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Interview
preparation
Every element
of the screening process will alter your view of a candidate; more
elements such as testing, interviewing, referencing, etc. will build
a clearer picture and assist accurate decision-making.
Know
what you want to get from the interview
A first interview should simply establish two things:
- whether you wish to meet the candidate again
- whether the candidate has the potential to do the role
Remember that
candidates are not seeking a role as an interviewee and may be extremely
good at their job, but less good at selling themselves. Try to mirror
the work environment within the interview (and only put them under
pressure if the role would normally require it) in order to assess
how they would fit into the organisation and get the best out of
the candidate.
Let the candidate
talk, as they will often reveal more that if prompted.
Don’t forget
to create a positive picture of the organisation for candidates
Competency
based questioning
This can provide a consistent approach to assessing large numbers
of candidates, especially if the role is of a technical nature,
but can prove overly formulaic for many roles where personality
is more important.
The main competencies
which are effectively examined in this manner:
 Sales
persuasiveness
Drive
for results
Self
motivation
Ability
to learn
Problem
Solving / Initiative
Planning/Organisational
skills
Teamwork
Business
Acumen
Presentation
Skills
Stress
Tolerance
Further information regarding specific questioning for each role
can be provided by Placement UK.
Psychometric
Testing
Personality or “psychometric” testing can be used within
a recruitment campaign as a means to highlight areas of strength
or concern in candidates, which can then be tackled and covered
at a further interview.
They should
be regarded as a further tool to uncover the motivations of a candidate,
but should never be utilised as a decision-making device.
Intelligence
Testing
Verbal or numerical testing is an obvious aid when specialist skills
such as copy-writing or statistical analysis are an important part
of the role. They will highlight strengths or weaknesses, but should
be viewed alongside previous performance as candidates can perform
badly in tests, but are consistent performers on a day to day basis,
or excel in tests, but neglect their daily work.
Assessment
Centres
These are best utilised when recruiting large numbers of candidates
into customer facing roles, as it provides a chance to see candidates
interacting with each other.
Assessment centres are excellent for recruiting graduates when you
are looking for potential over experience.
They provide an excellent opportunity to market your company to
candidates and take decisive action on who to recruit without prolonged
interviewing campaigns.
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