How to Interview Candidates: Unlock the Secrets to Finding Your Next Star Employee!

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<h2>Key Takeaways</h2>
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<li>Expect no-shows: Candidates may sometimes not turn up for an interview. Before reacting, consider whether there’s a misunderstanding or if your instructions were unclear. It’s common and not a personal rejection.</li>
<li>Video interviews: These can be convenient and cost-effective but have limitations in assessing non-verbal cues and providing a sense of the work environment.</li>
<li>Interview location: Ideally, interviews should be conducted in the work environment so candidates get a feel for the workplace. If off-site, choose a location reflecting your brand values and where you can converse professionally.</li>
<li>Meeting room setup: Arrange the room comfortably with a desk in between you, ensuring it’s not too cramped and interviewers aren’t too spread out.</li>
<li>Interview duration: Allocate approximately 75 minutes for the entire process, with 45 minutes for the interview, and additional time for preparation and post-interview discussions.</li>
<li>Build rapport: Engage candidates by using their names, asking warm-up questions, and showing genuine interest and enthusiasm.</li>
<li>Pace, style, and tone: Ask questions one at a time, maintain a conversational tone, and ensure the candidate doesn’t ramble off-topic.</li>
<li>Probing questions: Ask for specifics or examples to get clear and detailed responses.</li>
<li>Note-taking: Take concise notes, avoiding sensitive personal information.</li>
<li>Observation skills: Focus on the overall picture rather than getting caught up in minor non-verbal cues or amateur psychology.</li>
<li>Recruitment agencies: Be cautious of contingency recruitment agencies’ tactics, like presenting candidates in a way that manipulates your choice. Be discreet with feedback to prevent manipulation.</li>
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Interviews can be awkward for everyone. I remember the first interview I held; I was such a mess, and I think the candidate felt sorry for me! Fortunately for everyone, that was just the starting point, and I continued learning and practising. When it didn’t work, I’d ask myself, “What can I improve next time?”

So, to help the candidate (and you), here is some initial guidance about interviewing candidates.

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Every Member of the Interview Team Must be Present

Whilst your Recruitment Team may include someone to help coordinate the recruitment process, they may not be required for interviews. Hence I make a small distinction with the term, Interview Team. Your Interview Team only consists of those members of the Recruitment Team who are involved in the final decision making process. Depending on the size of the company and the job being applied for, this could range from 2 - 4 people. More than this and it becomes intimidating for the candidate, and a logistical nightmare to organise!

It is very important that everyone from the Interview Team is available for Structured Interviews, otherwise two issues commonly arise:

1. Second interviews are required, dragging on the process and increasing the chance of a candidate accepting a job with a competing employer.
2. Certain members not having enough information can cause indecisiveness and reduced confidence in the overall decision.

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Some Candidates Won’t Turn Up!

If you recruit long enough, a candidate will eventually miss their interview. This can generate an unusual mix of emotions. When they’re initially late, you may feel anxious for their safety or concerned you didn’t explain things properly. This can quickly simmer over to frustration as your Interview Team has wasted their time and have better things to do. After 15 minutes, you’re probably justified to feel angry and personally feel rejected.

Before jumping to any conclusions, please take a few moments to reflect:

• Is the candidate waiting in reception and no one’s told you?!
• Check the information you sent. Have you made a mistake?

If anything, please accept that it happens all the time and isn’t a personal snub. People are not perfect, and as such, recruitment is not perfect.

But also appreciate that candidates often won’t turn up if:

• You haven’t held a Telephone Interview: They won’t have been “warmed up” to clarify if the job is really of interest, and therefore, an interview may not be a good use of their time.
• You haven’t arranged it properly: Follow my advice arraning interviews with candidates. Simple things like sending a calendar invitation and following up the day before can make all the difference.

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Choose a Suitable Location

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Interviewing in the work environment is recommended

Candidates like to be interviewed in the work environment because they can see where they’ll be working. A few days before, look around and ensure that everything is presentable, desks are tidy, whiteboards are clean, etc. For example, I recall a finance director rejecting a job offer at a car manufacturer because they saw inappropriate pinup calendars as they toured the facility.

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Interviewing off-site

If you need to use an off-site location, find a venue that reflects your brand values. Companies like Regus and WeWork offer a wide selection of quiet, professional venues.

Avoid interviews in public places, particularly restaurants full of distractions. I’ll never forget seeing someone interviewed in a quiet pub that suddenly came alive when a funeral party arrived! Eating while talking can also be disastrous to the rapport and pace of an interview.

I also avoid hotel suites as having a bedroom nearby can send mixed signals. For example, I was in an interview with a sales manager who mentioned a “deal falling out of bed”, and the candidate looked uncomfortable as if it was innuendo for getting into bed.

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<span class="grey-callout"><span class="text-color-purple">Tip:</span> If you have a confidential role and use an off-site location, ensure they don’t have a “Welcome to Acme Industries” sign at reception, or it may blow your cover!</span>

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Setting up the meeting room

Contrary to popular belief, candidates prefer sitting opposite you with a desk in between because it provides a little psychological separation that makes candidates more comfortable.

If there are multiple interviewers (which I’ve recommended), ensure they aren’t seated too far apart. Otherwise, the candidate will look like they’re watching a tennis match as they turn their head to address different people. Equally, the room shouldn’t be cramped.

To save the trouble of asking applicants if they’d like a drink, have a jug of water and a glass on the table so they can help themselves. This is helpful because they may get physically uncomfortable talking for too long without a drink.

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Video interviews

It may be appropriate to use video conferencing for first interviews. If you need to hold a second interview, I’d recommend face-to-face.

Reasons for using video interviews include:

• Easier for the candidate: They don’t have to take so much time off work and avoid travel expenses.
• More cost-effective for the organisation: It may be more convenient for an Interview Team, and there are no travel expenses.
• Wrap up calls easier: If you find that the candidate doesn’t have the Key Competencies required, it’s easier to end a video call prematurely and save everyone time.
• Better for remote organisations: I’ve recruited staff all over the country who I never physically meet until we bring them to our staff party and I get to shake their hand!
• The technology is practically free: However, avoid free versions that limit the duration of meetings as this can cause you to rush and look unprofessional.

There are disadvantages to video interviewing:

• Candidates want to see the work environment: This is harder to achieve over video and less effective than touring a work environment.
• A large part of communication is through non-verbal cues: These are much harder to pick up over video.
• Compatibility issues: Candidates might need help using unfamiliar software, so ensure you use a well-known one. Current popular platforms are Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meetup.
• Interruptions are easier in a video interview: Particularly if the candidate is at home. These can disturb the flow, making it difficult to get back on track.
• Cluttered and noisy backgrounds can give a wrong impression: You may even be subconsciously biased by candidates’ home decor. A solution here is for interviewees to use a “background blur”.

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<span class="grey-callout"><span class="text-color-purple">Tips:</span> Some interviewers find their own image distracting. An easy solution is to place a sticky note on the computer screen obscuring their image (but don’t make the mistake of blocking the camera, like I’ve seen one person do before!).<p></p>Always have your video turned on because it can be disconcerting for candidates if they are the only person visible. If you don’t need their video turned on, a phone call may be easier.<p></p>Most candidates will use their mobile device as few have powerful computers with a front-facing camera. Because mobile devices have small screens, it may not be possible to give a presentation or ask them to interact.</span>

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<span class="purple-callout"><p>A little reminder – I'm available to offer advice and help advertise on the best UK job boards (get your free consultation to find out more).</p><p>For just £199, we can advertise a job on all the UK's best job sites.</p><p>And be sure to read my best-selling book on recruitment as well.</p></span>

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Don’t “Wing It”; Be Prepared

Sadly, I’ve regularly seen hiring managers grab a CV from the printer, walk into an interview room and wing it. The worst thing you can do is fail to prepare.

Before an interview, I recommend:

• Revisit the Great Performance Profile: It clarifies characteristics that a Great Performer exhibits.
• Know how they applied: It helps to know if they were an active or passive applicant. For example, if they are a “passive” applicant, you may need to sell to them more.
• Review Telephone Interview notes: This grounds your knowledge and helps you spot anomalies in their answers. 
• Know what motivates them: You must also sell during the interview, and you will be more successful if aligned with the candidate’s motivations.
• Have they been pre-sold on a salary? You must ensure their salary expectations consistently align with what you can afford throughout the recruitment process.

Great Performers will likely spend a lot of time preparing for an interview. They will often experience mental anguish, winding themselves up about the questions you may ask and how they can best respond. Additionally, many well meaning friends and family will be invested in the process, offering encouragement. For all these reasons, please show respect for all they’ve done and are going through by being prepared.

For example, I recently witnessed a new manager not being given guidance or support and being told to interview a candidate. The meeting started with a clichéd question, “So, tell me about yourself”, then rambled through the applicant’s CV and asked no insightful questions. The candidate was well prepared, corrected the interviewer when they got information wrong about the job (!), and asked some excellent questions (many of which the interviewer did not know the answer to). It finally hit rock bottom when the interviewer explained a key reason for joining the business was a “fully stocked kitchen”.

From a commercial perspective, this interview was a disaster. The employer gleaned very little information about the candidate, but the candidate got an insight into how badly the business was run. This was incredibly frustrating as the candidate was a Great Performer, easily in the top 1%, and very motivated to join the organisation. Even when a job offer was made at 50% above the market rate, the candidate rejected it – I certainly didn’t blame them.

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Don’t Rush the Interview

Employers who rush interviews rarely find out everything they need to and are more likely to require follow-up interviews. Candidates also feel like they’re in an interrogation as the questions are rattled off and their answers cut short.

Generally, an interview will take 75 minutes of your Interview Team’s time. Use the first 15 minutes before the candidate arrives to prepare the team by reviewing the Great Performance Profile and the candidate’s CV. Allow at least 45 minutes for the interview itself. Then, allow 15 minutes immediately afterwards to consolidate your notes, debate the candidate’s suitability, and make a decision.

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Build & Maintain Rapport

Building rapport with candidates is hugely important because they’re unlikely to join your business if they don't like you. Good rapport is also critical in extracting information; the better rapport you have, the more comfortable candidates will be and the more you’ll learn.

Here are some top tips for building and maintaining rapport: 

• Start with easy questions: Ask easy questions first and save your tough questions for later (particularly those discussing failure and weaknesses).
• Look for common ground: Build a connection by mentioning things you might have in common. For example, if they say a teacher inspired them, share a similar story about yourself, but keep it brief!
• Ask follow-up questions and really listen: The Structured Interview script has many follow-up questions, showing that you’re actively listening.
• Keep the interview positive: Have a neutral or happy disposition. Speak with energy and enthusiasm. When you’re upbeat, candidates will engage much better.
• You can laugh: If the applicant says something funny, it’s okay to laugh – you’re also auditioning for what it will be like to work with you.
• Empathise if required: When a candidate talks about a difficult situation, empathise but avoid saying things like, “Wow, that must have been embarrassing for you!”
• Curb negative emotions: Control your disdain, shock, or anger if they say anything you disapprove of.
• Don’t maintain lots of eye contact: It’s daunting to have someone staring at you, and candidates find it easier to collect their thoughts if you’re occasionally glancing away. Looking down to write notes isn’t rude – it shows the candidate that what they say is important to you.

Overall, relax and be yourself. I’m trained in neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), but I don’t use this to manipulate rapport. I’ve often seen interviewers contorting themselves to mirror candidates’ gestures in an attempt to generate rapport, or even worse, making incorrect inferences from eye-gaze patterns and body language.

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Pace, Style & Tone Are Important

To maintain a good pace, style, and tone, remember:

• Ask one question at a time: It can be tempting to ask similar questions simultaneously, such as, “What did you like most and least about that job?” This might confuse the candidate, lead to information being skipped or disrupt the flow of the conversation. (If you need to assess a candidate’s ability to handle several strands of information, consider using Job Simulations.
• Transition smoothly between questions: For example, “I can understand why you liked that so much. On the other hand, what did you like least about the job?”
• Don’t jump around time periods: This makes it harder to spot patterns and can be confusing. A common mistake I see is interviewers starting with the most recent work experience, but this makes them less likely to understand trends and patterns that led up to the present time.
• Speak slowly and clearly: Don’t rattle through your questions like a machine gun or sound robotic.
• Keep questions short and relatively fast-paced: This keeps the conversation going.
• Your tone should be conversational and curious: To help put them at ease.
• Avoid letting candidates waffle: If a candidate talks for more than two minutes, it’s common for the conversation to ramble. To get them back on track, it’s okay to cut them off and politely say, “You were just telling me about {X}, and I’d love to hear more about that”.
• Nod your head: If you want to keep a candidate talking, nod encouragingly and say, “Good”.

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Probe to Uncover Potential Problems

Expensive mis-hires happen when you fail to probe and ask difficult questions, so don’t wimp out when asking tough questions.

Probing is straightforward and not at all confrontational – if you know how. “Could you give me an example...?” or “Could you be more specific...?” It’s that simple!

Another probing technique an FBI interrogator taught me was to repeat the last word or phrase the candidate used and remain silent. The expectant pause often encourages a candidate to elaborate. If they say, “My manager was a bully,” I might reply, “A bully?” and then wait for them to fill the silence. Obviously, stay silent within reason – it’s not a contest! If you are uncomfortable staying quiet, you could say, “A bully? Tell me more”.

To soften a tough question, start with, “I’m curious...” But be careful not to ask a leading question, such as, “I’m curious how you overcame that issue?” because you may not know they did!

You could also “play dumb” and say, “I’m sure it’s me not you, but I don’t understand – can you explain that again please?”

I probe a lot about why someone left an organisation and never accept the “interview answer” they think I want to hear. Experience has taught me there are usually underlying issues; employees don’t leave a role in which they’re happy and successful. So be wary if someone says, “I just saw another job”. I’d probe, “What caused you to look for another job?” and follow up with, “Why else?”

I’m also concerned when someone has been made redundant because it isn’t usually in an employer’s interest to let go of Great Performers. I’ll ask, “Why were you made redundant?” and, “How many other staff were made redundant?” I have a rule of never employing candidates who show a pattern of being “unlucky” and frequently getting made redundant.

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Take Appropriate Notes

Taking notes is essential to keep you engaged in a conversation and help clarify your final decision. Interviewers often struggle to take effective notes and don’t know what to write down. Here are some tips: 

• You could use a laptop: If you can type reasonably quickly, a laptop might be the most practical way of making legible notes. However, ensure it has a small screen so you can make eye contact with the candidate. Also, make sure that the keyboard isn’t too loud or it will be distracting.
• You could use a notebook: If you handwrite notes, use a padfolio so that you can subtly close it if the candidate keeps peeking.
• Don’t use columns: Don’t draw a line down the centre of your notepad and write good points in one column and bad points in the other. A candidate might get anxious and distracted, trying to guess which side is which.
• Don’t annotate CVs: Try not to write your notes on the candidate’s CV, as you won’t have enough space. Instead, you could write numbers on sections of the CV you’re referring to and put the corresponding number on your notepad. This will make it easier to cross-reference the context of your notes.
• Don’t score against the Great Performance Profile (yet): This is done later in decision-making.
• Create your own shorthand: Take concise notes to capture key points from the conversation. You don’t need to record everything verbatim.
• Pause to listen before taking notes: Particularly if a candidate mentions something negative, wait for a few moments before writing it down, otherwise they’ll immediately think you’re recording a failure and may be less inclined to open up.
• Never make notes about anything potentially discriminatory: Sometimes, you’ll find out personal things that aren’t supposed to influence your hiring decision, such as whether a candidate has children. Don’t write these down. It’s important to remember that a candidate can demand to see your interview notes. For this reason, you might want to consider how long you retain candidate records.

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<span class="grey-callout"><span class="text-color-purple">Warning:</span> Do not take a candidate’s photo as an aide-memoire because you’re “useless with faces”, or so you can “share it with colleagues”. It can be misconstrued that you’re interested in appearance, leading to “discrimination by perception” claims.<p></p>Equally, it’s usually not appropriate to audio or video record an interview. Candidates might not be comfortable with it, and listening back to long recordings isn’t practical.</span>

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You Need to Sell as Well!

Just because a candidate has sent you their CV, had a Telephone Interview, and turned up to a face-to-face interview doesn’t mean they’re committed. They may be playing you off for other offers. Don’t treat the interview as if you have all the power and are doing them a favour. Ultimately, they should add so much value to your business that they’re doing you a favour by joining.

Remember, you’re being assessed by the candidate too! Recognise that the candidate is making a bigger decision than you are; after all, you have other employees, but they probably only have one job that needs to support their lifestyle and possibly a family.

You need to address candidates’ concerns, give them a great experience and make them feel like they have an exciting future with your organisation. Some common points to address include:

• Job security: Reassure them by talking about your organisation’s success, financial position, and vision.
• Cultural fit: When candidates enter your premises, they notice how they’re treated and made to feel. Don’t go overboard and become inauthentic, but treat candidates with genuine kindness and compassion as they’re in a high pressure situation.
• Management style: Are managers and leaders exciting to work for? Do they manage in a top-down fashion, or are they more collaborative? There’s no wrong answer unless you tell the candidate something untrue.
• Work-life balance: This has become increasingly important since the coronavirus pandemic, which caused people to re-evaluate their priorities. If you’re recruiting for a demanding job that may affect the employee’s personal life, don’t pretend otherwise, or they’ll quickly leave.
• Career opportunities: Career advancement may be important for some candidates. Again, don’t oversell what you’re offering.
• Compensation and benefits: Everyone requires a minimum amount of money to enjoy the lifestyle they want. Ensure candidates are happy with your offer and don’t be unrealistic. It’s unfair to employ someone under false pretences.
• Technology and resources: Some candidates care about what technology and resources they’ll have at their disposal. For example, an engineer I recruited chose to work at Airbus rather than Rolls Royce because he preferred a specific type of 3D printer.

Even if you don’t expect to offer them a job, leave them feeling so excited about your business that they want to tell other people how great you are! You never know where you might meet them again. Particularly if you’re interviewing candidates with industry experience, they could be a future customer.

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Really Listen & Observe

Using a script means you don’t need to think about what to ask next. This frees you up to properly listen and observe rather than simply hearing.

I often recommend reflective listening techniques to demonstrate attentiveness, confirm understanding and seek clarification. For example, you could ask, “So what I hear you say is...?” and “Did I hear you correctly when you said...?”

That said, don’t fall into the trap of being an amateur psychologist. Interviews are stressful situations that candidates are unlikely to encounter in the actual workplace. You don’t want to jump to conclusions too quickly or read into things that might be irrelevant.

Don’t worry about whether they’re the oldest child or if they touched their ear, looked left, or bit their lip. They might be crossing their arms because they’re feeling defensive; it could also be that they’re cold. Handshakes tell you nothing – they might have sweaty hands because they’re nervous or because they’ve been holding a hot drink!

You’ve got so much to remember and do during an interview. The only body language cues you should worry about are big, obvious, and intentional changes that suggest the candidate is uncomfortable with your questions or obvious posturing that’s inauthentic. Your job is to observe someone to get an understanding of the bigger picture, not to get hung up on minutiae.

Get rid of amateur psychology and focus on sound, hard facts.

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Be Careful with Interviews Arranged by Recruitment Agencies

A word of warning. Some contingency recruiters are trained to organise their interviews in a “sh*t sandwich” format. They intentionally ensure you see a poor candidate first, followed by a good candidate, and finish with another poor candidate. It is a psychological tactic designed to lower your expectations and make you choose the second candidate. It’s devious, a waste of your time and that of the other two candidates.

If you become aware of this, be careful as you may be manipulated in other ways.

Additionally, when you give feedback to contingency recruiters, you may wish to be guarded about the information you provide. They may inform future candidates about your interview preferences to “game” the process.

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Additional Resources

• Recruiting Book; The Secrets of Great Recruitment: How to Recruit Great Employees.
• Downloadable PDF guide; How the Pros Interview Candidates: Learn Their Secrets.
• Downloadable PDF guide; Transform Your Interview Process: The Structured Interview Approach.
• Downloadable script; Script for Structured Interviews.
• Article; Interview Questions to Ask if You Wan to Avoid Hiring Mistakes.
• Article; How to Interview Candidates: A Simple Guide to Effective Candidate Assessment.
• Article; Interview Questions for Employers to Ask: Your Guide to Selecting the Best Applicants.
• Article; How to Arrange Interviews with Candidates.