For a company, this is the biggest decision of all and one that can have a significant impact on how you operate. Get it right and reap the rewards. Get it wrong and you will face some serious questions.
However, if you have prepared correctly and done the necessary groundwork which has been covered in the previously posts, this shouldn’t be too much of a challenge. By being clear about what you want with regard to skills, experience, qualifications and personality traits, you should now be able to interview a shortlist of applicants who are all good and all you have to decide who the best is.
There are many views about how to structure an interview and selection process and you need to tailor it to your own needs. You will need to take into account the levels of technical and aptitude testing required so you need to be flexible. The use of personality/psychological profiling can also be utilised and it does have its value if used in conjunction with other methods
Assuming that the screening has been done correctly, I personally prefer a three stage process where the first stage is a “get to know you session” where you can get to know more about the applicant and to allow them to be open about their skills, experience and aspirations. You can also cover the role and company. This allows you to see if they would fit from a personality point of view and to gauge whether they are interested in joining you.
The second stage should be more challenging and involve scrutinising the applicant to a greater degree. You should look for examples of how they operate in a work based scenario. You can use competency based interview techniques as well as requesting case studies or presentations. Feel free to adapt this to what is relevant for your needs.
Finally, a third stage where you can cover any outstanding issues or concerns from the first two stages and cover any questions about the role and company. Involving other members of the business can be beneficial to get a second opinion.
We will look at the topic of making an offer in the coming weeks. Feel free to get in touch with any thoughts, comments or feedback.
