How to Perform an Active Interview

by: Lincoln E. Bittner

As a manager, you may be called on to interview prospective candidates for your department. This process can be stressful for both you and the candidate. You can eliminate much of this stress by following some simple guidelines. If you do this, you will not only find the right candidate, but will leave all parties with the feeling that it was a positive experience.

It is important to remember that the candidate is looking to you to set the tone of the interview. Your demeanor and approach can make or break the process before it even gets started. To ensure a positive experience, you must first prepare for the interview. That’s right; the interview will fail to give you the information you need to make an informed decision if you do not prepare as much, or more, than the candidate.

Preparation

The preparation process starts with reviewing the resumes that you receive from human resources, along with any notes they made during the initial screening interview. Make sure that you ask for a list of questions the candidate asked during this first interview. You will want to review them before going into this interview. If you are not given the cover letters that came with them, ask for them. Some candidates will not send a cover letter with their resume, which says that their level of interest in the position is passive. Ask your human resources director for a copy of the advertisement. You will need this when you review the resumes.

You now need to review the resume document. You must rate each resume in the following areas: Look at the overall neatness and ease of reading. These are good indicators that the candidate will be conscientious in the performance of their duties. It could also mean that they hired a good resume writer, which says nothing about their qualities. Look at the details of each position. Do they speak to the specifics of the position as listed in your advertisement? A good resume will always speak to the specifics duties performed by the candidate in each qualifying area of responsibility.

Once you have reviewed the resume, you need to make a list of questions that relate to the position that are not answered by the resume. You should have a unique perspective on the position, and no candidate will include in a resume examples of their experience in all aspects of the position. Making this list will help you focus during the interview.

The day of the interview you need to spend some time reviewing your notes and questions, along with the candidates resume. You do this to refresh your memory about this individual candidate. With the usual volume of candidates that are reviewed in the screening process, it is easy to confuse the qualifications of one candidate with another. You owe it to each candidate to be familiar with his or her unique qualifications and background.

The final step before conducting the interview is to interview your supervisor. Find out what she would look for in the successful candidate, and ask her about the company’s financial disclosure policies and any other areas that the company does not want discussed. Every company is different, and policies change with the rotation of management, so it is a good idea to check before you start interviewing. Also you can ask her what questions she would ask the candidate.

There are two more steps to the interviewing process. They are conducting the interview, and evaluating the candidate. To explore these steps or learn more about how to conduct an interview, contact us today.

About TML Business Services LLC

TML Business Services LLC has over 27 years of business management experience and more than 10 years of strategic advisory experience. We have been providing risk analysis and process engineering services to business and government agencies since 1998 and are available to discuss your needs with you. No two engagements are alike and using our proven methodology, we can provide the level of service your company is seeking. Contact us today and get started on a path to realizing your company's vision!