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Prepare for the interview

From Administrative Human Resources

– You already know that the interview is a crucial partof the hiring process, so preparingfor that very important step is even more important.Lack of preparation can lead to a bad hire,and bad hires cost the organization in time and money.One mistake many small businesses fall intois desperation for a warm body.The receptionist quit, the phones are ringing,and there's no one to answer them.Let's just get somebody in here.Step away from those feelings.If, after you interview potential candidates,no one person stands out as the best match,then you should continue to recruitand interview candidates, until the best match is located.

It's just not worth it to have a warm bodywho will soon quit or be fired.Understandably, your staff may be frustratedwith your decision to hold off,but remind them that training and onboardingis time-consuming, so it's better to only do it oncefor the right person.So, take the time to understand the job and what a successful candidate needs,and then, you are ready to write your interview questions.In addition to the standard questionsyou can easily locate online, you should alsoinclude about five behavior-based interview questions.The question, how do you handle stress,is hypothetical and you will get a hypothetical answer.

Instead, try, tell me about a time you wereunder a lot of stress at work.What was the situation and how did you handle it?This question requires the candidateto offer up an example or story about a timethey actually dealt with stress.And, of course, you will ask follow-up questionsand probe to learn as much as you can.Work with the person who will supervise this positionyou are filling.Determine three to five absolute requirements a person needsto be successful, and then write your questions.Remember, they start with, "Tell me about a time…"Something else to figure out is the critical success factor.

This is the one trade or skill a personabsolutely must have or the consequences for your companywould be enormous.One of my clients had some file clerks whose job wasto literally spend all day filing paperworkinto client files.But client paperwork started to go missing.Clients were becoming angry that we'd lost their documents.This was not good.A few weeks after the mystery began,an employee opened a client's fileand found a giant heap of other client's papers.In an effort to shorten the stack,one of the file clerks was simplyputting handfuls of paperwork into random client folders.

It was then that we realized the critical success factorfor the file clerk was not the ability to file papers,it was patience.Without patience, customer service failedand we could lose clients.And now, we could ask about patience in interviews.Even better, we could ask about the critical success factor,patience, in this case, via a behavior-basedinterview question during the pre-screening phone interview.And we could quickly eliminate peoplewho didn't have this trait.Use the phone interviews strategically.

Ask a few questions about their resume,find out how much they made at their last job,their salary requirements, and why they applied.Also, pay attention to things other than their answers.If you called them on their cell phoneand caught them off guard, do they askfor a few moments to sit downand get out a pen and paper?Or do they try to wing it?Are they giving you their full attention,or are they distracted?If you get their voicemail, is it professional?As you're preparing to interview your candidates in person,decide the best format and be clear on your reasonsfor using that format.

If you're trying to hire several peoplefor several open positions,perhaps a group interview is best.You might also use a panel interviewif you need to hire quickly and would like to avoidhaving that person come back for second interviewswith someone else.The key to successful panel interviews,or several interviewers interviewing one candidate,is that you get together before the interviewto agree on who will ask which questions,and who will take the lead.You might also decide observing employeesdoing the work might be a part of your interview process,or going out into the field with your best salesperson,for example, might be useful.

You could also ask your receptionistto strike up a conversation with candidateswhile they wait for you to call them in,and then, you could get some insighton to how they acted when their guard was down.In the end, interviews are strategic eventsthat include preparation, discussion,and a well-thought-out plan.Finding the right person can really make a big differencein the success of your company.