Hiring an addition to your staff is an investment and you want to make the right choice. While Celebrity Staff will identify and recruit the highest quality candidates for your position, the process culminates with the candidate’s interview with you.

As important as it is for the candidate to prepare for an interview, it is just as critical for you, the hiring official, to also have a plan.

This will ensure you are able to thoroughly evaluate the candidate and make the very best hiring decision for your organization.

Interview Prep
Pre-Interview
During the Interview
After the Interview

Interview Prep:

Goeff Smart and Randy Street, authors of the book Who estimate that for certain positions hiring mistakes can cost fifteen times an employee’s base salary in hard costs and productivity loss, so, the fastest way to increase productivity and minimize expense is to hire the right people, the first time. To do so, that means you need to step back and evaluate your interview skills and hiring process and make sure you are properly prepared.

• Review the position requirements before the interview and know the position’s responsibilities and required/desired skills
• Success factors – what does it take to be a top performer in this position?
• Expectations of the position – what will the candidate truly be expected to deliver on?
• Prepare interview questions in advance. Don’t wait to decide on your questions during the interview. Preparing them ahead of time will ensure that you hit on all of the important points and enable you to gather all of the information you need about the candidate’s skills, abilities, and the ability to work within your company’s culture/environment.

Click here for sample questions

Pre-Interview
A study by the Wall Street Journal indicated that 70 percent of the hiring decision is based upon the following: emotions, biases, chemistry, personality, and stereotyping. All of which have little to do with whether someone can actually do the job they are being interviewed for. Be aware of these tendencies off the bat and work to mitigate influences from these factors.

• Make the candidate feel comfortable. Ensure the candidate is greeted in a friendly and professional manner, is made to feel welcome, and is personally escorted to the interview location.
• Don't judge on first impressions and stay clear of “liking” someone too quickly. If you “like” a candidate you may not interview as in-depth or will ask “easier” questions. Other times candidates that don’t make the greatest first impression end up being the most outstanding employees. Allow candidates to fully present themselves before making a judgment one way or the other and treat everyone you interview the same. You can eliminate hiring bias by developing an objective interview process.

During the Interview
Once the interview starts, be mindful of “voodoo hiring”, as defined in the book Who, and how these interview styles can negatively affect an interview. Even the best interviewers, those who have been doing it for years, often fall victim to these poor hiring practices, which include: The Art Critic, The Sponge, The Prosecutor, The Suitor, The Trickster, The Animal Lover, The Chatterbox, The Psychological and Personality Tester, The Aptitude Tester, and The Fortune Tester. Instead, rely again on a pre-prepared list of questions and your objective interview process to conduct a well-balanced and effective interview.

• Talk with the candidate about the position. Provide a brief summary, including expectations of the position, general responsibilities, who the employee would report to, and any major challenges of the position. The candidate will then be able to offer relevant examples and responses during the interview.
• Be flexible: Although you have your questions planned in advance, don’t be afraid to let the conversation steer the interview. Building questions from the candidate’s responses will also help keep the candidate at ease.
• Listen more than you speak. In general, try to spend 80 percent of the time during the interview listening while taking notes and 20 percent talking. Otherwise, you will not be able to obtain all of the necessary information you need from the candidate.
• Open it up to questions. A candidate truly interested in the position will likely have some questions for you. This is also the time when you may be able to uncover the motivating factors behind the candidate applying for the position. If you aren’t able to answer a question, tell the candidate you will find out and follow up.
• Stay within legal guidelines. There are certain questions that are able to be asked during an interview and others that are illegal. Understanding legal hiring guidelines before entering into an interview with a candidate is critical. You may only ask questions that relate to the job itself. You must refrain from asking any questions that may have the potential to elicit bias.
• Promote your organization. This is an area that many employers overlook during the interview but it may just make the difference between hiring a talented candidate and losing the individual to another company. Remember that you are competing with other organizations for the very best talent. Just as candidates are selling themselves to you, it’s important that you sell your company to them. Talk about your company’s best attributes, what separates your organization from the rest, and why the candidate should want to work for you.

After the Interview
Following an interview, force yourself to wait 30 minutes before making a decision on a candidate. Review the job requirements again and assess whether the candidate’s experience match the needs of the position. To objectively determine if a candidate is right for the position examine past performance first, then character, and then personal/cultural fit last.

Reviewing a candidate’s performance will identify their ability to do the work. Traits to identify performance ability include team skills, drive, intelligence, leadership, initiative, and obtained results. The character of an individual is their honesty, integrity, and responsibility. One’s personality/cultural fit is their attitude, style, pace, first impression, appearance, social confidence, and affability.

Keep in mind these tips as well:

• Evaluate. If the candidate interviewed with several people from your company, compare notes. Be ready to provide examples from your interview.
• Be clear about the next step. Don’t leave the candidate hanging. Be honest about what the candidate can expect from you. If you promise to follow up, make sure that you do. Let the candidate know a timeframe for your final hiring decision.