Made some interview calls? Want to know how to conduct an Interview? I’m going to highlight 7 simple steps that let you find the right person for a job. Let’s uncover them one by one.

Step No.1 Write Interview Question

Open-end questions always work well in a job interview because they let you better understand a candidate, his behavior and skill level. Therefore, you shouldn’t add those questions whose answer is a one-liner or simply “Yes” or “No”

• Write some general questions which you are going to ask in the first phase. Commonly asked questions fit best here.

• Create some specific questions which let you evaluate a candidate’s knowledge and experience about a job.
• Add some Behavioral interview questions. A candidate is going to be a part of your company. Make sure his behavior and attitude are acceptable in your workplace.
• It is good to ask all candidates the same set of questions. It helps you compare answers and then pick the right one. 

Step No.2 Read Resume 

You must know about a person whom you are going to interview. A careful study of each resume lets you understand a person better even before he comes face-to-face. After a thorough reading, you would be in a position to know know what his objectives and interests are. How experienced he is. A quick look at resume allows you to come up with a candidate-specific question. Don’t forget to familiarize yourself with Different types of resume, their pros, and cons.

• May be you want to know why did he leave his last job? 

• Why did he take a break from his job? Get answer here 

Step No.3 Define Some Evaluation Criteria 

Before you start conducting an interview, you should have clear idea about evaluation criteria. Like what are must haves ( skills, experiences);

• What are nice to have ( some additional skills and knowledge) ;

• What sacrifices your company can make ( if a person is skilled and experienced, you are ready to train him with some other important company-specific task). 

Knowing all your intangibles and evaluation criteria help you probe a candidate while you are conducting an interview.

Step No.4 Make an Impression

An interviewer and employer must have to make an impression on every candidate during a job interview. The way you handle this task defines you and tell others a lot about your company. Here is what you need to do.

• Spare some free time and make interview calls.

• Keep your smartphone aside, show every candidate how important this interview is. 

• Don’t attend any call during an interview.

• Don’t let other employees approach you with some important business matters.

• Maintain Focus.

• Don’t interrupt any candidate while he is speaking. Take a quick look at some interview ethics

• Ask your questions and give him some time to answer

Step No.5 Conducting an Interview 

Once you are done preparing your questionnaire and other stuff. You are ready to conduct an interview. Here is what you need to do in this step.

• Give a good intro to your company and yourself. 

• Try to use a neutral tone. If you pick a casual tone, a candidate will not take the interview seriously. Professionalism requires formality. It doesn’t mean you being too serious, it means keeping a balance. Neither too friendly not too corporate is a requisite. 

• Your intention is to get all the info that is not mentioned in the resume.

• Don’t make him nervous with too personal questions.

After an introduction and small talk, you can explain the job position, its duties, and responsibilities. The purpose is to know how many candidates understand the job and whether he considers himself a good fit or not.

• Pick a resume and ask him about his accomplishments, past job responsibilities, and education. 

• When you see a gap in employment history, you must inquire about it but in a very informal tone. 

• The next step is to start asking a question that you created in step number 1. If possible record this conversation, so you can compare your candidates’ answers later.

Step No. 6 Apply 80/20 Rule

In an interview, you must apply this 80 by 20 rule. 

• According to this, you let your candidate speak 80 percent because this is how you will know all about him. The more he speaks, the better you will know all about him. An assessment of his skills, attitude, behavior, and education will become easier for you. 

• Rule 20 is applicable to you. According to this, you will speak only 20 percent. This is how you conducted an interview in the best manner. It means you need to give the candidate a chance to ask questions. 

If he has some questions about the job, the company and its responsibility then he will inquire about it. In the end, I must ask “Do you have any questions for me?” and try to provide a clear cut answer.

This last question will help you understand whether a candidate did his homework on your company or not.

Step No.6 Follow up

You will end your interview and give a timeline to your candidate. Tell him when you will contact him and what is the next step of the hiring process. You can also send a follow-up interview email to inform them about your selection process. If you selected one then it is important to inform others about it.

Some Useful Links:

• 27 Common Interview Questions to Ask
• 4 Popular Interview Techniques
• Killer Interview Questions to Ask Employer
• What Questions You Should Never Ask from Your Employer
• Interview Skills to Ace a Job Interview