Conducting Your First Job Interview
Posted December 17, 2013 & filed under Hiring Resources
You’re probably not going to ask the types of hard-hitting questions that are the envy of veteran journalists when conducting your first job interview. Yet that doesn’t mean you have to flounder through an awkward fifteen to thirty minute conversation with a candidate. If you follow these steps before and during the interview, you can get what you need from a candidate to make a well-informed, effective decision for your company.
Know the Candidate You Want
Before conducting your first job interview, determine exactly what you want out of a new employee. Sounds easy enough but some people stumble with this step. They assume that having a general idea is good enough. That line of thinking is on par with winging an important board meeting or adlibbing a standup bit at an open mic night. Not a great plan.
An insubstantial minority of people can pull it off, so the chances that you’ll fail to ask insightful questions are pretty high. Worst of all, you risk making a bad hire because of it.
There should be no ambiguity about a candidate’s essential qualifications. Make a list of three to five requirements from both the technical and interpersonal side to outline exactly what you cannot budge on. Anything more than that errs on the finicky side and can disqualify candidates who would otherwise be great for your company.
Make a List of Strong Questions
With an image of your ideal candidate beginning to form, you need to determine the questions that will draw out that person from the sea of those who fall short. Don’t strain yourself to reinvent the wheel though. This is one of those instances where you don’t need to forge your own unique path.
Unless you work for a company that prides itself in being quirky, you don’t need to go for any “Google style” questions. Even then, it can waste your time. Scroll through the lists of questions online and follow these guidelines about what questions to ask and avoid asking candidates.
Don’t Go Too Far Off Topic
When actually conducting your first job interview, it doesn’t hurt to occasionally stray from serious discussions. Not everything about the interview needs to be bogged down in sober or robotic conversation the whole time. On the other hand, you don’t want to stray too far off the beaten path.
If you have a great rapport with someone, you may be tempted to let the interview take on an organic life of its own. That can be a mistake. You may spend time chewing the fat with someone who ultimately won’t fulfill your technical requirements or have the work ethic you need. A cultural fit is necessary but you shouldn’t sacrifice everything else because of it. Capping irrelevant conversations at about a minute or so is a surefire way to ensure success when conducting your first job interview.
by James Walsh
