COMPANY
INTERVIEWING TIPS
The interview is your opportunity
to gauge a candidate's ability to meet the needs, philosophy and characteristics of your
company. Training a new person requires time and money so hiring the wrong person is
something you want to avoid. The following tips regarding how to conduct an
interview and sample interview questions will help you successfully complete this
stage of the hiring process.
Keep this in
mind....
When the candidate arrives for the
interview, don't sit down. Walk out of your office and take the candidate out onto your
work floor. Whether it's an office or a production plant, start by introducing the
candidate to your staff and showing her the work. Let her see your department. Show her
the tools you use and the products you make. Let her meet your people. Let them all start
talking and asking questions. You will learn more about the candidate by exposing her to
the rest of your team (and them to her) than you ever could by sitting in your office.
You'll learn how smart and how motivated she is by how she interacts with you and your
team, by the questions she asks, by the opinions she offers and by the information she
volunteers. If you've really got a gem, she'll dig in and show you how she'd do the job.
When the candidate and the manager are amongst the work and the other workers,
everyone relaxes and it's easier to talk about what matters because there it all is, right
there in front of you: your business.
- "Fit" is most important. The
candidate may have the qualifications you are seeking but they must also be a fit with
your corporate philosophy, the size of your organization and, most importantly, with
the people who already work for your organization.
- Take notes. This is especially
important if you are interviewing numerous candidates and will need a basis for
comparison.
- Encourage candidates to open up about
themselves. The interview needs to be more of a conversation and less of an interrogation.
- If you administer a test to candidates
ensure that the test has job validity. There are job validity consultants that can verify
this for your organization.
- Prepare some interview questions in
advance so that you are consistent with all applicants.
Input from current
employees...
Are you wondering exactly what characteristics a candidate must have
to succeed in your organization? Who is better to ask than those who are currently
succeeding. Ask your current employees, ideally employees who are in the same
position or in a position similar to the one that you are interviewing for, to put
together a list of the skills, abilities and personality traits they feel a person must
have to succeed. You will find many insightful, and hopefully helpful, tips on what
to look for in your candidates.
One, Two, Three -
Interview!!
Keep in mind that these are just examples of questions you could
pose. It is important that you use questions that are relevant to your search for
information and that you feel will achieve the results you hope to gain from the interview
process.
- What are your top 5 strengths?
- Can you give quantifiable examples of
achievements or accomplishments with your current employer?
- Do you have an area of improvement?
- Describe your management style.
- Based on your knowledge of this position,
what most intrigues you about this opportunity?
- Do you see any downside to this
opportunity?
- Why would you consider leaving your
current employer?
- Provide examples of your strategic
abilities in (cite a relevant area, for example: Business planning,
Marketing/merchandising, Human Resources, Systems, etc.)
- How would you handle a conflict with upper
management?
- Tell us about a project that you have
fostered that was embraced by your organization or community and has resulted in a success
story.
- Describe how you would rally your team to
embrace a new project that needs to get off the ground.
- What do you see as the most difficult
aspect of being an executive in an organization?
- What do you look for when you hire people?
- What important trends or cutting edge
ideas do you see in our industry?
- What aspect of your current position to
you like/dislike the most?
- How often do you have staff meetings?
- If you have a conflict with an employee
and have to take tough disciplinary action, what would be your course of action & how
would you resolve it?
The "Intangibles"
There are many aspects of a person's personality and work
preferences which must be understood in order to determine if they are a good match for
your company. It can sometimes be difficult to ascertain these
"intangibles" with direct questions and may require a more round-about line of
questioning.
Size of the company the
candidate prefers to work for
Gather information regarding the size of the companies the
candidate has worked for. What does this information tell you?
- If all of the companies that the candidate
has worked for were of a similar size, was there something that prevented him/her form
trying a larger or smaller company?
- What are the pros & cons that you
perceive between a company your size and a company of our size?
- Where do you feel you were able to be the
most successful?
- How important is company size when you are
evaluating a career opportunity?
- What is your management style? (Does the
candidates answer reflect the typical style of a small, medium or large size firm?)
Privately owned versus a
publicly owned company
Review the candidates background. Have they typically worked
for public or private companies?
- Do you perceive a difference in how a
privately held, versus a publicly held company, operates?
- Would this perceived difference impact
your ability to perform and be happy with your position?
- Do you prefer to work for a private or a
public company?
- In previous positions have you been
closely supervised or loosely supervised?
Fast growing company (many
small acquisitions) versus slow growth company
Review the candidates background. Has the candidate
worked for fast growing companies? Did he or she grow with the company or were they unable
to adjust to the growth?
- How would the candidate define fast
growing?
- What does the candidate see as the result
of working for a fast growing company?
- Has the candidate worked for a company
that has been acquired or sold?
Fast paced
results expected quickly versus slow paced company
When given a new project by your
management team what was the typical turnaround time expected?
- How many new initiatives were typically
taking place at one time?
- Talk about a project you have worked on,
the process taken and the results achieved.
- How would you describe your current/most
recent company? Was it laid back or aggressive in its pursuit of goals?
Lean
very limited resources available company
How tightly are you monitored in your ability to stick to a budget
(monthly, quarterly, annually)?
- What was your budget for (relevant budget,
# of units/people impacted)?
- How resourceful are you at partnering with
your vendor/supplier group?
- How do you retain employees in a lean
resource environment?
- Discuss some cost cutting measures you
have implemented that have been successful for the organization.
Unstructured
no blueprints and little direction vs tightly structured company
Review candidates background what type of company is
predominant in their background?
- Which company do you feel you were most
successful at? (Based on your knowledge of this company, was that a structured or
unstructured environment?)
- What type/amount of support would you
expect to receive from your immediate supervisor?
- How much support/structure do you tend to
give to your direct reports? Why?
Frugal (very cost conscious,
economical) company
Review companies in the candidates past - based on your
knowledge are these companies frugal or extravagant in their spending?
- Provide examples of creative cost cutting.
- How knowledgeable is the candidate
regarding P&L statements and balance sheets?
- Does the candidates knowledge
of P&Ls and balance sheets reflect an understanding of where cost savings can be
achieved?
Low profile (no disclosure,
fanfare, publicity) versus high profile company
Review the companies in the candidates background. Are they
big name players who customarily relied heavily on media support or are they low profile
type companies?
- What is the candidates perception of
how important media coverage is to the success of an operation?
- What is your typical approach to
disclosing proprietary information? Are you comfortable keeping this information strictly
confidential?
Conservative (in hiring,
lifestyles, operations) or liberal corporate philosophy
Utilize resources to ascertain candidates appearance and
style industry publications that have featured candidate, opportunities for face to
face meetings, references, etc.
- What does the candidate look for in a
potential new hire?
- Does the candidate see him/herself as a
risk taker?
- Would the candidate classify his/her
previous employer(s) as conservative or liberal in their attitudes towards operations
& hiring?
Teamwork (no stars,
celebrities or fancy titles) versus importance of individual status
- Does the candidates resume outline
numerous awards, citations, etc?
- Does the candidate refer to "I"
or "we" when discussing accomplishments?
- When discussing management style, does the
candidate emphasize the importance of developing team members into higher level employees?
- How many employees has this candidate
helped to promote?
- What is the turnover ratio of the team(s)
managed by this candidate?
- When discussing what the candidate is
looking for in a new position is there an emphasis placed on finding a place where he/she
can shine, stand out, etc. Or, is there an emphasis on finding a place where he/she can
make a difference for the company?
Again, it is important to keep in mind that the
interview is an opportunity to look for a candidate's fit with your organization, as
well as their technical expertise. Use this opportunity to become comfortable with
how a candidate will interact with you, their peers, subordinates and superiors -
these elements are crucial to a successful hire.
National
Executive Personnel
and Marketing Group, L.C.
12734 Kenwood Lane, Suite 73
Fort Myers FL 33907-5638
(239) 931-0200 VOICE
(239) 931-0204 FAX
Email: Search@NationalExecutivePersonnel.com
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