Interviewing Skills for an Interview

We often read articles pertaining to how an interviewee improve himself to nail a job interview. This article would talk about interviewing skills for interviewers since they would also need tips on how to conduct great interviews. Here are some tips on how to select the correct employee for the job post needed:

• Know who you are looking for

Questions for an interview may sound the same from one interviewer to another. One would send out job applications to different companies expecting the usual questions asked in an interview. In order for an interviewer to make it different, it is important to know what the job post is all about. There are different qualifications needed for different job posts and it would be better to ask questions which are appropriate to the position that needs to be filled. This would also help applicants show how good they are in thinking fast and giving a direct but precise answer.

• Start with knowing the applicant

Applicants face interviewers usually at a nervous state. To relax them a bit, ask personal questions that would make him comfortable since you’re talking about his experiences. It relaxes the atmosphere and makes one feel that you’re interested in them, their skills, abilities and even their achievements.

• Asking the correct questions

An interviewer’s aim should be focused on letting the applicant talk most of the time. In order to achieve this, the appropriate questions should be asked. Open ended questions are helpful as this enables the applicant to provide information and his opinions. Behavioral questions, on the other hand enables the interviewer to know how a candidate handles situations and will focus on the skill that the job post requires. Follow up questions will also make a generic information to be more specific. Interviewers should know how to drill down the information provided by the applicant to get the expected answer. These type of questions allows the interviewer to know how well an applicant can handle a conversation.

• Listen attentively

Since an interviewer’s goal is to let the applicant talk most of the time, listening actively is with utmost importance. The information provided by the applicant should be recalled by the interviewer and relate it to the key skill areas needed for the job post, and to check should there be inconsistencies. Non-verbal responses includes nodding of the head, smiling and giving remarks or encouragements. This would let the applicant know that you’re interested and listening to what they’re saying.

• Observe non-verbal messages

Wordless cues are observed in an interview scenario and would convey their emotional state. This would also give cues about the behavior of the applicant and would tell that he is expressing an idea. These non-verbal messages are also hard to interpret and analyzing these messages should be handled carefully. An example of which is a candidate folding his arms since he feels cold which could be interpreted as being defensive.

An interviewer should know how to sum up everything from the information provided by the applicant, the past behaviors and even the non-verbal messages observed. These interviewing skills for interviewers serves as a guide on how to conduct a great interview. There are only five skills listed in this article, but a great interviewer knows what are the skills needed to hire the person fit for the job post.