Lead through Powerful Interviewing Techniques

1.  Organize the interview process. One person (usually the would-be boss of the interviewee) should be responsible for orchestrating the interview.

Before the interview begins, each interviewer should receive a copy of the candidate’s resume, guidance as to the purpose of the interview, and the scheduled time for the interview. A disorganized interviewing process is a definite turn-off and may cause the candidate to decline any offer.

2.    Put the candidate at ease. Remove coats, roll up sleeves. Have a cup of coffee together. Exchange small talk. The more at ease the candidate feels, the more honest the interview process will be.

3.    Arrange interviews with one or two of the firm’s best people who will be peers of the new employee. The purpose of this interview is to get into in-depth technical discussions. The firm’s top people will be able to assess the candidate’s technical knowledge.

4.    Avoid standard interview questions. Standard questions test how well the candidate interviews, not how good an employee he/she would be.

5.    The last person to interview the candidate should be the principal of the firm who oversees the group interviewing the candidate. The purpose of this interview should be to express the firm’s interest and sell the candidate on why he/she should work for the firm. This will greatly improve the odds of the person accepting an offer if it is made later.

6.    Each interviewer should put his/her impressions in writing (see sample interview evaluation records).

7.    The person who will be the applicant’s boss (if he/she is hired) should collect all the interview evaluation reports and determine if the firm wants to make an offer to the candidate.

8.    By the time the firm has decided to make the candidate an offer, it should be 100 percent in the selling mode. Make the offer in person or by phone, being sure to take the time to sell the company while making the offer. Then follow it up in writing (see sample offer letter).