During the hiring process, the interview is your chance to get to meet candidates face to face and get a feel for how they might fit into your organisation.

To make the most of this opportunity, you need to prepare. Here are some basic tips that employers can use to prepare for an interview to maximise their chances of choosing the right candidate for the job.

Know What You Are Looking For

The first step in interview preparation is to know what you want in terms of skills, experience and personality. Make a list of characteristics that you are looking for in your ideal candidate.

Review Resumes

You should be familiar with the candidate’s resume and cover letter before the interview begins. You would be surprised by how many interviewers use the interview to read a candidate’s resume thoroughly for the first time. Flicking through application details during the interview wastes time and also creates an unprofessional environment. Remember, the interview is also a chance for the candidate to assess your organisation.

Address Concerns

Highlight parts of the resume that you want to ask the candidate about. When you go into an interview, you should know exactly what your concerns are about each candidate. By the end of the interview, there should be no unexplained red flags remaining on a candidate’s resume. This step might sound basic, but it is something that many interviewers forget to do.

Prepare Questions

Asking the right questions is essential to fully assess how yell each candidate would fit into the organisation. Prepare a list beforehand so that you don’t dry up in the middle of the interview. Try to use open-ended questions that encourage the applicant to talk about their skills and experiences using specific examples. For example, to learn more about the candidate’s experience and abilities to work with a team, try asking questions such as “Tell me about a successful team project which you were a part of”.

Stay Professional

Aim to present a positive image of your company at all times during the hiring process. That means dressing smartly for the interview, treating candidates politely, sticking to agreed schedules and contacting all candidates to let them know the outcome. Also, be careful to avoid asking anything related to the candidate’s race, sexual orientation or private family life, as many of these questions are actually illegal to ask during a job interview.

Take Notes

You will almost certainly not remember everything about every candidate, so take detailed notes during the interview. You will need to review these notes later to help you make your final decision.

Conclusion

By following these tips, you can conduct a professional interview that supplies all the information you need to choose the best candidate. Next time your organisation is hiring, give yourself plenty of time to prepare for an interviews so you can be sure of making the right decision.