When hiring for project management roles, you need to find and attract the best talent, but you only have so much time to assess candidates. Make the most of the questions you asks. At the same time, candidates are also interviewing you to see if your company is a good fit for them. You want candidates to walk away from an interview convinced the job is right for them. These tips will help you lead an interview that will land the best talent.
Help Candidates Relax
If you think back to when you were interviewing for your current role, the experience was probably quite stressful. You were worried about saying the wrong thing or making a bad first impression. You can make the candidate more comfortable by providing them with details about the interview process in advance and introducing them to the office staff right away. If candidates know what they will be discussing during the interview they won’t be as nervous, and you’ll be better able to evaluate them in their natural state.
Ask Questions that Can Predict Performance
Canned questions about strengths and weaknesses don’t evaluate a candidate’s potential to perform well at the company. Instead, you want to ask questions that encourage them to reflect on how they would resolve real problems or obstacles. For example, present candidates with real-life challenges and have them outline how they would handle the situation step-by-step. You want to gain an understanding of how the candidate solves problems, makes decisions, and interacts with a team. It’s also helpful to ask a range open-ended behavioral questions to assess character and problem solving potential.
Be an Active Listener
Active listening can help sell the job because you show the candidate you value what they have to say. It gives you the opportunity to listen to the overall picture and the subtext of the conversation. It also gives you the chance to ask thoughtful follow-up questions. Job hunters don’t want to feel like they are being talked at, they want to have engaging conversations. By allowing the interviewees to do a lot of the talking, you also get to learn more about them and have an improved ability to assess what they will be like as employees. It is important to remember that interviews are about the candidates more than they are about the company. If you spend too much time talking about the company, candidates won’t be able to envision how they would fit in with the organization.
To find the best talent, you need to be able to really evaluate how a candidate will function in the role if hired. To do this, you need to take some of the stress out of the interview process, ask questions that assess candidate’s ability to solve problems, and practice active listening.
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