Scope your requirements
Do not interview too many candidates. If you are interviewing more than 7 for one particular role that means you are having no clue about your requirements. List your candidates carefully before taking to the interview process.
Be direct and honest with the candidates
Be direct and honest with the candidates during the interview process and let the candidate speak and share his/ her ideas as well. Create an opportunity for the candidate to speak with your staff. If you are a large corporate, let the admin team handle the recruitment process and as an HM your focus should be 100% on interviews.
Standardise interviews
Standardise interviews and ask the same set of questions from all candidates. (you can use a scoring strategy to select the best).
Sell your requirements
You are not the only one interviewing and offering jobs. There are thousands of other HMs also interviewing, so remember that the candidates should like you and your organisation to accept the offer.
Do your homework
Do your homework about the candidate. Use LinkedIn and other online tools to background check candidates. CV can a be a great brag tool but LinkedIn which has a greater visibility/ transparency can tell you the truth about the candidates.
How to select the best
Do not easily buy into a candidate. Speak to at least 7 candidates before you make your decision (having a set of standard questions will help you to score candidates). Ask scenario type/ competency based questions. Ask candidates to use the whiteboard or his/ her laptop to present an idea or a solution he or she delivered.
Pre-screen candidates
Have a 15mnts telephone interview before taking the face to face path as this will get the opportunity to test waters before you take the interview further. The ideal way to Pre-screen all candidates is by phone or skype. Everyone has gaps in their CVs so investigate and question what she/ he has done.
Make candidates comfortable during the interview
Let your candidate speak to strong people in your team. Strong and great people will make the role and company attractive to the candidate. Make candidates comfortable during the interview. Do not be too formal. Be a human and avoid discriminatory remarks.
Learning the recruitment process
Learn How to interview. There are hundreds of books and online content on interviewing. Learn properly and effectively the questions you should ask and always be professional. Try to balance the interview process and do not oversell or overbuy.
Get help
Get help if you are a first time HM or if you do not have any hiring experience. If you are a large cooperate you can always ask your recruitment team to filter candidates or get help from a third-party recruitment agency. Look for hiring internal people before you take the external recruitment path as this will save you lot of money and minimise any potential risk. Outsource and hiring contractors are the best short term solution.
Be prepared for the interview
Be prepared for the interview thoroughly. Do not hire a candidate just for the skills and experience. Make sure he/ she fits in with your environment (These are humour, capacity to learn quickly, maturity, and confidence).
Review the CV before the interview, list few questions based on each CV (along with your standard set of questions you are going to ask)
What questions should ask during the interview
Don’t forget to answer questions like tell me about yourself, how do you manage projects, how do you manage difficult people, what motivates you, how do you tackle challenges, how do you spend your day in the office etc… Answers to these questions will give you a broader picture of the candidate.
What to look for Candidates
Identify what competencies are needed for any particular position (skills, knowledge, and behaviour). Check how the candidate is prepared for the interview and how bad they need the role.
Do not hire clones or don’t hire another of you. You need to hire individuals with skill set and experience which your team doesn’t have.
Finishing the interview
Finish the interview with a positive note. No matter how bad the candidates are, make sure you highlight his/ her positives. Give a detailed feedback focusing on individual “pluses” (recruitment process can be used to market your company in a greater deal).
Making an offer
Never make an offer that won't be accepted. You should decide this before you take the path of recruiting a candidate. How much you going to offer daily, or annually and what benefits he/ she is going to get.