How to Interview a Potential Employee
One of the main functions of a company HR manager is the prudent addition of competent employees that fit well into the company. To accomplish this, the HR manager must exercise all means to learn about the candidate.
The curriculum vitae and the resume all serve as tools for the HR manager to get a glimpse of what a person may be capable of doing. Using set criteria for the job opening, the HR manager can then narrow down his or her choices to select candidates.
After this comes the interview – which is probably the best way an HR manager can get to know the potential candidate. Human resource management is a pretty hard field and the interview will prove vital to weeding out candidates that do not match the company’s need.
Performing the Interview
The purpose of the interview is to know the candidate better and match your impression with the current need of the company. Couple this with information gleaned from aptitude tests and qualifications, and you end up with a good enough picture with which to make your hiring decision.
1. “Describe Yourself.” This is one of fundamental questions an HR manager must ask every candidate. Although it may seem useless – some think it is moot and academic – it is actually an important exercise that will help the HR manager learn more about the applicant.
The HR manager probably knows about the candidate from the resume and the aptitude tests. This makes this question redundant, or does it? Actually, a good HR manager will ask this question to find out HOW the applicant answers the question.
The HR then knows whether the candidate has good self-esteem, is confident about the task ahead, or is suffering from a lack of expertise. Plus, good communication skills are important for any job. The HR will also be able to learn about discrepancies between the person and the resume.
2. Past Performance. There are some questions that you should ask regarding the candidate’s past experience. This is because the person’s past experience will give an idea of how he or she will perform in your company.
Aside from that, you should also ask about the lessons he or she has learned from past experiences. You need to get a better picture of the person’s psyche – how the person handles problems, stress, and how the person accomplishes goals.
3. Goals and Ambitions. You will also need to know what the person plans to do in life. And in addition to this you should also learn of the candidate’s ideals and goals. These questions are important because they help you understand whether the person’s goals are in life and whether they match up with your company’s goals and objectives.
It is not wrong for the candidate to have ambitious goals and objectives – as long as they are in accordance with the company’s thrust. Also, healthy ambition fuels great accomplishments. This could be a good thing for an employee. But then again, it has to be a healthy kind of ambition.
Conclusion
In the end, you will need a good picture of your candidate to find out if he or she will be happy working for you. The interview should clear the questions regarding the person’s capability, psyche, and dependability. Make sure you prepare questions in advance that seek to accomplish these goals.