Interviewing Techniques

Right way to choose the right person

Sometimes the interviewer gets confused about how to choose the right person. Here are some tips which would help you have the right candidate. These are:

a)    Initial communication: It is very important that the interviewee feels comfortable when he or she is coming for the interview. Almost everyone have their nerves taut and it is your duty to make the person feel relaxed. A warm smile, a friendly handshake will do the magic. If the interviewee feels comfortable then you can get the best out of the candidate. However, at the same time you also need to keep a watchful eye on the body language of the interviewer as well as the candidate’s verbal communication. These will help you understand whether the candidate is suitable or not for the post.

b)    Questioning techniques: Always try to ask open-ended questions to the candidates. These questions generally ask for longer answers. Thus these answers would help you judge the personality of the candidate in a better way. Never have any ideal answer in your mind before asking the questions as the applicant might not answer like that.


c)    Telephonic interview: Sometimes it becomes necessary to go for a telephonic interview. This poses problems for many employers since you cannot see the candidate and judge the person by his or her body language. However, there are ways in which you can judge whether an interviewee is suitable for the post or not through telephonic interview also. Try to follow these tips for a successful telephonic interview:
i)    Take the interview while sitting in a quite location so that you are not disturbed. It is a bad idea to take an interview while you are sitting in a restaurant or out in the street on a windy day.
ii)    Always ask the same questions in a telephonic interview like you would have asked if you have taken a face to face interview. Here also you should go for open ended questions and carefully listen to all the answers given by the candidate
iii)    Always have a pen and a paper ready to note down the key points in every interview. Otherwise it is even better if you have the communication recorded because in a telephonic interview it is not always possible to differentiate one candidate from other.

d)    Go for psychometric tests: Recently psychometric testing has become an important part of job interviewing. This is necessary to understand the personality of the candidate. However, before you take the candidate for the test it is necessary that you have a clear idea about what you kind of personality you need the candidate to have. In a paper write down at least five traits that you are looking for and after the test compare it with the test results. Make the candidate comfortable before the test otherwise he or she might not be successful in the test.