How to Find that "Perfect" New Employee

Now that the economy is improving a little bit, you or your employer may be thinking of hiring someone to help with the backlog of work. Do you know how to interview a prospective employee? Do you know what the best questions are when interviewing a candidate? To help you and your manger find the perfect someone for any job opening, a little preparation before you set the first interview appointment can insure accurate and fair results.

PREPARE BEFORE THE INTERVIEW

To determine the desired and necessary qualities for any open position, look no further than your best performing employee. By understanding what your best performing staff member does in their day to day activities, you will easily be able to figure out what a new employee should be able to do. To prepare your interview questions, ask the best staff member you have what skills they use the most and what skills do they think help them to do their job so well. Using their input to design your questions will also give you a better idea of what skills they find the most valuable for their tasks.

ASK APPLICABLE AND PROBING QUESTIONS

During the interview, ask probing questions about skills and techniques. How did they manage the last project they completed? What steps did they take to organize their day? How many times a week do they need to meet with their supervisor to define their goals and project responsibilities? By asking exact questions that require a more complete answer than Yes or NO, you will get a better idea of what the candidate has accomplished. By listening closely; you will discover what parts of their job they truly enjoyed.

KEEP CONTROL OF THE INTERVIEW

Remember to keep the candidate on track and on target. Following a list of questions will make it easier to stay on track and learn what you need to know about each candidate. Keeping control of your time is important. When asking interview questions, it is important to keep yourself on point and on track. If your candidate wanders off the point, be sure you reel them back in. Using statements such as "It sounds like that was a complex situation for you. Can we talk about...?"

Moving the conversation along to the next question on the interview is easy as long as you know what your next question will be. Wandering away from your set of questions can lead you into conversations such as marital status, handicaps, child care issues, age, religious beliefs, etc., and these are all subjects that should not be discussed during a job interview. Stick to your prepared list and you will be better able to equally evaluate all the candidates fairly.

INCLUDE A RATING SYSTEM TO MEASURE RESPONSES

Use a rating system criterion. A number score is easier to evaluate than a summary response to your questions. For example, if you want to know how well they know MS Word, instead of accepting an answer such as "I used MS word for five years", include on your rating sheet response such as, "Able to create tables in MSWord", "Able to create merge mailing list in MS Word", "Able to use grammar and spell check in MSWord". Each positive statement would be worth one point and if the applicant can do all the things in MSWord you need them to do, they will receive the maximum point value for that question. Any skill question can be rated in this manner. Decide what skills within a particular set are necessary and assign a point value to the skill.

EVALUATE EACH CANDIDATE FAIRLY

Be aware of rating errors when reviewing your data. On a good day, we often feel generous with our praise and on a bad day, we are quick to argue and make snap judgments. It is important to remember this on days you are interviewing someone. If you allow your mood to effect your rating of a candidate, your data may become eschewed and unreliable. Evaluate all answers from all the candidates the same way, regardless of your mood or even of the candidate's mood. We all have rough days, just don't let it change or alter your data.