Homerun’s guide to Job Interviewing

The Art of Work

Homerun’s guide to
Job Interviewing
A modern guide to stepping up
your interviewing game

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Homerun’s guide to Job Interviewing The Art of Work

An introduction
If you Google ‘job interview’, lots of tips for candidates will appear, but
not so many for the people on the other side of the table. So where do
you find all you need to know to nail a job interview from an employer’s
perspective? Right here, that’s where.
‍
But before you get started, please bear one thing in mind. The Art of
Job Interviewing shares a process that applies to every company, but
the details for your hiring process should always be worked out by you
and your team. After all, that’s who the winning candidate will come and
work with. Make your hiring process personal and you’ll make it much
better.

Good luck!

Team Homerun

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Homerun’s guide to Job Interviewing The Art of Work

What you’ll learn

Over the course of three chapters we’ll show you all you need to
master the art of job interviewing:

Before the interview

A How to successfully prepare an interview with
your team in 11 steps.

During the interview

B How to conduct a productive and insightful
interview in 7 steps.

After the interview
C How to ensure the right result after the
interview in 3 steps.

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Why

Doing great
job interviews
A good interview process will not only lead you to the right hire, but keep
everyone happy, even the people you have to turn down. That’s the thing
about the interview process, its impact extends much further than the
hire at the end.

As interviews are so important, people share their experiences of them

with their friends, family and anyone who will listen - and as we often
remind ourselves, the world is small and reputations are long. How you
handle everything from the first invite to the final call will affect how
people inside and outside your company perceive your Employer Brand.

So if you do everything you can to make the entire interview process

clear, personal, honest and engaging, you’ll become an employer that
your candidates and their networks will want to work for even more.

Hire better candidates

A good interview process will give you a clearer idea of what to look for
during interviews and lead you to the right person.

Strengthen your employer brand

A well-structured interview process will help establish your reputation
as a company with a great candidate experience.

It helps avoiding bias

Well-trained interviewers protect your company from unintentional
discrimination which results in better hires.
Before the job
interview
After you’ve reviewed all the applications with your hiring team (the
people with whom you’re responsible for filling this specific job opening)
and made a final selection, it’s time to start interviewing! The more
preparation you do, the better the results you’ll get in the interview.

Prepare the process

Structured interviews have been proven to be twice as effective as
unstructured interviews. But what are they? Well, in a structured
interview every candidate is asked the same questions, all interviews
follow the same order (phone call, onsite interview, trial day), while an
unstructured interview is spontaneous and doesn’t follow any structure
at all. That sounds fun, but it makes it hard to compare candidates. Not
only that, biases could run loose (we’ll get into that later).

That’s why we prefer semi-structured interviews in which you use an

interview agenda to structure your conversation but don’t script every
question in advance.
Homerun’s guide to Job Interviewing The Art of Work

‍
Creating an interview checklist and scorecard might sound like a lot of
work, and putting all this in place will take more preparation time. But
if you get this process right, you will seriously boost your chances of
making the right hire for every future position.

1. Create a scorecard
After each interview you put your findings into a scorecard. This allows
job interviewers to score an applicant’s interview in a consistent way
that allows for a fair comparison of candidates. And that’s what it’s all
about, really.

i Scorecard essentials
Based on your job brief you create a scorecard, a simple overview
where you can score all candidates on skills, values, motivation
and everything else you think is important for the job. Make sure
to include all stages of your interview process (assignments and
interview rounds) in your scorecard, so you have an overview of all
your team’s findings when you compare candidates.
‍
Note: Don’t use your scorecard during the interview, that’s where
the interview checklist comes in. More about that below.

Open a scorecard template

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Homerun’s guide to Job Interviewing The Art of Work

2. Create an interview checklist

‍ fter creating your score card it’s time for the interview checklist. This
A
is a simple list with everything you need to cover during the interview.
It’s where you write your notes and what you use when filling in the
score card after the interview. Even though you use your checklist, there
shouldmore than enough room for spontaneity, so you get the best of
both worlds.

i Interview checklist
• Introduction to the company
Organisational structure, mission, vision, strategy

• Areas you’d like to discuss based on your hiring values

That are based on your company values

• Areas you’d like discuss based on the desired skillset

Requirements, responsibilities, hopes for the future

• What the candidate journey looks like

Who does the interviews, how many interviews, is there
an assignment?

• Practicalities
Salary expectation, starting date, perks and benefits

• Next steps
Are there other candidates, time frame

Pro tip: There are lots of question techniques out there that claim
to help you find out whether the candidate possesses specific
skills that you’re after. Our preferred technique is STAR.

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Homerun’s guide to Job Interviewing The Art of Work

3. Brief your hiring team

Facing a whole bunch of people across a table during an interview can
be really intimidating, so never go into an interview with an interview
team bigger than two.
‍
It’s important to carefully select the two team members who will do the
interview. We strongly recommend that you invite at least one colleague
who will work closely with the future hire, preferably a team lead or a
senior, so they can get a good look at their future colleague and ask (and
be asked) insightful questions.

For those of you new to the Hiring team: it’s the group of colleagues
responsible for successfully hiring a new team member. They’re involved
in the recruiting, interviewing and selection process.

The number of people involved and their responsibilities may differ from
company to company and job to job, however, the roles typically include:

- HR manager
- Recruiter
- Team Lead

One of the team members is the facilitator who makes sure everything
happens on time, in the right way.

4. Find a location
Find a location that fits your company values and the job opening. We
know some companies who let the candidate choose the location for the
first interview and others who love to do their interviews in a café - it’s
completely up to you, just make sure you feel comfortable there and that
it relates to your company.

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Homerun’s guide to Job Interviewing The Art of Work

If all this sounds a bit strange, then doing the interview at your office is
great too.
‍
Finally, it may sound obvious, but don’t forget to make sure that there
will be coffee, tea and other refreshments available.

5. Pro tip: Make room for a ‘loop champion’

Sometimes you meet a candidate for the first time and you’re convinced
it’s the right person for your team. If you’re confident enough about
your gut feeling to vouch for this candidate, that makes you the loop
Champion. From now on you’re the hiring manager for this specific
interview loop. This means that you will be available throughout the
interview process to make the candidate feel safe and welcome.

The loop Champion makes sure that communication with the candidate
is good, promises are kept, and the candidate knows what to do and
expect throughout the process.
If this sounds like a lot, don’t worry - not every hiring process needs
a loop champion. Only make room for one when you’re really, really
enthusiastic :)

6. Start with a phone screen interview

Most of the interview experts we talked to always do a quick
phone interview before sending out invitations for the first face-to-
face interview. In a short call (15-20 minutes is enough) they ask
the candidate for a short personal introduction and their salary
expectations. This ensures that both the candidate and the employer are
on the same page before they (potentially) meet for the first time.
‍

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Homerun’s guide to Job Interviewing The Art of Work

Here are a few things that we suggest discussing during the call:
- Why this company?
- Why this position?
- Candidate experience
- Candidate expectations
- Salary indication

Prepare your team

It’s a great idea to introduce the interview process to your team. Show
them how to use it, tell them what to look for during an interview and
explain the importance of semi-structured interviews. Remember, the
more structured, the less biased :)

7. Sell the company

You look forward to going to work every morning and every candidate
should be equally excited about coming to join your team. The best
way to show them why is to share the values and vision that make your
company unique.

Nobody knows these better than you and your team, so get together to
discuss which rituals and work best represent you. Once these are clear,
everyone in the team can sell the company to anyone.

8. Don’t influence each other

The interview team shouldn’t share their opinions, notes and scorecards
with each other until they’ve documented their findings in your hiring
software (like Homerun, for example). This will help make sure that they
don’t influence each other’s opinions.

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9. Try and avoid bias

We’re all human, and we’re all biased, so the best thing to do is just
accept this. To stay as neutral as possible during the interview process,
identify what your biases are in advance and try to be constantly
conscious of them. It helps to keep an eye on your scorecard so you
don’t lose focus or get blindsided.
‍
Another way to avoid bias is to always back up your opinion with rational
statements when discussing candidates and their qualities with your
colleagues. Not only will this make you sure about your gut feeling (or
not), but it will help convince your colleagues too.

i Most common job interview biases

1. First-impression error
Allowing an initial judgment of a candidate — good or bad — to
affect one’s feedback or decision.

2. Groupthink
‍Allowing the opinions of others — good or bad — to affect one’s
feedback or decision.

3. Halo-horn effect
‍Allowing one major strength or weakness of a candidate to affect
the overall feedback or decision, rather than thinking holistically.

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Homerun’s guide to Job Interviewing The Art of Work

Prepare the candidate

Applying for a job is a scary thing. The more someone is at ease, the
better impression of them you’ll get. The best way to do this is to give
your candidate a wonderful experience during your hiring process.
The best way to start is to follow these steps after you’ve selected the
candidates for the first round of interviews.

10. Share place & time

Make sure the candidate knows when and where the interview will take
place and what they can expect in the interview. Explain the process and
cover how many interview stages there will be. Telling candidates this
- and who are they having the interview with and which topics will be
covered - will help them relax and let both sides be at their best on the
day.

11. Give some homework

Preparation is good for both sides! What this will be depends on which
stage of the process you’re at. At the start, you might just ask the
candidate to do some reading, so send some information about your
company together with any relevant good reads.

If you want to get a taste of their talent, set them a small task in advance
of the interview - but make sure it matches the job type. For example, at
Homerun we always ask people to create a free demo account to make
them familiar with our product. At a later stage of the process you may
decide to add a more detailed (and demanding) assignment.

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Homerun’s guide to Job Interviewing The Art of Work

During the job

interview
After you’ve prepared your team, process and candidates, it’s time to
start interviewing! Here’s how to conduct a productive and insightful
interview in 7 steps.

1. Structure your interview

Start off with short round of introductions - nothing heavy, just tell
the other person who you are, what you do and a little bit about the
company. Summarize the interview process, say how many candidates
you’re talking to and discuss next steps (don’t forget to say when the
candidate can expect to hear from you afterwards)..

2. Keep the checklist in mind

Keep an eye on the interview checklist to make sure you cover all
prepared topics, but don’t let it run the show. The most important thing
is a productive conversation. And yes, productive means keep it short
and sweet :)

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Homerun’s guide to Job Interviewing The Art of Work

3. Making notes
If you want to make notes during the interview, do it on paper not on
your computer. Putting a screen between you can act as a barrier and
make it look like you’re not interested in what’s going on in the room.
This means you’ll have to wait until after the interview to put your
findings in your hiring software, without speaking to your hiring team
buddy - more about that below.

4. Show interest
Be on time, or even better, be there five minutes early. Whatever you do,
don’t let the interviewee wait, or they’ll think that you don’t care about
them. The person in front of you could be the future of your company,
and nothing’s more important than that, not even your mum ringing for
a chat. So phones off, focus on. Behave like you would do if you were on
the other side of the table: show interest and be your best self.

5. Manage expectations
Ask what their preferred starting date is, whether the interviewee is
talking to other companies and double-check salary expectations. Don’t
do this right at the start - otherwise you might come over as too formal -
but pick a moment that feels right.

6. It’s not all about you

‍ o make sure you give the candidate the opportunity to ask questions
S
too. Keep your answers concise and let them elaborate on theirs.

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Homerun’s guide to Job Interviewing The Art of Work

7. Improve their experience

Even if a candidate won’t go on to work for you, he or she will form a
strong opinion of your company based on their candidate experience
- and one that he or she will share with everyone who asks how the
interview went. So make sure you do everything you can to make your
candidate experience a good one.

H Homerun highlight: LUUUNCH!

At Homerun we believe hiring is as a team sport - you’re all pulling

together in the same direction and spending a lot of time together,
so a hire needs to work on a personal as well as professional lev-
el. That’s why we always ask someone to join our team for lunch
before making the final decision.

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Homerun’s guide to Job Interviewing The Art of Work

After the job interview

After you and your hiring team have talked to all the candidates it’s time
to make up your mind and ensure your team makes the right decisions.
Here’s how to ensure the best results after the interview.

1. Write down your thoughts

So the interview is over. What’s next? Although it’s tempting to
immediately share your opinion with your co-interviewer, we recommend
you get your thoughts down on paper first (or on your scorecard or in
your hiring software, wherever you keep track of your reviews). Write
tight (clear and concise) then open your mind and your mouth to the rest
of the team.

2. Discuss with your hiring team

Get together while the interview is still fresh in your minds and opinions
aren’t biased by other people’s thoughts. Once everyone in the interview
team has shared their findings, open up and start discussing whether to
proceed with the candidate or not. Make sure you put these conclusions
into your hiring software for the record.

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Homerun’s guide to Job Interviewing The Art of Work

3. Share outcome with the candidate

Whatever the outcome is, make sure you share it with your candidate -
the sooner, the better.

i When you proceed

1. Share next steps

Explain what the next stage will be. Will it be an interview or an
assignment? Who is it going to be with? What will the focus be?
Most importantly - what’s the time frame?

2. Be quick
Even though someone wants to work for you, that doesn’t mean
they’re going to wait days for you to make the next move. Many
candidates talk to several companies at the same time and you
don’t want to lose talent because someone else was just faster,
right? So keep the momentum going and schedule the next
meeting as soon as possible.

3. Share doubts and first findings

Did the hiring team have any doubts about the candidate?
Whether it’s about their CV or personality, share these doubts
with the candidate so that they can prepare better for the next
round.

4. Ask about their experience

Did the candidate expect to make it to the next round? And what
did they think about the interview process? Their feedback will
help you improve the interview process and interviewing skill, so
don’t forget to ask!

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Homerun’s guide to Job Interviewing The Art of Work

i When you don’t proceed

Missing out on a job sucks. It hurts too, so when you have to tell
someone the bad news, do it how you’d like it to be done to you.
This doesn’t mean offering a shoulder to cry on, but if you’re
personal, clear and constructive then you can still make the
unlucky candidate feel valued and give them something to build
on in the future.

1. Phone, don’t email

Nobody likes bad news, but it’s easier to handle if you hear from it
someone instead of reading it on a screen.

2. Explain why
Always give a reason, or reasons, why they didn’t get the job.
That’s why we suggest that one of the people who conducted the
interview makes the call, as they can give direct feedback that
rings true. When elaborating on the decision, refer to your hiring
values and the specific skills set you’re looking for. This will make
your decision easier to understand for the candidate. Finally,
always make it clear that someone can call for more feedback.

3. Offer an introduction
If you’re impressed by the candidate, but he or she simply isn’t
a good fit for your company, offer to introduce them to other
companies you think are a better match.

4. Ask about their experience

Did he or she expect to be rejected? If you keep rejecting
candidates who didn’t see it coming, you might have to improve
the way you manage candidates’ expectations. If you can, ask
them what they think about the interview process too. This will
help you improve your process and skills too.
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Homerun’s guide to Job Interviewing The Art of Work

About Homerun
Homerun is all-in-one recruitment software that enables you
to attract, review and hire the best talent, together as a team.
Tailored to companies that care about brand, culture, and fit.
Give it a try.

Credits
Design by Thomas Moes & Willem van Roosmalen
Text by Yuki Kho
Illustration by Janne Iivonen

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