Interviewing and Hiring The Right Employee

With careful preparation employers can maximize the interview process by creating effective questions, obtaining needed information, and making a favorable impression on applicants. Phrasing questions properly and honing your listening skills and body language can make a difference in the responses that candidates give you. Providing information about the job and benefits you offer can help you win favor with applicants who have the skills you need. Resource Management can be a valuable resource for you throughout the hiring process by pre-screening resumes and providing you with forms to be used during the interview process, such as an interview questionnaire and pre-employment reference check forms. These forms can be found on RMI’s website. Be sure to call your RMI HR Representative to include us in the process to find the right employee for you.

Preparing for the Interview
If you have a number of resumes from applicants who appear to have the skills and qualifications you are looking for, you can speed up the process by screening candidates by telephone to ensure they have the minimum qualifications you are seeking and that they are interested in the pay you are offering. If you desire to conduct telephone interviews, prepare a short list of questions you would like answered in the interview. The list could include some of the following questions:

• Why are you currently searching for a new position?
• What are the three main duties in the job you now have or in your most recent job?
• Why do you think you are well suited for the position we are offering?
• Is the salary range we are offering within your acceptable range?
• Where do you see yourself in five years?

From the responses received in the telephone interview, select applicants for a face-to-face interview. Call the applicants selected and tell the candidate:

• How to find your business and where to park.
• If the candidate will be required to complete an application on site. Often it is a good idea to require a standard application from each applicant. The application form asks the questions you want answered versus a resume that only states what the applicant wants to tell you.
• About how long the interview will take.

During the face-to-face interview, you may want to use the RMI Initial Interview Questionnaire as is or you could prepare additional questions to ask each candidate. If you add questions, make them open-ended so that the candidate must answer them with more than a “Yes” or “No.” Put some thought into the questions you want answered, then check with your RMI HR Representative to make sure there is nothing discriminatory in nature in those questions. Following is a list of suggested questions you may want to add to the RMI questionnaire:

• Why have you applied for this position?
• What are your qualifications in your area of expertise? What skills do you have that make you the best candidate for this position?
• Tell me about your present or last job. Why did you choose it and why do you want to leave it?
• What was your primary contribution or achievement in your last position and what was your biggest challenge?
• Tell me about a time when you resolved a problem for an angry client/customer or had to deal with an angry coworker.
• Now that you have learned about our company and the position you are applying for, what hesitation or reluctance would you have in accepting this job if we offer it to you?

Before the Interview
Set aside a quiet place to talk. Be sure to schedule enough time so that you won’t be rushed. Prepare to provide information about your company and the benefits offered with the position. Review the job description. Take few minutes to review the candidate’s application or resume before inviting the potential employee in for the interview. Also review the answers to the initial or telephone interview if one took place.

Conducting the Interview
Invite the candidate in, seat them in a comfortable chair and put the candidate at ease with small talk. Before delving into questioning, ask if the candidate has any questions. Your goal during the interview is to find out what the candidate has done in the past in order to best predict what the candidate would do in the future. You should ask about specific experiences that the candidate has had that would exhibit the competencies that are needed for the job. Use your prepared list of questions so there is consistency in your interviews.

Concentrate on Listening and absorbing what the applicant is saying. Listen to the full answer before asking the next question. Take notes so you will remember the candidate’s response.

Often times candidates arrive with an arsenal of prepared responses to expected questions. Your response to rehearsed answers should include:

• Look at the candidate expectantly and wait for more. Many times the applicant will say something else to fill in the gap.
• Ask a vague follow up question: “Can you tell me more about that?”
• Ask several specific follow up questions.

Show the job description to the candidate and discuss the contents. Ask if there are any duties there that the candidate would be unable to accomplish with our without reasonable accommodation.

Ask the candidate if there is anything else that the candidate would like to tell you about his or her experience or qualifications. Ask if the candidate has any questions. Ask if the candidate is interested in accepting the job if offered based on the information provided during the interview. Ask when the candidate would be available to start work if the job were offered.

Notify the candidate when to expect further contact from you. Thank them for coming and walk them to the door.

After the Interview
Take time to jot down additional notes and impressions about the candidate. Review the notes you took during the interview and add additional comments. This process will reinforce in your mind accurate images, impressions and memories of the candidate. If others were present at the interview, discuss the candidate’s strong and weak points. Take special note of personal impressions about how well the applicant would fit in and be able to function within your company. Many times personality, flexibility and enthusiasm may trump level of skill and expertise. A person can be taught skills, however poor personality traits are difficult to change.

Check References
For the top two or three candidates you will want to check references. RMI can assist you with this process, if you desire. If you wish to perform the reference checks yourself, RMI has developed two forms to assist you: a Pre-Employment Reference Check form for the former Employer and a Pre-Employment Reference Check form for Personal Acquaintances. The questions on these forms are designed to help you obtain the information you need without asking any questions that may be discriminatory. If the applicant completed an application you should have current and accurate information for reference checks. Unfortunately many job seekers misrepresent their education and credentials, therefore, it is vitally important that you do not skip this part of the hiring process.

Compare the Applicants
After all the applicants have been interviewed, your challenge is to select the best individual for the job. Questions to consider at this point may be:

• Will this applicant be able to work within the organizational culture of our company?
• Does the applicant have the people skills needed for this position?
• Does the applicant have all the qualifications this position requires? If not, does he/she have the most important qualification?
• How does this applicant compare to other applicants?

Score your answers to each of these questions and then compare applicant scores. Compare scores with all persons who may have been involved in the interviews. This process should help you determine which applicants would be a good fit for your company. Pare the list down to two or three persons.

Selecting the Right Person
Review the answers given by former employers about the applicants. Seriously consider any negative information received from the reference check process. Combine the reference check responses with the information compiled for each applicant. Match the applicant’s information to the job description. All things considered, select the candidate most likely to succeed in the position being offered. This person should be the right person for both the position and your company.

When the applicant is selected and offered the job, follow your company policy and, if applicable, perform any necessary post-offer/pre-employment background check and drug screening.

Remember Resource Management can assist you with your recruiting, screening and hiring process. Call your RMI HR Representative for more information.