Interviews

Interviewing candidates

by Mark Rowe

In the current candidate-driven market, employers need to be well prepared for the all-important interview stage if they want to secure the best talent, says Lorraine Thomas, pictured, the MD of search and selection company Metzger.

When you’re trying to attract the best candidate for the job, there are numerous tools and techniques available to help you through the process but the interview stage is probably one of the most revealing. A face-to-face meeting not only gives you the chance to read behind the person’s cv and qualifications but the opportunity to assess the all-important cultural fit. By allowing you to get to know the person on a more personal basis, you are in a better position to evaluate their motivation, values and attitudes – and whether these will align with your organisation.

Here at Metzger, where we have been providing HR solutions to FM and contract cleaning clients for more than 20 years, it’s easy to forget that interviewing isn’t as straightforward as it may appear. Like many other tasks, training and experience can help achieve good results. Asking the wrong questions (or not enough of the right ones), failing to pick up non-verbal clues which give away the candidate’s true feelings, acting discriminatorily without being aware of it: these are all potential pitfalls for employers. A poorly executed interview also wastes time and money and it could even have a negative impact on the company’s profile.

For many busy employers, therefore, appointing a specialist consultant to look after the selection process can be worth the investment. A well-connected consultant should have access to strong industry networks, and experienced recruiters can also gauge an applicant’s appetite for a career move. This is very important – there is no point going through the hiring stages if the chosen candidate is not really motivated towards a job change, or is simply assessing their own value in the marketplace.

When it comes to a successful interview process, I’d say the first golden rule is preparation. Before you even start to think about interviewing, it’s important to define what role needs to be filled and how this will sit in the organisation. Crucially, you also need to assess what sort of person would fit your company and its culture. Having a good idea beforehand of who will thrive in your business is the key to a successful applicant choice.

When it comes to the interview itself, always make sure you’re fully familiar with the person’s resume and prepare a set of questions that will draw out the information you require. Being knowledgeable about the person and their background will present you (and your company) in a positive light and enables you to steer the meeting efficiently. One interview approach that is becoming more popular amongst employers these days is a competency based framework, where the questions you ask reveal how the applicant has demonstrated certain behaviour in the workplace, It can give a detailed insight into how a candidate might perform any given task and whether they’ve got the background, experience and skills you’re looking for.

For example, to a fairly straight forward question such as: “Tell me about a time when you identified a new approach to a problem”, you should be able to gauge on a scale of one to five, whether a candidate has no skill/experience or has excellent skill/experience in the relevant area. Scoring candidates uniformly by their answers to competency-based questions can prove an ultimate deciding factor. It also prevents any unintended preferential treatment towards those candidates who may simply display appealing traits – the so-called ‘halo’ effect – rather than a real aptitude for the job.

Inviting other colleagues to meet the candidate to get their input and compare thoughts can be a helpful way to gauge suitability, while picking up on non-verbal behaviour is a highly useful technique for interviewers. Does the candidate maintain good eye-contact throughout, as this indicates a confidence and ability to build relationships? How does the person present themselves? Dress codes vary according to different organisations but if the person turns up in jeans to a City firm, it suggests poor planning and a lack of research on their part.

When it comes to using social media to research candidates, I personally don’t do so before interviewing as it may sway my opinion, but looking at somebody’s LinkedIn page after an interview can be helpful, in terms of assessing whether the information they’ve supplied does, in fact, support what you’ve seen. Whether you’re interviewing for a board level or second-jobber position, it’s worth remembering that the interview is not supposed to be about catching people out. The aim is to get the best out of the candidate, to make them feel at ease so that you can fully assess what they could bring to the role. Match your expectations according to the level; a junior manager won’t be as polished presentation-wise as a very senior candidate, but they could bring very good ideas to the table.

Remember, throughout the interview, do take care not to ask questions that may potentially be unlawfully discriminatory, such as enquiries around family commitments or age. For example, asking a 60-year old applicant ‘And how many more years do you see yourself in the workforce?” would be clearly discriminatory. Hiring decisions made on the basis of sex, race, criminal record, age, disability or marital status are illegal.

From a candidate’s point of view, preparation and research is just as important. If the first stage meeting is with an executive search consultant like myself, who is working on behalf of a client, they will need to demonstrate that they have done their homework on the organisation and the role, otherwise it’s unlikely I will be putting them forward. Candidates should take time to think through their desired role, and the type of organisation they want to work for – whether it’s a high-growth, ambitious business or a more low-risk, stable operation – as this will obviously affect the potential fit and chemistry between both parties. Ultimately, it’s worth bearing in mind that an interview is a two-way process. The best candidates are making a decision about whether they really want to work for your company, whilst you’re making a decision about whether you would like to have them on board. In the current job market, when unemployment is at its lowest level for years, and skilled talent is in short supply, the recruitment process needs to be smooth, succinct and timely – otherwise employers risk losing their chosen applicant.

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