Hiring Staff

Tips for Interviewing Applicants

General Tips
 Don’t go too fast. Often times, a hasty hiring decision will be more costly for your
business than if you invest time in the hiring process. Take the time to define your job
requirements, interview potential staff, and review references.
 Consider the whole candidate. Make sure to consider the candidates’ attitudes and
their abilities. Will they be able to perform the tasks that the job requires? Are they
willing to learn, and perform more than just the minimum? In addition, do the
candidates show that they can focus on small details as well as broader concepts? Look
for a match with your company’s values and goals.
 Review your local laws regarding interviews. Different countries and localities will
have laws on what you can and cannot ask during an interview. Make sure to learn
about these laws when preparing for your job interviews.

Before the Interview

 Define your requirements. Write a clear job description for the position. Be sure to
include the major responsibilities that this job position will have and what
characteristics you want to look for in your applicants. These will help you to measure
each of your candidates in the same way.
 Decide the interview structure. Will it just be you doing the interviewing or does
anyone else in your company need to be involved? Will the interview be formal or more
relaxed? Will you include any tests for your candidates? How much time do you wish to
spend on the interview, and how much time will you leave for questions or additional
conversation at the end?
 Prepare the interview questions. Decide the main questions you wish to ask
beforehand, and ask each applicant these same questions. Write these down so that
you will not forget them during the interview. These will help you to measure each of
your candidates by the same criteria.
 Study the application forms. Is there anything in the application that raises a red flag
for you about the candidate? Is there anything that seems unclear? Is there anything in
the application that raises your interest in hiring the candidate, but that you might like
to know more about? Prepare any specific questions that you would like to ask the
applicant regarding his or her application.

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 Hiring Staff
During the Interview
 Help to make the candidate comfortable. The more comfortable a candidate feels, the
more you can build a positive rapport. This can help you to get more information from
the candidate, and help you to make a better-informed hiring decision.
 Let candidate do the talking. Business owners often make the mistake of talking too
much in the interview. Allow the candidate to answer your interview questions fully and
clearly.
 Ask questions the same way to each candidate. It is easier to compare your
candidates’ strengths if you ask the same basic questions in the same way. You can
always ask different specific questions or follow-up questions depending on the
candidate’s application and answers.
 Start with broad and open questions. These questions will allow the candidate to
answer more freely, and give you more information about the candidate’s background,
experience, and attitudes than simple yes or no questions.
 Ask follow-up questions. A common mistake that managers often make is to accept
answers from candidates that are too vague or general. Continue to ask questions to
get more detail until you have a complete understanding of the candidate’s answers.
 Make time for the candidate to ask questions. Don’t forget that you are being
interviewed as well! The candidate may have questions for you.

After the Interview

 Write down your thoughts. It is easy to forget your impressions and thoughts about
the candidates after the interview has ended. Write them down while they are still fresh
in your memory.
 Check references. Check your candidates’ references and follow up on any questions
that you still have about the candidate. Again, make sure to check your local laws about
what is and is not allowed in this process.
 Follow up with additional interviews if necessary. If you find that you still have
several candidates who seem equally strong, or if you have more questions to ask of
your candidates, you can schedule a follow-up interview to get more information.

For sample questions and tips, visit the Next Steps portion of the Hiring Staff topic.

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