Finding & Attracting Talent - part 2

We've been so busy here interviewing that I forgot to post this weeks ago! Anyway, here goes part 2 of finding & attracting talent ...

Once you think you have the ideal CV, the most common next step is the interview.

1. Prepare
   We’ve all done it, dashing into an interview without even taking a look at the CV and reminding ourselves as we sit down in front of the person. Just take some time before to remind yourself why you’re meeting them and what sort of questions you want to ask to get the information you need. We expect the candidate to be prepared so we should do the same!

    

2. Ask the right questions, in the right way

    

   1. Don’t ask questions that give them the answer! “We’re looking for this sort of person….what are you like?”.

       

   2. Ask leading questions – “how, what” etc rather than “are you…?” eg “how do you manage your time” rather than “are you good at timekeeping?”.

       

   3. Think of questions that will give you an idea of whether they are able to deal with the various aspects of the role eg managing difficult people (be that internally or externally), working to tight deadlines and so on.

       

   4. Find out what they want to do and also what sort of company they would thrive working in – this will give you an idea whether they have the same values as you and would fit in to the business.

       

   5. And finally, don’t ask questions or make statements that can be discriminatory eg “Are you planning on having kids in the next year?” – could land in you in a heap of trouble.


3. Sell the company (without being too gushy!)
   The candidate wants to find out about the company from you to determine whether they would gain from working there. This will give them a much better picture than searching online or finding out from their recruitment consultant. If you’re not prepared it may come across that you don’t really care either about them joining or about the company. Give them a picture of how the company is structured, where the role they are interviewing for sits within the company and what could be expected of them day to day. Simple stuff but I have heard many times of comments of how useful this part of the interview can be for the candidate.