Tips for Conducting an Interview

Interviewing a potential employee is as difficult as giving an interview therefore recruiters and HR managers get somewhat nervous before interviewing potential candidates. Actually interviewing is a matter of experience but at the same time, employers need to have some skills for interviewing a candidate in a proper way. If you do not possess certain skills, you will not be able to conduct an effective interview. These skills are described as follows.

Listening Skills

As hiring manager, you need to ask certain questions from candidate to know more and more about his/her knowledge, skills and proficiencies. You should have active listening skills to listen to the answer of your questions. You must develop the skills to listen how candidates are responding to his question because most of the times, candidates are selected only on the basis of their confidence which they show while answering to questions.

Time Management Skills

You also need to possess time management skills so that interview may not run beyond the time limit. When interview lasts for longer time than decided, interviewee may start losing his attention from interview questions.

Organization Skills

Organization is one of the key skills required by an interviewer while interviewing a potential employee. You should arrange everything in advance regarding the interview like time of each interview and number of candidates you will interview in one day. Also review their applications and resumes in advance so that you can have enough information about background of each candidate. This review will help you to formulate interview questions. I will recommend you making a list of some particular questions which you would like to ask each candidate. Before conducting interview, gather all the necessary documents which you will need during course of interview.

Verbal Communication Skills

Oral or verbal communication is necessary to ask questions or to respond questions. Verbal communication also helps you in formatting your questions so that candidate may understand what is asked. Moreover, you will also require giving background information to candidates along with your company’s culture and rules for which you will need extensive verbal communication skills.

Non-Verbal Communication Skills

As an interviewer, you will also need to possess non-verbal communication skills to give non-verbal cues to candidates to release pressure on them. It will also make your candidate feel that you are interested in his/her conversation. At the beginning and end of an interview, shake hands with your candidates. Other non-verbal cues which you can give to your candidates include nodding and maintaining eye contact.

Conducting an interview may be demanding and requires a lot of skills. I hope that you would have understood all my points. But if you are a beginner and have been asked to conduct an interview then gather some interview tips for employers. You will find a number of such tips on internet as well as you can also consult your senior recruiters and managers in this regard.