A company will from time to time require to expand the workforce to improve productivity. This necessitates soliciting suitable job candidates to spearhead the mission and vision of the company.
The process should yield great candidates that magnify the reputation of the company as well. Thus, the process requires a unique recipe.
One that contains the right ingredients – feasible techniques that lead to overall organizational success. This article explores 9 techniques for interviewers to pick the best candidate.
Here they are:
- Focus keenly on the job description advertisement
Picking the desired candidate starts from the job advertisement. The content can either dissuade or persuade potential job candidates to apply for the job. The traditional duties and qualifications job description approach is ineffective. Researchers have identified that job candidates barely send applications to organizations that use such job descriptions. Researchers emphasize on the needs-supplies technique in crafting a job description. This technique concerns itself with what an organization has to offer a job candidate.
Examples of a needs-supplies job description
- The company seeks to offer employees room for career growth through diverse job responsibilities.
- The company is inclined towards employee feedback to guide decision making processes.
- Embrace technological trends
In this technological age, it is inevitable for technology to shape how things are conducted. The hiring process is also dependent on technology. You have to ensure you stand out on a social site platform. It is also necessary to have a website for your job postings. Based on credible research findings, a large number of job candidates utilize their smartphones to seek employment. Thus, an interviewer must be on top of the game always by embracing technological trends. This can be achieved through:
- Constantly posting job updates on the company’s websites.
- Using a social media expert to advertise job openings in your company.
- Give an assignment prior to the interview
Interviewers can perceive this as a job audition technique. The assignment is given before you conduct an actual interview with the likely candidates. The essence of the assignment is to discover the potential candidates have. It is crucial to avoid making wrong judgments about candidates based only on the formal interview process.
Examples of assignments for various roles
- Customer engagement officer: Elaborate 5 technological strategies to improve customer service in an organization.
- Graphic designer: Design a simple website for your future company.
When you give the assignment, ask the candidates to submit as soon as they are done. This is to assess their time management skills and ability to deliver quality results. In essence, it is a way of assessing if the candidate can complete duties within certain timelines.
- Soft skills are an asset
Soft skills are as equally important as professional experience. An interviewer should not ignore them when conducting an interview. They will help you to discover if a job candidate has social intelligence. Social intelligence is the ability to relate well with others in the organizational context. You should look out for the following soft skills:
- Communication skills
- Emotional intelligence
- Problem solving
- Teamwork and collaboration
- Flexibility
The soft skills project the personality of a job candidate. They point out if the job candidate is qualified for the job. You may even include an additional assessment to identify these skills.
- Evaluate the consistency of responses
You will formulate questions that you will use to conduct the interview. The interview questions should give you a sense of direction throughout the interview process. To achieve a successful hiring process, ensure you observe consistency with each candidate you interview. In most cases, it is advisable to use the same questions for each candidate. The purpose of doing this is to compare and contrast how each candidate responds to the questions. As a result, it is easy to point out the candidate that demonstrates competency and adaptability in each scenario presented by each question.
- Check social media profiles
Many interviewers conduct background checks on a potential employee using referees as the only resource. But social media profiles can come in handy too. Checking a candidate’s social media profile is important because:
- It gives you a clue about the candidate- personality traits
- It displays the skills of a candidate if professional information has been posted.
- Allow the candidates to ask questions
The interview process ought to take a dual perspective approach. Both the views of the interviewer and the interviewees should be included. Why is it important to allow interviewees to ask you questions?
- You will be better placed to know their interests and expectations.
- You will make better hiring decisions based on the interviewees’ interests and expectations.
- You will be able to explain to them the job dynamics of your company.
- Use a problem approach
As an interviewer, use a broad perspective in engaging a potential employee. Do not only focus on questions that elicit relatively inadequate information from a candidate. Instead of the usual question and answer approach, you can decide to pose a problem to the candidate. The problem should offer an opportunity to indulge the candidate in an in-depth manner. Allow the candidate to shed insights on ways to solve the problem. As he/she explains each technique they would integrate to solve the problem, ensure you are engaged through active listening. For instance, you can describe various problems such as:
- How would you respond to an unexpected crisis?
- What measures would you take if you discovered sexual harassment was dominant at the workplace yet it is ignored by the management?
- What is your take on incorporation of technology in an organization? Is it a necessary evil?
Engaging candidates in offering solutions to these problems is an effective hiring technique. A problem approach forms a good foundation for determining candidates’ suitability for a particular job. Through this technique, skills such as analytical and critical thinking skills that candidates are endowed with are revealed.
- Ask relevant questions
You cannot ask job candidates if they hate working. The response will be obvious. A strong NO. However, asking the right questions can help you figure out if they are passionate or dispassionate about work. Such questions are:
- What gives you the motivation to go to work each day?
- What are your aspirations for the next 5 years?
In conclusion, the above stated techniques are worth utilizing. They refine the process of picking the best candidate for the job.
