How to Put A Candidate At Ease During Interview
An interview is a crucial phase of a hiring process and to conduct an efficient interview: you need to make the job applicant feel at ease. A job applicant loaded with a lot of potentials can only deliver appropriately provided he is at ease in an interview. This implies that to get the best from a job applicant; you need to make the job applicant be at ease. To make job seekers at ease in an interview simply means creating a friendly, comforting, and conducive environment for an interview. This article will explore how to put job candidates at ease during an interview.
Tips to Put a Candidate at Ease During an interview
- Choose the Right Venue
This is the first step to make the candidate feel at ease during the interview. Choose a conducive location; think about how using a dark, scattered and smelly room will look to the candidate. A dark room will make the candidate feel uneasy.
Choose a room that is well arranged, with lights shining everywhere and a wonderful fragrance to make your interview session awesome. The room should have a window and a friendly atmosphere to welcome the job candidate.
Some Interviewers love to conduct their interview in a restaurant; make sure you are very careful not to make the candidate feel relaxed. This can make the interview session informal. Avoid noisy and distracting locations.
- Give a Warm Reception
Make sure you inform your staff beforehand about the interview and how they should receive the job applicants. Welcome the job applicant with a warm smile and friendly gesture. For instance ” Miss. Rose, you are welcome for this interview session and I am glad to have you”. This will calm the nerves of the organization and give him an amazing reputation for your organization.
- Offer the Candidate Refreshments
This is the time to show that your organization is hospitable: offer a cup of coffee or a glass of water to the candidate before the interview to make the candidate feel relaxed. It can be difficult to talk with dry lips or mouth; this refreshment is an energizer.
- Introduce Yourself and the Company in a Friendly Manner
It is important to introduce yourself and the company before you start the interview properly. Tell them the background of your company and the way it treats its employees. Emphasize the positive aspect of the company and leave out the negative aspect. Show them how the organization loves and supports employees. Make this introduction in a light, friendly, and fairly brief manner.
- Make Your Questions Vivid
Do not bombard the job applicant with difficult questions which will make them struggle before they can answer. Keep your questions clear and concise. Prepare a list of questions beforehand to avoid difficulties.
Giving job applicants a very difficult question can leave them stranded and thus unable to answer subsequent questions which can give you the wrong judgment about them. Be fair in drafting your questions.
- Tolerate Silence
Do not rush candidates to answer questions but give them some time to think and come up with the appropriate response. Give them some time to brainstorm and harmonize their thoughts to answer the question. If you rush candidates to answer questions during an interview; the chances are very slim to get the best out of the candidate.
- Do not be Over-inquisitive
Do not keep on firing questions at candidates haphazardly but give space in-between the questions in order not to arouse tension in the candidate. Keep the interview as informal as possible. Quality not Quantity is paramount when it comes to questions. Do your best to get the best out of the job applicant.
- Ask Specific Questions and Listen Actively
Ask specific questions which have to do with the job candidate’s previous experience, achievements, and successes. At this juncture, the job candidate will speak elaborately about this subject matter. Listen actively by underlying the meaning of the job applicants’ words. Ask follow-up questions for incomplete responses to get to know more about your candidate’s reality. Go with the flow, the candidate may spontaneously spill out a piece of information that can ruin his chances of getting the job.
- Encourage Conversation
Help your candidate get back on track if he struggles with a question. Reframe the question in an under-stable manner or break the question to help the candidate digest it. There is nothing wrong with doing this; this will make the candidate feel relaxed. Permit the candidate to ask questions and answer his questions. Dialogue makes an interview very exciting.
- Leave the Difficult Question till the End
Do not make your job candidate feel tensed or nervous by asking difficult questions at the beginning of the interview. This can make the candidate feel uneasy throughout the process of the interview and it will affect the performance of the candidate. Leave the difficult questions at the end of the interview session, it will be very easy for the candidate to answer the questions at that time. Do not be very strict with the difficult question but be a bit flexible.
- A Good Body Language and Keep a Smiling Face
Keep an open body language and make eye contact with the candidate. Let your eyes always move in the direction of the job candidate to show that you are interested in the conversation.
To make the candidate at ease; keep smiling and maintain a good posture to show the candidate that you are accompanying his ideas.
Frowning your face, folding your arms, and looking into a distance will make the candidate feel uneasy. Keeping a smiling face is a charm that will relax the job candidate.
Summary
To crown it all, how to handle an interview is a matter of personal style; putting a job candidate under pressure will not give you the best results. To make your interview session efficient; make the job candidate feel at ease for you to get the best results. Remember a job candidate is human, when you put an eligible candidate in a hot soup during an interview, he will perform haphazardly. Follow the tips above to conduct a fair interview.