Hiring Right Employees - A Night Mare for Employers! ( An Interviewers Preparation Guide )

I often come across several Entrepreneurs and Managers quoting, " We hired a wrong person... he is not able to fit into the organization...now we are struggling to send him off " ! Yes, this is a night mare for many Organizations, recruitment of a wrong person with no productivity which might even harm the morale of existing employees. So, how do we get right people on board, is it mere luck or needs a systematic preparation? I had the opportunity to interview hundreds of people over the last twelve years for our Group. Even though I am not an H.R specialist, let me take you through this interesting topic based on my experience.

Job interviews can be discouraging, not only for those interviewed, but for interviewers as well. The sad reality is that a large percentage of employees recruited simply don't stick with the Organization. I have read, in fields like sales, the attrition rate can be as high as 75 percent. For many other areas of work, one out of four new hires are gone within a few months. Every employee who doesn't perform as expected is a drain on a company’s resources.

Interviewing potential employees can be stressful, to say the least. All too often, you're under tremendous pressure to find the ideal candidate in a limited amount of time. There may not be one right way to interview. I have seen in some Companies they interview someone four or five times before they make an offer. But I guess, If we ask the right questions, we should be able to make the decision in a shorter time frame. Let me share with you some steps that might help you to make the interview process easier.

Step-1 : A good interview begins long before a prospect walks in. Every position should be covered by a job description. The employee’s place within the organization should be clarified for the record including what his/her authority is within the company and to whom he/she reports. The description should wrap up with the skills and experience required to do the work effectively.

Step-2 : The job description will structure for the interview questions. Depending on the position, specific technical abilities may be essential. In other cases, how the prospect works with the team is more important. For an entry level position, we can put a premium on enthusiasm, promptness and common sense, since the rest of the skill set will evolve.

Step-3 : Prepare the interview questions before the prospect arrives. Here’s a good set of generic questions to start. Choose the ones that work best for you.

Tell me about yourself.
What are your most significant accomplishments?
What adjectives best describe you?
What attracted you to this line of work?
What skills would you like to acquire to move ahead?
What did you do in your most recent (or current) job?
What did you like most about the work you were doing?
Why did you leave? (Or why do you want to leave?)
Please describe your relationship with your coworkers, manager, clients or customers.
What did you achieve there through your efforts?
Where do you see yourself in five to ten years?

The rest of the questions can flow from the job description, such as:

We use this hardware/software. How would you rate your skills on them?
As an Officer/Manager how many people have you handled in the past?
Do you prefer working as a team member or as an individual?
What management style do you prefer from your Officer/Manager?
What is your own management style?

Look at the other aspects of the job description whether it is making cold calls, or multitasking under pressure and get specific with questions about the prospect’s competency in those tasks. Remember, all this work is done before the prospect even enters our place of business.

Step-4 : When the interviewee comes in, take a close look at how he/she is dressed. Not everybody wears business attire; however that can give us the first impression about the candidate. Its a lot easier for a prospect to dress down than to dress up. Greet the interviewee firmly with a warm hand shake. Ask if he/she has an extra resume. It’s a good test to see if he/she’s prepared.

Step-5 : Be conversational. We are not an interrogator. Warm up with the generic questions. Then offer a brief description of the company, the position and the benefits. We can then ask the prospect specific questions about our company to see if he/she’s done her homework. If our business has a website and we find that our interviewee has not even taken the time and trouble to grasp the company’s essence by looking it up online, pass on him/her. This is either a lazy employee or one who is computer illiterate. Then follow with the questions that are specific for the position, including the most important, “Why should we hire you?”

Step-6 : Put the interviewee under stress. Ask questions like,

“What are your strengths and weaknesses?”
“Where could your job performance most improve?”
“What did you like least about your boss?”
“When in the past was your work been criticized?”
“Why?”
“How did you handle it?”

While asking questions like this, pay close attention to eye contact and body language. Examine our own gut reaction to this person. Do we like the way he/she handled this questions?

Step-7 : Give the prospect an opportunity to ask questions. Note if the questions are more about the company benefits and vacation time or more about the nature of the work itself. By encouraging questions, we'll have an opportunity to watch our prospect’s thought process.

Step-8 : There are topics to avoid, some of which can get you into anti-discrimination trouble, such as religion, sexual orientation, weight, medical condition or disability. However its worth asking, how somebody unwinds when work is done.

Step-9 : Finally, make sure that we follow up with either a letter or a call from our side about the results of the interview. It’s a matter of simple courtesy.

Well end of the day, we got to trust our gut feeling and one of the best traits for an interviewer is good instincts. If something seems out of place, keep looking for a better match. Sometimes it's easier to tell who is wrong for the job versus who is right! In the end, don't look for perfection, look for the best combination of technical skills and personality factors that will mesh in your company.

Our business success depends on the quality of our employees. Our aim should be to attract and retain the best employees. We are committed to treat them fairly, develop their potential and provide a positive working environment. Remember they are our greatest asset !

With best wishes to get the best employees on board in your next round of interview,

Shamim