The New Manager’s Guide to Conducting Effective Interviews

Everyone has experience sitting on the other side of the desk during job interviews — when a hiring manager is asking you questions. It can be rough and soul-crushing at times, but ultimately you do your best and move on whether you get the job or not.

But what happens when you become the one asking the questions? And what if you’ve just become a manager and have never interviewed a job candidate before? Suddenly, you’re a thousand times more nervous sitting on this side of the desk.

After all, when you were the interviewee, the worst thing that could happen was you’d mess it up and not get the job. But now, as your company representative, you’re navigating a legal minefield about what you can and cannot ask a candidate, and also interpreting their answers to hire the best person for the job. You simply can’t afford mistakes during the interviewing process from both a legal standpoint and a department productivity one. 

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So for those of you who either haven’t done an interview yet or want to feel more comfortable doing it, here are some proven tips everyone can use:

Make a plan and stick to it

If you take only one thing from this article, please let it be this. While some hiring managers take the “winging it” approach during the interview, I guarantee they make the worst hires in their organizations. Take pride in your job and be prepared.

First and foremost, the candidates coming into your office will be prepared, so you must be equally ready for the interview. Not only are you looking for a suitable candidate to fill the job opening, but the interviewee is determining whether they want to work for you. If you haven’t done your homework, this sends a message to the future employee that you don’t invest that much in your people. On the first impression, you must ensure you come across as professional and prepared.

1. Review the job description

Before an interview, the first thing to do is review the current job description. Think of it as your destination; this is what you are looking to hire. The job description helps us frame the actual job openings that we advertise. It factors into how we evaluate the candidates and what we are looking for from them.

This first point assumes your job descriptions are up to date, so if they aren’t, fix them.

2. Describe the company culture

Does the job description identify the unique aspects of your corporate and departmental culture? What external factors will likely impact a candidate’s ultimate success or failure on the job?

When push comes to shove, most people leave jobs not because of a skills mismatch but because of people and the interaction. Particularly how they get along with their immediate supervisors or when expectations aren’t laid out clearly upfront.

Today, organizations are far more global and geographically diverse, and employees may report to someone who lives in a different part of the country or the world.  How comfortable are you and the applicant with off-site management or teams? That factor is going to become more and more critical as the typical workplace continues to change.

After factoring in everything as an organization, develop your interview questions so you can determine how the job candidate can be effective in the company. Hone in on those key success factors to determine a good match.

3. Vetting the candidate

Before the interview, you’ll also want to vet the candidate. Compare the job description and the candidate’s resume and check off whether this person appears to have the requisite skillset. Remember that the person’s resume is not to be viewed as everything they may be able to do. Prepare questions based on what you see on the resume and the position itself. Think of the resume as a jumping-off point.

Look at your corporate policies concerning reviewing a job candidate’s online presence. Do you, as a corporation, do Google searches? Do you investigate social media? If you have an internal policy, ensure everyone conducting interviews on your behalf is aware of that corporate policy. This is critical because you also have to manage privacy issues and steer clear of topics that you can’t bring up in an interview. 

Another consequence of vetting the candidate is that you may have to do your internet research to ensure you can ask them questions about these skills. You want them to understand that you are also taking the time to invest in them. If this is a good match, you don’t want them to decline and go somewhere they feel more appreciated and valued for their skills.

4. Avoiding illegal interview questions

Before the interview, you’ll also want to understand legal interview techniques of what’s allowed, what’s not, and what questions you can ask and what you can’t. The laws are always changing, so you must be aware of them. For example, can you ask if somebody has been arrested or convicted of a crime? Years ago, you could ask if somebody had been convicted of a crime, but you could not ask if they had been arrested because an arrest does not necessarily lead to a conviction.

However, the laws have changed in some states, municipalities, counties and cities, and concerning these questions, you’ll want to be sure that you are up to date on all relevant regulations.  

5. Reviewing your skills as an interviewer

Let’s look at how well you know yourself to help you understand your strengths and weaknesses as an interviewer. Your personality type and how you come across to other people impacts how you perceive people’s answers. Additionally, it impacts a person’s perception of you and their willingness to share information with you.

You need to understand your personality, your communication style, and the communication style of the team or department that this potential new hire is going to be working with. Ultimately, the soft skills and candidate’s ability to mesh with the new team will be critical when hiring this person.

The types of interview questions that work best at getting the answers you need    

One characteristic of successful interviewers is they can ask the same key question in multiple ways. When you ask a question, you’ll receive a blank look or an apparent inability to understand your question specifically. It would help if you rephrased the question so that the other person you are interviewing understands the question and what you are trying to achieve.

Therefore, as part of your preparation, have some alternative questions ready, especially if it is difficult. Think about how else you might ask the question, so the person understands what you are looking for.

Also, have follow-up questions ready. Once they answer your initial question, you can often elicit more information from a smart follow-up question. Your job candidate will be coming in prepared and have studied the likeliest questions you will ask. In many cases, when you ask some basic questions, your interviewee will have their answer prepared ahead of time, and what you are hearing is their pre-rehearsed answer to that question.

If you stop there, you are not getting a spontaneous analysis or seeing how they process information. Your follow-up questions will move away from the canned answer into an area where they must come up with an answer immediately. It’s generally a lot more insightful. 

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Interviewing job candidates is just one of many new responsibilities you have as a manager. To help you do many of those other pieces of your job better, attend our latest webinar, Survival Skills for First-Time Managers, and become a stronger and more successful supervisor who is 100% ready to lead!

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Don’t waste time with “cute” questions

However, don’t ask stupid questions, like “If you were an animal, what kind would you want to be, and why?” Some people have argued that that’s an effective way to see how they respond when put on the spot. I think that is a load of … um … hooey. I have another more descriptive word to use instead of “hooey,” but this article is rated PG.

If you have a viable candidate, stop and look at those kinds of questions from the candidate’s vantage point. What would you think about your organization if someone asked you as a professional, “What kind of animal would you like to be?” It doesn’t reflect well on the organization, so you are less likely to want to come and work for them. 

If you are new to the hiring and interview process, remember that no one is perfect initially. After each interview, ask yourself what you felt comfortable with and think you did exceptionally well? Also, what felt less comfortable for you? Then, use what you’ve learned for your next interview and over time, you’ll be able to spot the best candidate for your open positions easily.