Before You Interview, Consider This

The interview process is designed to allow you to uncover what you need to know about their abilities and dig down objectively into examples to demonstrate their ability against each of the defined competencies. Companies that have progressive and modern techniques of hiring, like Google and Amazon compare candidates with a clear structure or rubrik that allows all candidates to be assessed under the same conditions.

Before you even start thinking about conducting any interviews it’s essential that you have the process and your desired timelines outlined so you can move quickly. We’re in a fast moving market and so strategy is even more important than ever. 

Some of the things you can ask yourself before you start are - 

1 - How many interview stages are you going to have? 

Knowing how many people will be involved in the process, what their schedules are and what’s your objective at each stage will help you start the hiring process at the right time and everyone involved will be available to interview.

2 - Who is involved in that process?

Who are the key stakeholders in the hiring process and what do they bring to the process? Perhaps it’s expertise about the role, maybe it’s a line manager or you could bring someone into the process who is learning about the hiring process in the business. Identifying what those people will be responsible for assessing is useful. 

3 - Who is the final decision maker on the hire?

Often we can get down to a final two candidates in the process who each have different things to offer. Who will have the final say over this hire?

4 - What competencies and skills are needed for this role?

Utilising a clear framework for hiring mitigates unconscious bias and allows you to ensure that you 

5 - How are you going to interview against these requirements?

Using a competency framework and scorecard can help you create a process that everyone involved in the process can use.

6- What information do you need in order to make a formal offer?

How will you decide when you’re ready to make the offer and how are you going to deliver it so that you can get the best results possible for your business?

Taking the time to identify these things will allow you to make the most of the interview process and get the information you need from candidates in order to make an informed decision.