Phone screens are a great way for small, fast growing, and geographically dispersed companies to make sure that they are not wasting time and money on unqualified candidates.
Combined with the right interviewing skills, the phone screener can effectively and quickly eliminate up to 50% of applicants who would waste your hiring managers’ precious time. Here are three key ways screening can help:
- Validity: Phone screens are a great way to confirm what is listed on the resume, challenge accomplishments, and probe for actual proficiency levels. One recent study found that 54% of candidates submitted false or inflated resumes.
- Drive: Before you invest the time, effort, and interviewing skills on a prospective new hire, it is helpful to determine their genuine level of enthusiasm for the job.
- Fit: Assuming that a candidate’s resume is sound and that they are motivated to accept the job if offered, your last phone screening area is to evaluate the one or two “must have” competencies required for success.
If the candidate passes all three tests, they have made it through the screen.
Job interview approaches and process vary greatly between companies and interviewers.
One-on-one interview times generally range from a 20-minute informal conversation to more rigorous rounds of behavioral interviews of 45 minutes or more.
To make the best use of your time as an interviewer, make sure that before you begin you have clear definitions of the job description, desired competencies, and organizational culture. Then create a clear and concise interview schedule to ensure that you take advantage of your interviewing skills to get the information you need to make an informed decision.
The 45-minute agenda should include the following areas:
- Climate: Select a quiet and relaxing place, greet the candidate warmly, and open the meeting in a friendly manner while setting expectations for the interview and asking if they have any questions. 5 Minutes.
- Competencies: Use behavioral interviewing skills to uncover the Technical, Non-Technical and Motivational Competencies required to succeed. 30 minutes.
- Closure: Make sure to leave time for additional questions or topics that you may not have anticipated and, if it makes sense, to sell the candidate on the benefits of joining your organization. 10 minutes.
For the most sought-after jobs companies typically use a rigorous interview process to ensure that they hire candidates who are a great fit for both the job and the organizational culture.
A strong interview process makes sense; for even the best interviewing skills can be rendered ineffective without a proven and well considered interview process.
If you are creating or upgrading your interview methodology, make sure that you include some form of these five steps:
- Interview Team Selection: First, make sure that you identify the key stakeholders and hiring managers who will make the final decision on the candidate.
- Job Description: Create clear and agreed-upon definitions for (a) the essential job functions, (b) the true organizational culture, and (c) the core competencies necessary to succeed in the job.
- Interview Team Assignments: Based upon their areas of expertise and passion, assign each interviewer competencies (technical, functional, and behavioral) they should probe to get a deep and well-rounded perspective on the candidate.
- Screen and Interview Candidates: Use resume and telephone screens to vet potential new hires and then apply behavioral interview skills and best practices to predict future on-the-job performance.
- Evaluate and Decide: Use a predetermined rating system to identify and agree upon candidates who fit the best. To hire top talent, remember to compare the candidates not to each other but to your desired standard.
Interior designers know how to change the mood of a room from a place to be avoided into a wonderful, welcoming space.
Contrary to the popular belief that stressful interviews uncover true behavior patterns, a successful interview begins with creating the right climate. A relaxed and comfortable ambiance is one that makes it easy to build the rapport required to discover whether the candidate would be a good fit.
Building rapport involves finding a quiet location, setting clear interview expectations, being friendly and helpful, and showing a genuine interest in the candidate’s background, resume, and motivations for the job.
It takes only a few seconds for an interviewee to form difficult-to-change opinions about you based on your demeanor, body language, appearance, and mannerisms and your organization based upon the setting you create for the interview. First create the proper climate.
Then it will be time to use your behavioral interviewing skills to make better hiring decisions.
