Selecting Talent – Preparing and planning for interviews

Posted by Sarah Hobbs

If you’ve followed the advice in our last blog, you now have a reputation that is attracting some great talent to come into your selection process. Now you need to get ready for the interview. So what do you need to do?

My advice is to make sure, at the very least, that one thing happens – give them such a great experience that them saying “yes” is a given. That way you get to choose who joins you – and if there is not a place for them now, they will still be interested in future.

Here are some ideas for your next interview:

1. Think about what the candidate already knows. Consider what was in the job description and – if you’ve spoken to the candidate already – what you spoke about. At some point in the interview you’ll need to talk about the role and what it entails, and repeating what you’ve already told that candidate won’t create a great impression.


2. Read CVs a day or two before the interview. Many managers read a candidate’s CV in the 30 minutes before the interview. The problem is, it’s difficult at that point to spot what you want to talk about and off the cuff you may miss things that are important. After all, your aim for the interview is not just to appraise their CV but also to dig deeper. You need to have read and digested it so you can spot the gaps, notice patterns of jumping between roles and or companies, and judge whether they have what you need for the job.


3. Decide what you’re looking for. It’s relatively easy to consider what technical skills you require. But understanding what you need from a behavioural perspective is more difficult. Think about what kind of person you want to hire and what questions you can ask to find out if they are it. Some managers tell me that they always ask the same questions – saying that those questions have “served them well” – but each person and role is different, and the same should apply to your questions. Going through your corporate competencies can be a great place to start your thinking. Which do you need to balance your team, and to do the role?


4. Prepare for the first five minutes. Building rapport is often the hardest part of the interview – what are you going to say to help relax them and get them to be honest with you? Interests from their CV, professional common ground, or even the old favourites: the journey, the weather, the family or the weekend! Get ready to make a friendly and approachable start – and know what you’re going to say before they arrive.


5. Decide if the interview is enough. Is it going to be enough just to ask them some questions? When I’m hiring I always ask the candidate to deliver a quick presentation in the process. A simple, no slides presentation takes just 10-15 minutes but allows you to see other dimensions of the candidate and to get more information from them. It also tells you about their thinking and approach (just remember to give them time to prepare before the interview). Beyond this, consider a group discussion, a psychometric test or some skill assessments. An interview will only get you so far; the more layers you add, the more likely you are to see a good correlation to on-the-job performance.


6. Consider the practicalities. It should go without saying, but… book a room, tell Reception who is coming, let the candidate know the format, tell them who is interviewing and what the whole application process looks like. Don’t leave anything to chance and make sure everything in your control is dealt with before they arrive.

TAKE AWAY
Interviews are about giving people the right impression. Make it so you get your pick of the candidates. You don’t want a flawed process to make up their mind for them before you’ve had the chance to consider whether you want them or not!