17 Simple Yet Effective Tips for Hiring Managers to Interview Job Candidates Better
Most people believe that interviews are only stressful for the candidates doing the interviews, but that is not the truth in the employment market. Interviews are also very stressful for the ones conducting them. This is where we talk about hiring managers who have to interview several candidates in their careers and get experts on board.
It is essential to have interviewing skills training for hiring managers to interview potential talent effectively. Not just that, but hiring the best candidates is very important for the success of an organization. A hire that gives the company profit is highly appreciated. To give your company what it needs, hiring managers need to make the best hires.
Learning practical tips can change the outcomes of interviews and allow hiring managers to make the most of those job postings and interview questions. Here are some simple yet effective tips that hiring managers can use to interview their candidates in the best ways!
Effective Tips to Interview Train Hiring Managers
Let’s divide the tips into things you can do before the interview takes place and during the interview, and once the interview is over:
Before Interview
1. Learn All There Is To Know About The Position
When hiring for a position, you must learn what the job exactly is. Understand the role of the said position so that you know what you are looking for. Understanding the job will help you know what qualifications, skills, and experience levels you need in a candidate to ensure that they are the best fit for the company.
If you don’t know much about the position, you can ask your team members and learn what they have to say. List down all the duties and responsibilities to find the best fit.
2. Map Out the Interview
Going into the interview without any preparation is as bad for the interviewer as it is for the interviewee. This is why before you start your interview, you must map out the complete interview and plan how you will take things. If you have a solid plan, you will be able to interview to the best of your ability. It may even help to hold mock interviews to practice.
When asking questions, you need to determine if the candidate will fit with the company culture, so your questions should surround that. 74% of HR employees use structured interviews, making mapping out the interview very important.
3. Open-Ended Questions Are Great
Asking the right questions in the interview is more important than hiring managers would like to believe. Not all questions need to be directly related to the job. Like an interview, you need to make sure that the candidate is the perfect fit for your company in every way possible. And to do that, you need to ask them an open-ended question to judge their judgment.
Open-ended questions open a window for the interviewer to see into the candidate’s mind and decide if they are a good fit for the company.
4. Practice Makes Perfect
You may not be much trained to take interviews, which can hinder you from taking interviews. You must practice how to ask different questions and steer the interview in the right direction.
For that, you can practice all the questions you ask and the way you ask them to have a smooth interview.
5. Read the Resume
You must already have the candidate’s resume you are going to interview. Make use of it and read through the details before the interview starts so that you have the basic information about the candidate and you don’t have to waste any time by asking questions that are answered in the resume.
The interview needs to be fruitful, and if you end up asking the same questions you find the answers to on the resume, then the interview will be a waste of time. This is why you must read the resume beforehand and come up with questions you would like to ask according to the available information.
6. Dress Up
When taking an interview, you represent your company, and while you may be in a high position within the company, you need to look like it too. Dressing up for the interview is important as it will leave a lasting impression on the candidate, and they will take you more seriously.
During the Interview
7. Greet the Interviewee
Since you are the company host and the interviewer is coming to meet you, you must greet them in the best way! You need to make them feel as if they are welcomed. Candidates usually are under a lot of stress, and it is your responsibility to make them feel comfortable so they can perform their best in the interview.
67% of job seekers are unable to make eye contact, so you must make sure they are comfortable enough to do so with the help of your greeting.
You can take a few minutes before you start the interview to familiarize the candidate with the surroundings and answer your questions with a clear mind. However, avoid being too friendly; you are in a formal setting, and if you establish friendly ties, making an unbiased judgment will be difficult.
8. Avoid The Small Talk
Small talk should end right after you greet the candidate. Talking about useless things will not take your interview in the right direction, and you might even lose focus of the interview. This is why it is best to avoid too much small talk so you can address the important questions.
Moreover, some questions might not seem like small talk to you but are. For instance, you might ask the candidate where they graduated from when their resume mentions the information.
Avoid asking questions that do not add value to your interview. This will only waste your time as well as the interviewee’s time.
9. Don’t Belittle the Candidate
Many hiring managers believe that they need to have an impression in the eyes of the candidate that they are very busy and keep the candidate waiting for several minutes. This is entirely unfair, but it also causes good candidates to lose interest in your company. Respecting the candidate and their values are extremely important and ethical on the hiring manager’s part.
Moreover, despite the candidate’s qualifications, walk in with the attitude that this might be the candidate you are looking for.
You are the one who called them in for the interview, and with that in mind, you shouldn’t belittle them by not taking any interest in the interview or using your attitude to show the candidates that they are not worth your time.
10. Take Notes
You are human and won’t be able to remember all the information that you and the candidate discuss during the interview. This is why you must take relevant notes. Keep a diary and pen when you sit down for the interview. Jot down anything that you find interesting or know is notable so that it is easier for you to decide when the time comes.
During the interview, you can also jot down all the additional questions you had in your mind and should ask the candidate.
11. Listen More, Speak Less
Out of everything, one of the most important attributes of a hiring manager is for them to be a good listener. If you are a good listener, you will be able to listen to all the information the candidate gives you without skipping out on important information.
After you have asked the candidate an important question, wait for them to complete what they are saying so that you get a comprehensive answer. Your interviewee consistently gives you the information in response to questions or otherwise, so you must pay close attention to what they are saying.
When you listen more, you obviously will speak less. This is the best combination, as when taking an interview, you must avoid giving off vibes or opinions that can affect the genuineness of the interview.
“A job interview is a two-way communication to probe for cultural and team fit. No matter which side of the table you sit on, you should be asking questions that are important to you without fear.” – Salil Jha
12. Don’t Play Against The Candidate
When interviewing a candidate, it is important to realize that you are not playing against them but are on the same side. Do not have a stressful interview where you keep on grilling the candidate.
You can break the cycle of grilling questions with personal ones, which can involve asking about hobbies and such so that the candidate feels at ease and can respond to the questions in the best ways.
You may have to add some stress to the interview, but too much of it can be a recipe for failure. If there is a lot of stress on the candidate, they might break and be unable to answer questions they would have answered easily.
13. Stay Objective
During the entire time of your interview, you need to make sure that you are as objective as possible and minimize the unconscious bias. You cannot give your candidates any hints as to whether or not you will hire them. Similarly, your candidate is entitled to the answers they give and their opinions. These answers and opinions might not agree with you, but you cannot show them that they don’t.
Objectivity is very important to have a good interview where you do not influence any of the answers your candidates give.
After Interview
14. Make A Report
After you are done with the interview, you need to make a report for each candidate. You can use the notes you made during each interview and make a comprehensive report that outlines why you should not hire the candidate.
You will use the report to decide at the end of the recruitment cycle. Include all the details that you deem worthy. You may even want to use an applicant tracking system (ATS) to organize all of the candidates and notes.
15. Follow Up
Most hiring managers fail to understand that most candidates are waiting for a follow-up as it allows them to get a final answer as to whether or not they get the job. Moreover, it is also an ethical practice not to keep the candidates waiting or in hopes of getting the job.
If you know that the candidate did not qualify, you can give them a follow-up call and inform them about the proceedings. 94% of professionals want to hear interview feedback if they are rejected.
16. Give A Concluding Answer
If you hire the candidate or call them in for a second interview, you must give them a concluding answer. You shouldn’t be vague, be as clear as possible so that there is no confusion on their part.
17. Be Unbiased
Last but not least, we are all humans and very much prone to bias. When looking through the reports on each candidate, you must keep all bias aside. There can be many avenues of bias, such as gender, religion, or even race. As a hiring manager, you need to eliminate even the slightest possibility of bias.
Start Interviewing Successfully Today
Interviews are probably the most crucial step of the recruitment process. The hiring managers must get it right. If you are a hiring manager, using the interview training for hiring managers tips mentioned above can significantly improve the way you take interviews and the outcomes you get from them!
If you want to learn more about how to optimize your hiring process and land quality job candidates faster, contact us at Recruiter.com today!
We’ve years of expertise in formulating a structured interview process that enhances candidate experience and reaps positive results faster, even for new hiring managers.
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