by Feature08

Created on: August 18, 2008   Last Updated: June 13, 2009

How to conduct an effective interview in less time, with better results
Top 9 strategies for conducting effective executive interviews

The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of an investment group based in Atlanta, Georgia once told me and a group of other potential interviewees, that an interviewer knows within seconds whether or not to hire a person. The CFO was probably a lot like you; concerned about the loss of productivity and too busy to consider the potential consequences of hasty hiring decisions.

And, with that, he quickly reduced the field from approximately twenty candidates to single digits. Most, myself included, were asked only a question or two.

While his is definitely a good time saving strategy, it is probably not wise to be as swift. No matter how straightforward, one question will not suffice in weeding out the ideal candidate for most jobs. And fortunately, asking tons of questions is also unlikely to land the best candidate.

In the rapidly evolving fields of technology, it is especially important to assess, not judge, an applicant's value. The following are nine time saving strategies for whittling the list of job candidates down to one without compromising the quality of the interview.

Conducting a quick and successful interview requires advance preparation, pre-established rules for carrying out the interview and asking questions that will still shed as much light on the candidate as possible.

Before the interview, it is important to commit to the following:

Select "the" candidate before the search.
Don't overestimate your knowledge of the position you are attempting to fill, nor should you over present the job. If necessary, it is important to conduct the appropriate research beforehand because knowing what attributes to look for in potential candidates requires close knowledge of the position.

Margie Mader-Clark, author of The Job Description Handbook, believes the job description is a vital tool for the interview and beyond. "You can use it to set up interview questions, you can use it to orient your new employee and tell them what the functions of their job are, and you can use it to measure their performance on those given functions."

A clear job description will attract the more qualified candidates. From this, you can further design a set of questions that will effectively gauge the individual's experience, skills and abilities as they relate to the job.

In the case of the investment group, the job openings turned out to be sales positions, but

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