MightyRecruiterInterview Candidates, Don’t Educate Them
No matter what type of industry you are in, you are going to need solid employees in order to grow and be successful. This all comes down to having successful interviews where you are able to find the ideal candidate for a position. However, many employers do not know how to conduct productive interviews and end up hiring the wrong person. Someone who is not ultimately the right fit for a company can cost you revenue, and you may end up letting them go and have to go through the whole interview process over again. One of the most important rules you need to remember while meeting potential employees is to interview candidates, don’t educate them.
Follow the 80-20 Rule
The 80-20 rule basically refers to the fact that the interviewee should do around 80 percent of the talking while you do 20 percent. You can certainly delve into more details about the position and the company as a whole, but for the most part, the interview is conducted in order to acquire more information about the candidate. The interview should mostly consist of you asking questions and then listening to the applicant’s responses. If you are the one who dominates most of the conversation, then you may discover that you really do not know anything about your potential employees. You actually need to interview candidates, don’t educate them so that you can make an informed decision.
Ask Open-Ended Questions
There are plenty of interview questions you are likely familiar with such as, ïWhat is your biggest weaknessï and ïWhy are you interested in this positionï However, as you are gathering the questions you are going to ask during the interviews, you need to ensure that they are all open-ended as opposed to closed-ended. An open-ended inquiry is one that encourages active discussion while a closed-ended one is a question that can be answered in a few words or sentences. For example, a closed-ended question would be ïAre you a leaderï A candidate could answer this with a simple ïYesï or ïNo,ï and in all honesty, everyone would say, ïYesï because being a leader is a highly desirable trait.
In contrast, asking an open-ended question would consist of something like: ïTell me about a previous experience where you had to lead a team. What did you accomplishï When you interview candidates, don’t educate them. A question like this will get the applicant talking so that you can adhere by the 80-20 rule. A candidate will have no choice but to go into a long story to describe this leadership experience. If the interviewee is unable to answer the questions or if the answer seems fake, then you know the applicant does not have the leadership experience you are looking for.
Ask Follow-Up Questions
While open-ended questions will get interviewees talking more about themselves, you also want to make sure that you are asking plenty of follow-ups as well. Using the example above, if you were to ask an applicant about previous leadership experiences, follow-up questions should be used in order to acquire more information as opposed to hearing what the candidate has to say and then moving on to your next prepared question about an unrelated When you interview candidates, don’t educate them or else you will end up not knowing much about your new hire. This can be as simple as saying, ïTell me more,ï or you can ask a specific question about something the candidate brought up.
Additionally, asking follow-ups is a great way to see if a candidate is actually telling the truth. There is always the possibility that a candidate will have a prepared response ready for anything. By asking for specific details you will be able to tell if an applicant actually obtained this experience. Another great thing about follow-up questions is that they place less emphasis on you to come up with unique interview questions that the applicant will be expecting. With this method, you may only have a few questions to ask at first, but by listening to the candidate’s stories, you will know what makes him or her truly tick. Interview candidates, don’t educate them, and you will know exactly who is the best fit for the job.
By sticking to traditional interviewing methods, you could be losing out on the ideal worker because you did not acquire enough information about each interviewee. Not only will the selection process be easier on you, but the candidates will probably enjoy not being asked the typical interview questions they get in every other job application process. Take your business to the next level by utilizing the myriad of tools that Mighty Recruiter has available.