From my years of recruiting, I felt the most important thing was to put the interviewee at ease. I really wanted to see the "real" person and not the anxious or nervous behavior that many people exhibit because they don't want to mess up a chance for a job. When an interviewee relaxed, responses to questions were more true and I could really see his/her personality and have a better picture of a skill set...and a better view of a fit with the job.
I have also found that putting the interviewee at ease is extremely productive. Getting them to be more conversational and open leaves the door wide open for them to give much more information than a stressful interview. Plus then you can really see their true personality and if they would fit with a company.
I also love behavioral interviewing where I ask for examples of times when such and such happened. Or making up scenarios is always an interesting question.
In 15 years of managing businesses I've learned a few things about prospective employees . . . First I let them speak with someone in my store or office that has nothing to do with the hiring process, I like to know how these prospects treat the rest of my office. Second (and I'm sure this is very old fashion but my boss asked me to do it once and I've never quit.) I have one of the attorneys in my firm hand write a letter with misspellings and blanks for addresses. If they make make it through dealing with my staff and typing the draft letter, we sit down to talk. I like to ask what they feel is their best and worst quality, what their aspirations are and what they do outside of work. I like to know that anyone I bring on will not only be a good fit with the work here but also that they will be a good fit with the personalities here. If we are 90% sure we have found someone that we are really interested in we invite them to a casual lunch with one of two of the people from our office. We learn the most at these lunches and we have brought a few people on without them having the jitters on their first day. Of course, we have also taken a prospect to lunch who ordered a beer first thing, so it's always a learning experience.
I completely agree with this school of thought - that is, about making prospective employees comfortable during interviews so that they do not feel like they are facing a firing squad.
I also believe in doing the interviews the untraditional way not the same old same way it is done! The thing is though, my organization into engineering, and most engineers have this 'attitude' thing. I sometimes feel like I'm being restrained to do the behavioural aspect of the interview. Or even if I do it, it sometimes does not matter because the most important thing the hiring manager looks at is - is he technically good for the job?
I really appreciate this forum because it gives me a platform to learn more about HR from some other perspectives. I've been in HR for about 9 months. I've majored in recruitment but I would like to branch out into general HR with the hope of becoming a HR Manager in perhaps 2 years from now.
Comments
From my years of recruiting, I felt the most important thing was to put the interviewee at ease. I really wanted to see the "real" person and not the anxious or nervous behavior that many people exhibit because they don't want to mess up a chance for a job. When an interviewee relaxed, responses to questions were more true and I could really see his/her personality and have a better picture of a skill set...and a better view of a fit with the job.
I have also found that putting the interviewee at ease is extremely productive. Getting them to be more conversational and open leaves the door wide open for them to give much more information than a stressful interview. Plus then you can really see their true personality and if they would fit with a company.
I also love behavioral interviewing where I ask for examples of times when such and such happened. Or making up scenarios is always an interesting question.
I completely agree with this school of thought - that is, about making prospective employees comfortable during interviews so that they do not feel like they are facing a firing squad.
I also believe in doing the interviews the untraditional way not the same old same way it is done! The thing is though, my organization into engineering, and most engineers have this 'attitude' thing. I sometimes feel like I'm being restrained to do the behavioural aspect of the interview. Or even if I do it, it sometimes does not matter because the most important thing the hiring manager looks at is - is he technically good for the job?
I really appreciate this forum because it gives me a platform to learn more about HR from some other perspectives. I've been in HR for about 9 months. I've majored in recruitment but I would like to branch out into general HR with the hope of becoming a HR Manager in perhaps 2 years from now.