You have a 9:00am meeting, a 10:00am conference call, you have a 12 noon luncheon with clients, you overslept and it is 8:05 when you get to the office parking lot. How many times has this happened to you? You finally make it into your office and start to get out your PDA and realize you picked up your kids hand-held game. You want to SCREAM but you just don't have time, you have to fit in five interviews this morning. Has is been forever since you have had to do interviews? Do you need a quick review on the best techniques for interviewing a prospective employee?
You most likely remember your basic "how to interview someone" details. What if you're crunching the numbers on the clock? You need to hire someone fast but you really don't want to make a costly mistake. Don't hire someone without a complete understanding that they can do the job required of them. If you do this will cost your company in training and re-hiring and re-training a new employee. You want to avoid doing this action whenever possible.
Let's start with the TOP 9 Strategies for conducting an effective timesaving interview.
*Be prepared
*Redirect your calls to voice mail
*Know the exact job details your hiring for
*Know the exact qualifications needed for the job
*Take notes
*Ask direct interview questions
*Avoid small talk
*Be conscious of time
*Let the new employee do the work for you
Be prepared yourself. This saves a lot of headaches in the long run. Always make sure you have your pens or pencils handy, have a folder for each interviewee, in these folders you can place applications, resumes, and other documents such as a copy of a degree, which is provided by the employee. This will save you a huge amount of time. You wont be as likely to lose something that you want to review, if it is not lost under your work on top of your desk. Also, you will already have an employee file started if you decide this person is right for the job.
Makes sure you redirect your incoming calls or put them on hold. This is an important time saving trick. In the middle of an interview, if you get a call and take it, then talk for ten minutes on business with the interviewee across from the table, you may get distracted and almost have to start the interview over. What did that accomplish? Nothing but wasting time So if the new employee is important to you, make them important to you and put other business dealings on hold.
Knowing the exact job details your hiring for is essential. The details of that job are specific. If the details of that job require them, to know how to fill out for instance a PMA for the FDA, you need to know that. If they have no prior knowledge of FDA approval regulations, if this is a specific job requirement and you need them to know, then don't waste your time on finishing the interview. Say Thank you for coming and move on.
Know the exact qualifications your need your new employee to have. If it is a sales position and you need them to know what a 510k is or what a CE mark is for and what country requires it for safety regulations on devices your company sales, then be up front about this. Saves you time again in the long run. If they don't know, then you don't need them.
Remember that folder you have sitting there, in front of you on your desk, that folder for every interviewee? Well here is where that folder is for more than just holding the employee's application. During the interview, while you are asking some very important key interview questions, open the inside of the employees' folder and take some notes on the inside of the blank folder. This for one makes the person across the table wonder what your writing. Can they handle the stress? Also, this is great for writing down the fact you like this person's personality or this person's qualifications, or anything you want to make important notes on about this person to help you remember about them. When you don't have much time during the interview process, this is a very good thing to do. This saves you time on what you have to go back over and review on in the application later.
Asking very direct interview questions not only saves you time in an interview but gets you the direct answers you need. Why do you want to work for this company? What do you know about this company? Did you bring all the required documents listed in the job placement ad? Are you qualified for this job? What do you expect to get from this company? What are your salary expectations? Do you want to participate in a 501k plan? Do you have anything else you want to add about yourself before this interview is finished?
Avoiding small talk does a few things; this again gives you straight up answers. You don't really need to know that their dogs name is fluffy now do you? You need the person sitting across from you, be the best person for the job. You need to know they will help make your company a success. You need them to be happy with their job and make your company look good. Talking about off the wall things will NOT help you remember if they was qualified for the job long after the interview is over. All this accomplishes is time lost on important question you really need to know about them.
You can be conscious of time politely here. Set aside say 10-15 minutes for an interview. With asking direct questions and know what qualifications you need the new employee to have. The interview can be done fast and effectively. Set a timer -a quiet watch timer- and when it goes off say, I am sorry, I set that to remind me I have a meeting and I am on a time limit. I will keep your file on record and call you if we need you. Simple and polite, they know you are busy and they will understand. We all have deadlines, or somewhere to be or maybe, phone calls to make or e-mails to send. Just keep it very polite, you set the tone, and how can they refuse to let you go, you just may be their new boss.
When you place your advertisement for the opening for the new position that your company is hiring for, let your new employees do most of the time involved work for you and get what you need before they even enter into the interviewing room. This will include putting specifics in your advertisement for the position. Tell them to bring in a completed application, a resume, and how many copies of degrees needed, the proof of the qualifications requirements and maybe include a separate list of work references or personal references, with current addresses and current phone numbers.
This is a time saver so much so, if done correctly you could probably actually hire someone from just the paperwork they bring in to the interview alone. Making them bring the proof they want this job and they are qualified or beyond qualified for this job, makes your job easier. Your job will also be done much faster and more effective. This recommendation shows you, they are attentive to details, they can follow simple instructions and they understand the qualifications required for the job that needs to be filled, and are somewhat a good candidate for the position your company may be hiring for.
So you think you have it all down now? A busy day and you have to catch those meetings and interviews in between times. It is really easy. All you have to do is just remember to be prepared yourself, know what job your company hiring for, know the qualifications needed for that job, grab a working pen and a new employee folder, take notes, ask direct interview questions, avoid the small talk, set a timer, let the prospective new employee do the job for you.
If they want the job your company is hiring for, then they will come well prepared with the completed application in hand, a resume and all the required documents you want. This will help them prove they are worth taking up your precious time, sitting down with them, interviewing with them and show you the fact they do want to work for your company. So don't stress over having to sit down in front of someone and do that dreaded interview, the person on the other side of the table is stressing enough for the both of you, you already have your job, they are the one looking for the job that your company is hiring for.