The most difficult part of the employee lifecycle is the hiring part—no wonder it is also the most flawed for many organizations. It is important to keep employees and future employees comfortable and engaged. This theory seems a little contradictory, considering the first encounter you have with a potential employee is a particularly stressful and uncomfortable situation: the interview.
The fact is there are ways to effectively interview—and therefore effectively hire—minus all the stress and discomfort. Check out these interview strategies for effective hiring, courtesy of Monster.com.
Being prepared in advance is a necessity. Having questions in mind (or written down, preferably) ahead of time will help you move quickly and efficiently, get the information you need, and avoid those vaguely-worded, unnecessary questions.
Choosing the right interviewers is a must for an effective interview strategy. Even small organizations should have more than one interviewer, because multiple opinions and views on a candidate are better than one. And, of course, these people should be unbiased and have good people skills—and good judgement.
How will you elicit practical information? What types of information do you need? One major factor to consider is what role the candidate would be playing in your company, and what traits are necessary for that role. A great way to procure that information is through employee assessments, like the ones Talexes has on our assessments page.
Sell your company like you’re selling a product. Discussing your company brand and culture is a crucial element in selling the candidate on your business. This includes functional benefits (compensation, flexible hours), emotional benefits (motivating factors, culture), and reasons to believe your company is worth it.
A good interview strategy involves knowing what questions to ask and what questions to avoid. Here are 3 samples of each, respectively:
Questions to ask
- Tell me about a time you needed to learn a new skill.
- Describe the worst job you ever had.
- How do you motivate someone who isn’t doing his/her job?
Questions to avoid
- Where do you want to be in 5 years?
- What are your strengths and weaknesses?
- Why are you leaving your present position?
The reason the avoided questions are categorized as such is simple—they elicit well-rehearsed responses. Meanwhile, the 3 good examples require candidates to think on their feet, resulting in more genuine responses.
One of the interview strategies that is often overlooked is the second interview. Strong candidates should be invited back in order to speak to a different interviewer with some different questions, as well as some of the same, to test consistency.
Interviews are a necessity. Make them a positive one by implementing these interview strategies.
