If you go online, then you will find hundreds of articles written on how to perform well in the interview from the candidate’s point of view. But, no article will help you through how an employer can sharpen his or her interview taking skills. Yep, if you want to hire good employees for your organization, then it is very important to conduct interviews in the right manner.
You will get the right answers only when you ask the right questions. So, if you are planning to conduct some interviews in the upcoming days to appoint the best employees in your organization, then you have to work on your interview skills as well. And, to sharpen your interview taking skills, follow these tips.
Tip 1. Be Ready to Answer Some Questions
If you have prepared a long list of questions that you want to ask from the candidates, then be prepared to answer some questions of the candidates also. Yep, if you want to hire the best candidates for your company, then candidates also want to work in the best organizations only. Thus, you should be prepared to answer some basic questions about your company like the goals of your company, the reputation of your business organization and so on.
Tip 2. Create a Friendly Environment
It is the responsibility of the interview taker to create a friendly environment for the candidates. The job applicants are already very nervous so you should try to make them feel comfortable. To offer comfort to the job applicants, you can introduce them to your staff and offer them a welcome drink. Don’t be too stiff or formal during the interview because if you don’t show friendly vibes, then this will make job applicants nervous and that’s not good for you or your company as you won’t be able to hire the best candidates. So, create a friendly environment for your candidates.
Tip 3. Try to Learn About Candidates
You can’t learn everything about the candidates from their resumes. To get to know candidates better, you have to ask some personal questions as well. However, you should not ask any sort of uncomfortable questions from the candidates, but asking some basic questions would be a great way to know candidates better.
Tip 4. Make it Conversational
The interview is a dual process, you have to ask for information and share information in the same amount. If you only ask questions and don’t provide any answers, then this will look very rude. So, to make the job applicants feel better, you have to make the interview a bit conversational where you both can share the information with one another. The conversational tone interviews make the job interview more personal which allows management to know more about candidates rather than a plain interview.
Tip 5. Don’t Be Rigid
If the conversation takes a turn off topic, go with it. But, do not let such a diversion change the total direction of the interview. If the candidates want to discuss something, then don’t cut their talk in a midway. Let them talk and don’t be rigid on the topics that you want to discuss. Sometimes in a free flow of conversation, you can know more about the candidates as compared to the rigid interview.
Tip 6. Be a good Listener
Before starting your interview develop listening skills in your personality. The interview is not all about asking questions – no it is also about listening to other people. If you don’t listen to your candidates, then how will you able to judge them. So, you have to be a good listener before becoming a good interview taker.
Now, if you conduct the interview in the right manner, then you will be easily able to find good candidates for your organization. But, here if you don’t have the competent skills to conduct an interview, then you won’t be able to find the right candidates for your company. So, first, work on improving your interview conducting skills, then on anything else.