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 candidate’s answer reflect the typical style of a small, medium or large size firm?)

Privately owned versus a publicly owned company
Review the candidate’s 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 candidate’s 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 candidate’s 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 candidate’s knowledge of P&L’s 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 candidate’s background. Are they big name players who customarily relied heavily on media support or are they low profile type companies?

  • What is the candidate’s 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 candidate’s 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 candidate’s 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.

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