Interview Mistakes Most Employers Make
Is your company having no-shows when you schedule second interviews? Are the feedbacks you get after an interview mostly negative? Do the interviewees’ body language during an interview show that they would rather be somewhere else? Do they refuse an offer to work with your company or organization after an interview?
If you answered yes to all or some of these questions, then it is safe to say that there is something not really right with your interview process. No smoke without fire, right? When a company goes through the stress and cost of scheduling and holding an interview, it shows that they really need new hands. They, therefore, hope that the interview will go as planned and provide the desired results. However, some seemingly little oversights could cause hitches that would make an interview not go as smoothly as intended. Interview mistakes are costly because they could lead to a bad hire or make a company lose a candidate with potential. That would certainly be a waste of valuable time and money. To avoid these mistakes the next time you conduct an interview, you need to take note of them. This article is the timely help you need. Read along.
Interview Mistakes Employers Make
- Having No Idea of What to Look Out For: If an interviewer has zero knowledge of the skills, qualifications, behavioral traits, or the preferred years of experience needed for the role he is interviewing for, then the interview will definitely be wrought with mistakes. When you know what is required of a prospect, you will be able to set a standard of intellect or have a standard of excellence to aim at. If the interview is aimed at hiring people with experience, then you certainly have to center the discussion on candidates’ years in the field and the knowledge they have been able to gather in the duration. If the interview is skill-centered, then it is proper you talk about the level of skills a candidate has, his capacity, and probably the methods that he prefers. When you have full knowledge of the job description and the roles and responsibilities, it will help you ask the right questions and focus on what is key during your interview. You will also be able to answer any questions an interviewee has regarding a career with your company or organization.
- Lack of Preparation: Some interviewers believe that preparation is solely the responsibility of an interviewee. That notion is wrong and very risky. As an employer, interviewer, or recruiter, when you do not painstakingly prepare your interview questions, it is going to be difficult to assess a candidate. It is also going to be hard to maintain an interesting conversation with your interviewee. Interview questions should be well thought out so that you can get concrete information that will help you analyze a candidate’s performance. The questions should also reflect the job roles and requirements and of course, the company’s values and the gap the recruitment needs to fill. If you do not prepare, you will be stuck at the basic questions like “Introduce yourself.” Or worse, you’ll ask off-key questions. When an interviewer stutters through his questions or repeats the same question in a matter of minutes, he has left an impression on the candidate, a negative one that could make an interviewee think poorly of the company and the job. Preparation is therefore key in avoiding interview mistakes. Create and write down your questions. Have them next to you and practice asking them before starting the interview. Write down and prepare your answers to possible questions candidates may have. If the interview is going to be handled by you and other colleagues, then the panel should come together before the interview to prepare and practice their parts. That way, the interview will flow seamlessly because each interviewer knows what to ask and when to ask it without interrupting anybody. Thorough preparation will ensure that your questions are made of conversation starters, assessment questions that rate a candidate’s competency, and auxiliary questions that sustain the discussion and reveals in-depth details about the candidate sitting across from you.
- Wrong Evaluation: Before you schedule an interview, prepare a yardstick for measuring your candidates. We have already mentioned this in the first point but there’s more. Evaluate interviewees based on industry-specific requirements. Why is this important? Because wrong evaluation is just like picking the best artwork in a competition based on how well the artists can perform a scientific experiment. We can all agree that that is very illogical and absurd. Weighing your candidates with a wrong set of scales will definitely not produce the right candidates, not necessarily because your questions are wrong, but because you are asking them in the wrong place. This will make it hard for you to identify the right candidate even when they are staring you in the face. This is because you may have thrown them off balance with a question that does not concern the position they are applying for. You might then incorrectly conclude that they are not smart and hence not fit for the role. Some interviewers also make the mistake of assessing candidates based on infeasible things like their physical appearance, the interviewer’s “feeling” or sentiments.
How can you evaluate accurately? Pick out the key determining factors of the position. These requirements should be uncompromising and viable enough to measure a candidate’s competency. They should be the key necessities, the prerequisite to getting the job and consequently, doing it well. For instance, if you are hiring for the position of an English translator, the main criteria should be someone who is proficient, well versed, and fluent in the use of English and the primary language the manuscript is written in. This means that you will be looking for someone who studied both languages in college and has an alternative qualification or measurable experience in the translation field. You would also want the employee to be efficient, honest, and trustworthy. In fact, you would want the person to exhibit a majority if not all of the positive qualities required in an employee and that’s not a bad expectation. However, the key requirement for the translator role is proficiency in both languages. All other things are important but secondary. You would also be making a mistake as an employer when you judge candidates for the position based on just their body language during the interview. You would totally miss the right person for the job because your evaluation is wrong.
- Failure to Perform Assessments before the Interview: Granted, an interview will help you assess a candidate but it shouldn’t be the sole determinant in deciding who gets a job. Most interviewers have found it helpful to assess candidates prior to an interview. Not only does a test help to make the selection process easier, but it also confirms that a candidate has been tested in all areas and meets the criteria. Relying only on the results of an interview can be risky because some people can prepare intensely for an interview, and do well in it but lack the skills and expertise needed for the role. Testing candidates before an interview makes the hiring process fair and efficient. You could determine a candidate that has potential by going through his score sheet and finding out his strengths and weaknesses and knowing what role he fits into.
- Failure to Present the Company as Desirable: As an interviewer, you could get carried away during an interview with assessing your candidates and forget to tell them what they stand to gain from your company if they join the team. When conducting an interview, try as much as possible to mention to the candidate the benefits and perks of working with you. Build up anticipation and enthusiasm. You can do this by telling them what the day-to-day activities of the position encompasses or telling them how you have personally benefited from working in the company. Remember that you are not just an interviewer, but a prospective employer (or at least an employer’s representative as in the case of HR managers or outsourced interviewers). Interviewees want the job but they are not the only ones in need of something. You guessed right – you need their talents and skills to build your brand.
Final Thoughts
There you have it. These interview mistakes are common among interviewers and you might have made one or two without knowing. Now you do and not just that, you have learned how to better the quality of your interviews with the tips provided in this article. A bonus tip employers have found helpful is politely asking for feedback after every interview. It is always helpful to hear directly from the candidates what they think about the entire process. Don’t forget to follow up and communicate with them after the interview. It is not cool to leave a candidate guessing what the outcome of an interview was. We hope your next interview will be error-free.