Job Interview Questions, Processes, and Post-Interview Systems for Employers
Employers who have solid job interview processes, great interview questions, and trusted post-interview systems in place have a better chance of hiring a right-fit candidate.
This blog post is the second in a series of three that will highlight tips and insights to help you attract, interview, hire, and onboard the right candidate for your job opening. This series continues by sharing interview ideas—from interview questions to processes that work, and more.
You've crafted a compelling and helpful job advertisement and posted it in all the right places—and now the resumes and cover letters are coming in. YAY! But, now what? It's time to start the interviews. Here are some tips and insights to get you started. If you're an interview pro looking for ways to refresh your process, this post may have some useful tips for you, too.
Employers Need Trusted Interview Processes and Methods
Having an interview process in place before you advertise a job opening will help you avoid the temptation to cut corners. Interview processes can be simple or robust. Here are some interview methods that you can introduce into your current process or use for starting a new one:
Internal planning meeting. The first step should be to determine who is taking care of what roles within the interview process. Who will be posting the job, screening resumes, scheduling phone and in-person interviews, conducting reference checks, etc. Also, consider to whom the new hire will be reporting and how should those team members be involved in the interview process. Mapping out an interview plan benefits everyone, and it will keep you organized and on task.
Role checklist. Get the relevant personnel together to decide on what characteristics and skills are important to the position. It doesn’t have to be granular, but it can be. Consider adding items to the list that include culture fit, specific skills or experiences, internal motivation, ability to be part of a team, etc. Coming up with a list such as this will help serve as an evaluation tool both during and post interviews.
Interview questions. Before a candidate walks into your building or steps foot into your office, know the questions you’ll be asking. Not that there’s no wiggle room or space for spontaneity, but it provides a roadmap for what you hope to find out and crucial information that you need to know. Be prepared to take notes or invite another team member into the interview to keep track of the candidate’s answers, questions, and concerns.
Looking for some great questions to add to your interview arsenal, check out Job Interview Questions that Every Employer Should Ask (Part 1 of 2) and Job Interview Questions that Every Employer Should Ask (Part 2 of 2).
Initial phone screens. Go over the position with the potential candidate and confirm that it’s a career move they’re interested in pursuing. Talk to them about their relevant experiences as it pertains to your opening.
In-person interviews. How many in-person interviews do you want to have—two or three? Do you want the candidate to meet with HR first then the direct manager and owner later? There are no right or wrong answers, but it is important to establish a plan.
Team interviews. Involve the people that will be working most closely with the candidate. Allow them to interact and ask questions. Group interviews are a great way to assess cultural fit for your company. Also, your employees will be more invested in the long-term success of someone that they helped to hire. The team should also have a list of questions that they will address with the candidate—but not all at one time. There should be a cadence to the interview.
What To Do With Potential Job Candidates After Interviews
What’s next? You’ve created an interview process, and it’s working out swimmingly. You have a couple of great candidates for the job, and you think either will work. What now? Here are a few additional action steps that will get you closer to offering the job.
Compile results. Each person involved with the interview process should rate the candidate on areas you’ve decided are important to the position such as cultural fit, relevant skills, internal motivation, ability to be part of a team, etc. Then pull everyone together and see how your notes compare. Finding a person who can handle the role and fit company culture will greatly help the team immediately and in the long run.
Reference checks and other testing. Reference checks are a critical piece of the puzzle. Ask for at least four professional references with the goal of getting three back—having a fourth person on the list provides a backup in case one of the references is on vacation or fails to reply. If you’d like, you could ask for a personal reference, too, if insight from a friend’s perspective would prove useful. Be clear on how you plan to obtain it—phone call, email, or online form. You may also decide to run background checks or drug screening tests depending on the position.
Make a decision. Bring the hiring team together and discuss the top candidates. Decide on a first choice and make the offer. Offers aren’t always accepted, so it’s best not to notify the other candidates until you have an official yes from your candidate of choice.
When the interview process is in place before job openings are posted, things will go more smoothly than if it was handled on the fly. Also, keep in mind that the interview process doesn’t have to be lengthy or cumbersome. No employer likes the feeling of having to replace an employee, but being prepared goes a long way in hiring the right candidate.