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So, Interview Tomorrow
DVG
No. 1 Honor StudentNether Institute, Evil AcademyRegistered User regular
No. 1 Honor StudentNether Institute, Evil AcademyRegistered User regular
I have an interview tomorrow, the twist being that I'm going to be asking the questions.
I've never done this before, and I've only gone on one interview in the last five years. Any advice on conducting one well?
I've never done this before, and I've only gone on one interview in the last five years. Any advice on conducting one well?
Diablo 3 - DVG#1857
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First off, make sure you read the applicant(s) resumes ahead of time so you have an idea of their skillset and past experience.
You may feel nervous, but remember the applicant(s) will be much more nervous than you. I like to start off with a couple questions to help them feel more at ease, like if they had trouble finding our building, etc. If people are nervous you can't get a good reading on their personality.
Don't try to "wing it" unless you are confident you will be able to ask the right questions. Are you going to be determining their technical skills, or questioning their work history, etc? Depending on where you work, HR usually handles certain parts of the screening so it doesn't need to be asked again.
Make sure you ask if the applicant(s) has any questions before and after your major questioning is complete. I hate it when applicants don't ask questions about the place where they could be spending 40+ hours a week, but if you don't give them a chance to ask questions at all they may feel timid about it.
Be sure to avoid questions that could get into legal/gray areas.
Anything family or age-related is best avoided, unless it's related to the job, then be sure to ask it the same way to everyone.
Ask questions in a way that gives you the answer without causing trouble. I.e, 'Can you be here on time?' is different than, 'Do you have a car?'
Second.. ask questions about what you need from the person who's going to fill in the vacant job position that isn't already listed on the job posting or qualifications that isn't necessary for the job but would be a bonus if the applicatant have them... Because most job posting are skimming out on words you might want to ask more about qualifications and details. This includes stuff like work habbits Some of the examples are "Do you prefere to work alone or work in a team enviroment?" "Are you comfortable dealing with clients, giving out oral presentations, and working with clients on a daily basis?" or even stuff like "do you have experience handling cash?" "Do you have experience working with CMS/IAS, or Visual Basic/Java scripts?"
You can also throw in some scenrio questions that can test the work habits of the applicatant like "What will you do if you realized you can't make a deadline?" or "if you overheard someone saying something that violates the policies of the company what will you do?" you can also throw in some skill testing questions here like "What's the difference between Cash accounting and Accrual Accounting?" "what trades can you make to cover your losses in a Margin call?"
Your questions can come across as tough and some candidate might buckle down.. so don't shoot those questions straight at them. Have a little small talk in between... talk about the universities or the state they's been to, their hobbies, or let them talk about their job experience. Worst comes to worst ask them to tell you a joke and then try to laugh no matter how corny it is.
Chances are people who are applying already can fill in the vacant role to a certain degree (if your HR department did a good job flitering applications) and the interviewer is just trying to get a sense of the candidate and see if they fit and can become a good addition to the company.
That's the thing. No one was expected to answear honestly... but the interview gets to see how the applicant lie and how far he's willing to lie.
If he says he got no negative traits he's obnoxious or have high opinion of himself
If he said his negative traits are positive traits (he's too hard working, too keen, etc) he's wise but not honest.
You answear indicates that if something goes wrong you'll be the first to detach from it, but not necessarily going to play the blame game.
That answer would be a huge red flag for many hiring managers because it's a total lie.
They know people give screwy answers. You can still read into someone based on their answers.
If this is for any type of job other than "show up and get money", you should ask about their motivations for the position, and what they think about that type of work. i.e. "How long do you see yourself in online advertising?" or whatever.
3clipse: The key to any successful marriage is a good mid-game transition.
It's not a total lie at all. It's a bullshit answer to a bullshit question. But it can be an honest one. Sure, I may have negative traits, but they usually have absolutely nothing to do with the job I'm interviewing for. And I can make up some "Well, I have trouble delegating sometimes." or "Sometimes I work too hard." answers, but they've heard that shit a million times, and it's not going to tell them anything other than that you're unimaginative.
Which I suppose is useful. I still think it's fluff though.
edit: I'd much rather have an applicant tell me what they liked most about jobs they have had in the past, what kind of management style they prefer, what they would do in specific situations, etc.