Mastering the Interview and Hiring Process

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I receive a periodic newsletter from Suzie Price of pricelessprofessional.com. Suzie and I were in a mastermind together several years ago; Suzie is a consultant for companies who want to improve their hiring efforts.

She sent out this “Quick Guide for Hiring” and I wanted to take a look at her steps from both the hiring and candidate side.

Phase 1 - Planning

Clarify Expectations – Be clear about what success looks like in the role.

Identify Key Skills & Behaviors – Know what traits drive high performance.

Collaborate – Involve your team for diverse perspectives.

Assign Roles – Give each interviewer areas to focus on for well-rounded assessments.

Takeaways for those involved in the hiring: This planning stage is often glossed over – or disjointed from those who will actually be doing the interviewing.

Start with the end in mind: What does this person need to know, do, and be for them to be successful in this role? Be sure you are taking your company’s mission, vision, and goals into consideration – otherwise, you may end up with someone who can do the job but isn’t a cultural fit for the organization.

Choosing the right people to be involved in this process is critical, as is giving each person a specific focus for the interviewing process. Who will this person interact with, both inside and outside their department?

If you are leading the process, make sure everyone involved knows what the process will be. How many candidates do you plan to interview, and what will that process look like? How and when will selection be made? Set expectations up front – and if you aren’t the leader and this isn’t being done – ask questions.

Takeaways for candidates: Your homework is to understand more than just the job description. You want to know the company’s mission, vision, and goals, the company’s history and plans for the future, who its competitors are and where this company fits in to that competition.

You also want to know who you’ll be interviewing with, so you can look them up on LinkedIn and get a sense of where they fit into the organization and how you would interact with them on the job. Knowledge is power!

Phase 2 – Interviewing

Ask the Right Questions – Behavioral-based questions to assess competencies.

Spot High Performers – Look for traits like accountability and time management.

Stay Neutral – Talk less, listen more. Let candidates reveal themselves.

Take Notes – It’s not just about what you hear. It’s about what you remember.

Dig Deeper – If answers are vague, press for specifics. Clarity is key.

Sell the Job – Highlight why your company and the role are worth their time.

Takeaways for those involved in the hiring: If your company doesn’t have a structured interview process – or if the structure in place isn’t working as well as it could – do what you can to effect a more useful process.

Ask each candidate the same set of questions – otherwise, it’s very difficult to evaluate them on equal footing. Of course, follow up questions will vary.

While often it is the candidate who navigates the interview process the best who gets the job, the more you can accommodate people’s varying preparation levels and different personalities, the more likely you will get the best-fit candidate into the role.

-Try your best to make them comfortable

-Ask probing questions when their answers are vague

-Keep in mind that introverts aren’t likely to interview as well as extraverts

Finally – come up with a “commercial” for the company that is consistently delivered to every candidate. Your HR and/or PR department should be involved in this process – and, ideally, certain information should be presented to all candidates regardless of the department or function they are interviewing for.

Takeaways for candidates: I don’t want to beat the dead horse of preparing for your interview – I’ve done that thoroughly in other episodes.

Here’s what I do want to say: Look at the body language during your interview. Are you connecting with them – giving them the information they are looking for? If you aren’t sure – ask. Offer to provide further details or go in another direction with your response.

Although it can be tricky to try to interpret anything from when are making notes – there may be some clues there, especially if their notes are seemingly very brief.

One more thing – try to connect with each interviewer. Make eye contact.

Phase 3 – Selecting

Discuss as a Team – Debrief with your team and compare insights.

Be Thorough – Don’t rush. Address any red flags.

Assess for Fit – It’s not just about skills: attitude and culture fit matter too.

Takeaways for those involved in the hiring: It’s so important in this phase to remain open to everyone’s insights – otherwise, why have multiple people involved?

As for red flags: Determine what additional information you may need and assign someone to get it. Above all, don’t ignore them.

Takeaways for candidates: At the end of your interview, thank the interviewers for their time and restate your interest in the position.

You also want to ask what the next steps in the hiring process will be – and offer to follow up at an appropriate time.

Also at the end of the interview, ask this question: “Is there any additional information I can provide to help you make the best possible hiring decision?”

You might have red flags too – don’t ignore them! If they occur to you after the interview, follow up on them as appropriate. For example, you might want to follow up on some concerns immediately; others only if you get offered the job.

Send email thank you notes to everyone involved in the hiring process. Here’s an example:

Dear Jane,

Thank you so much for the interview this afternoon. I really enjoyed meeting you and your team – and the tour of your manufacturing facility really helped me see how my role fits into [name of company’s] growth goals.

I am confident my experience with [whatever they seemed most interested in during the interview] has prepared me well for the position of inside account manager.

As I understand it, the next step in the hiring process is meeting with the VP of Sales; I look forward to the opportunity to meet with him soon.

From now until 12/20/2024, I am offering all my services at 50% off. To take advantage, be sure to mention either the "Gift a Better Career" special or just indicate 50% special. Schedule your consult to get the ball rolling at:

https://calendly.com/lesaedwards/zoom-meetings2