisure’.
- Pre-Interview Checklist – What questions do you need to ask? What questions MUST you avoid? Preparing the interview environment.
If you have NOT read my previous blog’s click on the links below, for some insight into each of these steps.
10 Major Steps to Successful Recruitment – Step One – Defining Your Needs
and,
10 Major Steps to Successful Recruitment – Step Two – Attracting the Best Possible Person
Coming Soon
The 10 Major Steps to Successful Recruitment
Due to a high level of client interest and requests we are currently working behind the scenes in preparation to launch the 10 Major Steps to Successful Recruitment due for pre-order early June.
If you are interested to learn more, share your expression of interest with me by clicking on the image above. If you would like to have a chat with me about how the 10 Major Steps to Successful Recruitment can support you contact me I look forward to hearing from you.
Warm regards,
Craig