Being patient with your recruitment is key. You will regret it if you rush through this process in order to get a bum in a seat!
Sometimes timing is in your favour and you have a candidate ready to jump in. You’re one of the lucky ones. Most recruitment is time consuming and often is difficult to get that perfect person. It is however my advice that patience is key as well as being prepared.
When I get ready for an interview I like to firstly prepare a series of tailored questions that I think will allow the candidate to prove their suitability and alignment to the position. These questions can be behavioural based which required the candidate to provide specific examples of when they demonstrated a particular situation in their working career.
These questions are great however I always recommend being mindful of the position you are recruiting for and therefore the potential experience level the candidates are at. That is, being mindful that you may need to be patient and probe deeper to get the information you are looking for when asking these more complex questions.
Probe further if you aren’t getting the answer you want
I had an experience with a candidate where they said all the right things however they were very limited in the information they provided. I had to probe them a few times within the first few questions for them to understand the concept. It is important to note that this position was for an entry level role so therefore I was not expecting them to really nail this type of interviewing technique, however it did highlight their ability to learn quickly. As they understood how and what type of answers I was looking for they soon aligned to meeting the requirements. I had to be….patient!!
This can be an indicator for a more senior position whereby you are expecting a higher level and experience with interviewing and being able to provide overviews and details about their working experience. In this particular circumstance, you would also probe as you want to give every candidate the opportunity however if they are not able to provide this insight it can give a dishonest feel.
When conducting any interview, you need to build rapport with you candidates as much as they are trying to impress you. If you can’t make them feel comfortable as quickly as possible you will have a challenging interview. When you cannot get all the information you need to get a clear understanding for their suitability for a position, that can be very frustrating. It then comes back to patience, if you come out of an interview and you are still not sure, there is no harm in requesting a second interview or involving other members of the team to be involved in the interviews. This will get you greater perspective and ensure they are the right candidate for the role and the business.