You may have said “Good staff are hard to find” or heard others say it…
Often employers ask us “Why is the person I interviewed and selected to join my organisation, turn out to be different at the end of 3 month’s probation?”
For the purposes of this blog, let’s fast-track to the interview process as this is usually where the final selection is made. (I will post more information on resume confirmation and referee checks at a later stage)
There are 5 simple MUST DO for a selection interview
1) Listen 80% and talk 20% of the time!
2) Be 100% there and have absolutely NO distractions or interruptions
3) Ask high order questions – treat Google as your friend…. search for the 10 best interview questions and you will be surprised what appears. Select ones that suit you and your business/role
4) Intuition counts! listen, feel and observe… any red flags, that is, concerns, doubts or queries… then ask more questions, for example, if applicant responded to “why do you want to work for us?” with … “it’s so handy to my home” – follow up immediately with another probing question “Is being handy to home a priority for you?”
5) Have another observer at the interview. They can help you by gauging reactions and providing a second opinion.
Finally, dont forget your own experiences at job interviews, most applicants are nervous. However, there are some applicants we call “serial interviewees” who can act slick and polished and provide all the classic responses… watch out for the “charm” factor!
So you dont want to raise the anxiety levels for your potential employee, you will get to know them better if you are more relaxed in style, but still manage to ask the right questions and make better, more informed decisions. Only then will you hear happy customers ask you ” How did you find such good staff?”
Ivana Agapiou
Eather Recruitment and Labour Hire