5 Smart Ways To Prepare Your Team For Candidate Interviews

[Kazi Sobuj]

Let's be honest, some companies do a pretty poor job of interviewing candidates.

Here are some of the mistakes companies are making:

Poor preparation of team members
Insufficient communication within the team and with candidates
Intangible or incomplete hiring criteria
So some team members are just not ready to be a part of the interview process. And that means the foundation for a good information exchange is missing. The right data isn't there and we don't know how to interpret it.

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Interview team members are distracted by their own jobs. All of the email, phone calls and meetings ask a lot of their time and pinch off their attention, right?

Until interview day, of course, when they scramble around looking for a copy of a resume for the candidate they are supposed to interview in 5 minutes.

1. Give everyone on the hiring team a role

People love having a role on the interview team. It helps feel more productive and have a specific goal for their interview as well as something tangible to focus on during their conversations. For example, each may focus on a key piece of experience criteria or on a desired behavior. This way there are experts on the team who dive a little deeper on an important aspect.

3. Create clear criteria for what a great candidate says and does

By bringing to life the candidate criteria, you empower your interview team and help them to interview with confidence. Surprisingly, a lot of people don't like to interview and get nervous when being asked to "step up" and represent the company. So give the team words or phrases to listen for or behaviors in their past companies that are consistent with target behaviors required for success in the job.

2. Enable each interviewer to own their time

While you can and should provide the criteria listed above, encourage your interview team to take ownership of this time. Make sure that their feedback is valued and will be used in making hiring decisions – not just to fill a slot on the interview calendar (they are not a seat filler).

4. Organize quick briefing meetings

Get the team together a week before the interview (or as soon as you can) to discuss the job, the hiring criteria, the roles each person has on the team and your expectations for each person's participation. Create a sense of "team" with the interview team. Also meet the day before (or send an email) to remind everyone of who is on the final interview schedule and what t look for with each candidate.

5. Set expectations for participation in the post-interview review

Make sure you have a meeting to let your team "finish" by giving them the floor for 15 minutes. Schedule it in advance so schedules allow the time and let everyone report back on what they found – especially as it relates to their specific role.

While there are many other ways to prepare for an effective job interview process, these are some of our favorite bits of advice.

What are your secrets to effective interviewing? Reply and let us know!

To learn more about how we can help your team interview and attract interim and project-based talent to your team, contact us now and include "Interview Help" in the subject line.

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