Changing the way you interview job candidates

The entire recruitment and interviewing process is currently undergoing a lot of changes. Social networking sites such as LinkedIn are becoming an increasingly mainstream way to identify job candidates, and the entire workforce is becoming more fluid. There have also been a lot of exciting new ideas about how best to conduct interviews, many of which might be able to give you a much better idea of how a candidate will perform in the role.

Multiple interviewers
It can be a great idea to invite other staff members to sit in on interviews, either as silent observers or active interviewers. Not only will this give you the benefit of a second opinion, but they may be able to hone in on qualities or skills that will be valuable to the company’s inner workings.

Behaviour based interviews
This can be anything from asking a candidate to describe their behaviour in past roles and situations to setting a test or activity for them to complete. Setting a common activity for all of your candidates to complete can be a particularly insightful way to differentiate between the competition.

Re-framing traditional job interview questions
Most interview candidates will have rehearsed their answers to traditional job interview questions, making it hard to get an accurate reading of their abilities. If you present a question in a slightly different way to normal, you will get a more natural answer that is reflective of the candidate’s adaptability. For example, instead of asking someone what they think their weaknesses are, ask them to describe how they have resolved a situation where they lacked knowledge or experience.