Portal for Larry and Carol
Platinum's process for interviewing -
Pre-interview -
We suggest looking through the resumes and applications you have been handed, and find the best 25%-33% from there. Once you have your "top candidates", contact them and inform them of the interview times available. It is best to have a day set aside for interviews, and stick to it. You don't want to hire an employee who is constantly asking for extra consideration, so don't start out on that foot.
During the interview-
I suggest scheduling interviews fairly close together, so the candidates get to see each other. This will let them know there is real competition for the position, giving them a heightened sense of importance for the situation. Because you have already looked at their qualifications in their paperwork, the face-to-face interview is more about getting a feel for if the candidate can work with you to achieve your common goals.
Question 1: "Tell me a little about yourself". This is meant to be an open ended question (no prompting), allowing the prospect's personality to show through. Don't speak up again, until they have been quiet for 3 seconds. This will allow them to get it all out, showing you how comfortable they are with themselves, and uncomfortable/difficult situations. This answer should also give you insight as to how detail oriented this person is (did they give you a broad overview, or tell you the names of all their pets?) The most important part to listen for is would you want to work with the person they just described?
If something interesting catches your ear, take note and feel free to ask questions once the prospect has finished speaking.
Question 2: "describe your responsibilities at XYZ Company" (pick something from their resume). This should again give you an idea of how detail oriented this prospect is. It will also allow you to discern how much responsibility has been handed to this person in the past. Keep in mind, most people are going to want to embellish (at worst) or fancy up the projects they've been handed in the past. Ask follow up questions about anything that doesn't sit right with you, or anything that might demonstrate a good fit for the current position.
Question 3: "We look for someone goal oriented. Say your goal was to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, how would you achieve your goal?". The main reason for this question, is to see how they handle themselves when things aren't "running
according to plan". How uncomfortable do they get? Do they give a simple answer, or an overly verbose one? By the time they finish this answer, you should have a very good idea of what type of person you're dealing with.
Question 4: "Do you have any questions for me?". An overwhelming majority of prospects fail to take advantage of this critical opportunity to speak up. If they don't have any questions, it's usually due to a couple reasons. Are they too nervous to speak up? Do they think by asking questions they will somehow alienate us? If they are confident, they will take this opportunity to ask about the details not in the original ad. What is the salary? How long do people stick around on average/ is there a high turnover of employees? Are there perks/benefits offered? These are all questions I would ask if the tables were turned, so hopefully a prospect will speak up with at least 1 question or concern. Not having questions isn't usually a deal breaker, but a choice-maker. If it came down to 2 candidates, and 1 had chosen to ask questions, they would win the position.
Post Interview-
After the interview thank them for their time and interest. Inform them that you have several other interviews to conduct, and you'll be notifying them by phone if they have the position. I would let them know that if they don't hear from you by a certain date, you would love to have them apply again in the future. This will keep you from making a bunch of "you didn't get it" calls.
If you have any questions about our interviewing process, please feel free to reach out, and we'll get you connected with a specialist right away.
Pre-interview -
We suggest looking through the resumes and applications you have been handed, and find the best 25%-33% from there. Once you have your "top candidates", contact them and inform them of the interview times available. It is best to have a day set aside for interviews, and stick to it. You don't want to hire an employee who is constantly asking for extra consideration, so don't start out on that foot.
During the interview-
I suggest scheduling interviews fairly close together, so the candidates get to see each other. This will let them know there is real competition for the position, giving them a heightened sense of importance for the situation. Because you have already looked at their qualifications in their paperwork, the face-to-face interview is more about getting a feel for if the candidate can work with you to achieve your common goals.
Question 1: "Tell me a little about yourself". This is meant to be an open ended question (no prompting), allowing the prospect's personality to show through. Don't speak up again, until they have been quiet for 3 seconds. This will allow them to get it all out, showing you how comfortable they are with themselves, and uncomfortable/difficult situations. This answer should also give you insight as to how detail oriented this person is (did they give you a broad overview, or tell you the names of all their pets?) The most important part to listen for is would you want to work with the person they just described?
If something interesting catches your ear, take note and feel free to ask questions once the prospect has finished speaking.
Question 2: "describe your responsibilities at XYZ Company" (pick something from their resume). This should again give you an idea of how detail oriented this prospect is. It will also allow you to discern how much responsibility has been handed to this person in the past. Keep in mind, most people are going to want to embellish (at worst) or fancy up the projects they've been handed in the past. Ask follow up questions about anything that doesn't sit right with you, or anything that might demonstrate a good fit for the current position.
Question 3: "We look for someone goal oriented. Say your goal was to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, how would you achieve your goal?". The main reason for this question, is to see how they handle themselves when things aren't "running
according to plan". How uncomfortable do they get? Do they give a simple answer, or an overly verbose one? By the time they finish this answer, you should have a very good idea of what type of person you're dealing with.
Question 4: "Do you have any questions for me?". An overwhelming majority of prospects fail to take advantage of this critical opportunity to speak up. If they don't have any questions, it's usually due to a couple reasons. Are they too nervous to speak up? Do they think by asking questions they will somehow alienate us? If they are confident, they will take this opportunity to ask about the details not in the original ad. What is the salary? How long do people stick around on average/ is there a high turnover of employees? Are there perks/benefits offered? These are all questions I would ask if the tables were turned, so hopefully a prospect will speak up with at least 1 question or concern. Not having questions isn't usually a deal breaker, but a choice-maker. If it came down to 2 candidates, and 1 had chosen to ask questions, they would win the position.
Post Interview-
After the interview thank them for their time and interest. Inform them that you have several other interviews to conduct, and you'll be notifying them by phone if they have the position. I would let them know that if they don't hear from you by a certain date, you would love to have them apply again in the future. This will keep you from making a bunch of "you didn't get it" calls.
If you have any questions about our interviewing process, please feel free to reach out, and we'll get you connected with a specialist right away.