Are you a good job interviewer?
Posted by Steve Thomas , Construction Recruitment Director, UK & Canada on Monday, October 2, 2023
A good candidate will thoroughly prepare for an interview and consider what they can bring to your company. So, what can you as the interviewer and ambassador of your company and brand do to prepare too? In this blog we will look at some of the ways you can reflect on and improve your interview and selection methods.
How do you prepare for the candidate interview?
The Maxim Recruitment team is happy to help you through the recruitment process. Our team will find the best candidates for you and will streamline the process leading up to interview. Once you have selected one of our candidates for interview, we can discuss their CV and possible strengths and weaknesses that can be discussed during the job interview.
Before the interview begins you should have a clear idea of what type of employee you are looking for. This will originate from the job description that we will have previously prepared and published. At the time of the interview starting, you will be aware of the candidate’s name, have read through their CV, know which job role they have applied for and have prepared some questions about the experience they may have.
How do you gauge and compare candidate’s personality and level of ambition?
In a worst-case scenario, a candidate may join your company, only to depart on the glimpse of a better offer elsewhere. One way to avoid this happening is to thoroughly assess their passion for a role at your company and only recruit those that show genuine commitment. If a candidate has a passion for the role you are interviewing for then they are much less likely to decline a job offer and will be much more likely to show commitment and stay with the company for much longer.
Highlighting core aspects of your company culture is important at this stage to see if their personality and ambitions are a fit. Asking them questions about how they would respond to a given challenge will help to determine if they will fit in.
Do you look at their core competencies and career aspirations?
An ambitious employer may not want to employ unambitious candidates. However, at the same time an overambitious candidate with sky high wishes for progression and salary increase, may not be satisfied in a role for very long. Clearly a match between candidate aspirations, capabilities and the competences required of the job need to be confirmed by both parties. For an in depth look see our core competencies blog.
In summary, it is important to look beyond a CV and ask about group participation, leadership and mindset to name a few critical competences. Ask for examples of when they have applied their competencies and find out what they can bring to your team.
How best do you follow up after interviews?
When you have reached a prompt decision following the process and you have settled on the candidate that you want to offer the job to – fantastic! Reach out to them and let them know as soon as possible and discuss the remaining stages of the selection and onboarding process.
However, it is important to contact other candidates that were not successful – this leaves open the possibility that you can come back to them if your preferred candidate doesn’t take the job, and/or reassess them for future roles. This promotes a good company image. By giving feedback and insight in to your decision-making process, all candidates have the chance to learn about the interview process and develop their interview techniques and become even more attractive and successful candidates in the future.
So, are you a good job interviewer?
A job interview that concludes successfully is a desirable outcome for both the interviewee and the interviewer alike. Job interviews take up a lot of time for everyone and a successful outcomes for interviewers are desirable to avoid taking up too much time with the recruitment process. Interviewers want to see the best prepared and best suited candidates and to be ready to join the team.
A good job interviewer will select the best CVs and will use a logical process to identify the best candidates from looking at competences. As an employer you have the responsibility to determine not only the best potential employees for a current live vacancy, but also to build a talent pool of future candidates to consider for upcoming job vacancies. Even when a candidate is not compatible with your company, a courteous and helpful interaction forms a good company image and allows goodwill to be passed on by word of mouth.
If you would like to find out about how Maxim Recruitment can help with presenting great candidates for interview or if you would like to discuss optimising the interview and selection process, please get in touch.
Steve is responsible for Maxim Recruitment in the UK. He is based in the Maxim head office in Leicester, Leicestershire and regularly travels to meet employers, job seekers and to attend construction industry networking events all over the UK. With over 20 years' experience in construction and property recruitment he works with a number of repeat clients and engages in search and headhunting assignments for a range of premium UK and international clients.