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Giving an Interview: How to Start the Interview
Posted: 12-09-2010 03:54 AM
Views: 4537
Synopsis:
Interviewing an employee is one of the most important jobs that a manager will do. All interviews need to have a combination of legal and effective questions that will hire the best candidate and keep the company out of legal jeopardy. Setting the right tone at the beginning of an interview is essential to the whole process.
Interviewing an employee is one of the most important jobs that a manager will do. All interviews need to have a combination of legal and effective questions that will hire the best candidate and keep the company out of legal jeopardy. Setting the right tone at the beginning of an interview is essential to the whole process.
The first step is to be prepared. You need to study the candidate's application, verify facts on the application, study and update the qualifications for the position, and lastly prepare the interview questions. Even the small talk questions at the beginning of the interview should be prepared ahead of time. When these questions are off-the-cuff, they can be legally dangerous. In fact, the more casual beginning of the interview is the most legally dangerous portion. Plus, the more prepared you are, the better your rapport will be with the candidate.
This is also the time to let the candidate know about you. Let them know what your position in the company is and how you will relate directly to their job. In addition, you should let them know everything about the interviewing process - who else will interview them, how long will the process take, what the time-frame for a decision is and lastly how they will be informed of that decision. It's also best to be upfront about pay and benefits and let them know when and how that will be discussed. This is an uncomfortable question for them to ask and it should be given to them right off the bat.
This is also the time to let the candidate know about the organization - history, your background and any other relevant information.
The beginning of an employee interview is crucial to the entire interviewing process. It's the candidate's first glimpse into your organization and it sets the tone of the entire interview. While it can be a legally dangerous situation, if you are prepared it is a great opportunity to begin an effective interview that will garner the result of an outstanding employee.
Charlie Bentson King is a writer and producer of hiring and interviewing training videos for TrainingABC. TrainingABC is a distributor of behavioral interviewing video and DVD programs such as More Than a Gut Feeling.