Madan Ahuja
Aug 9, 2017 · 4 min read

Having an effective Interview (a few things to remember to make a great candidate experience)

Candidate experience is very important to bear in mind. How we treat them in the interview says a lot about how we will treat them if they were to work with us. If you can keep some of these things in mind, you will have a very productive conversation and learn a lot about the candidate along the process.

Here are few things to keep in mind:

  1. Come prepared: It is really important to read their resume and be prepared to ask questions. Please do take the time to prepare not only resumes but also what questions you will ask. Candidates can tell if you haven’t prepared.
  2. Know what questions to ask: Make sure you debrief with your Manager and interview team to ensure you don’t repeat the same questions and also you know what your expectations are from the interview.
  3. Tour of the office: When you meet them in person try and give them a tour of your office and offer them some water/coffee or any refreshments. They have taken the time out of their day to come onsite and meet you/your team and giving a tour shows them what your environment and culture looks like and helps them relax a little too before jumping straight into the interview.
  4. Break the ice: candidates have anxiety because they don’t know what to expect, what will be asked, how much details to provide etc etc. Try and help them ease the tension by letting them know what you hope to accomplish from that interview by the end of the conversation and you are here to answer any questions they may have. Let them know you are taking notes and that’s the reason you have your computer.
  5. Think about the hiring qualities of this role: When you interview the candidate, try and think about what characteristics are needed to be successful in this role and try and ask questions to gauge that from the candidate. Things like “perseverance”, “go-getter”, “initiative” etc
  6. Hiring for culture: When you interview the candidate, think about how they ADD to your culture more than FIT your culture? If for some reason they aren’t a culture match, try and think about if this is someone you feel can adapt to your culture. What are some unique perspectives they bring to the table? Will they challenge the status quo of your current team? will they add more structure and discipline to your team than there currently exists?
  7. Behavioral/Situational scenarios: Asking questions based on Strengths and weaknesses may not yield as much as giving candidate behavioral or situations scenarios to really understand how they react and deal with these circumstances
  8. Ask questions: Towards the end of your questions, please try and probe them to ask you questions and this also is a sign to see how prepared a candidate is and how excited they are and how much research they have done and want to learn about
  9. Avoid unconscious bias: we may tend to develop some sort of social stereotypes towards certain groups of individuals. These typically show up in interviews and are hence called unconscious biases…. we don’t realize it. For example if someone went to the same school as you, may make you feel favorable towards that candidate. When you receive a referral from another employee there may be a tendency to feel more positive towards that candidate. Treat every candidate with the same degree of respect and give them the equal courtesy and opportunity to interview with you as you would any other candidate/s.
  10. Sell the role: If you feel the interview is going well, don’t hesitate to sell the role to the candidate and how he/she will fit within the group and the company and talk about the culture and merits of working at your organization.
  11. Listen more talk less: If you are talking bulk of the time than the candidate, something doesn’t seem right. Interview is for you to ask questions and candidate to respond to the answers. Typically folks say that it should be 80–20 or 70–30 rule…. Means bulk of the talking should be by the candidate.
  12. Be courteous: Please feel free to ask them if it is a long interview, if they need a break. Empathy goes a long way. Think about yourself in their shoes and to treat them the way you would like to be treated. If you are running a few minutes behind, please apologize and don’t take it for granted
  13. Walk them out: If you are the last interviewer it is very polite and courteous to walk them out the door and let them know that recruiting will be in touch with them to discuss next steps. Ask them if they need any water or need to visit the restroom before they leave.