Interview Like an All-Star: How to Start Learning More About Your Potential Clients and Candidates

Whether you’re interviewing candidates for a position at your company or trying to fill an opening for a client, choosing the best person for the job is always paramount. However, this is typically much easier said than done.

Learning as much as possible about each candidate during a job interview is essential, so your interviewing skills need to be on point. Follow this advice to dig deep and find out everything you can about the person, to help you make the best possible hiring choice.

Conduct Pre-Interview Research

Any candidate worth hiring will be doing plenty of research prior to the interview, but you need to do more. Carefully study the person’s resume to understand their skills, accomplishments, and career path. You’ll also want to review their social media presence to learn more about their personality, to gauge their cultural fit. After conducting this research, you’ll be better equipped to ask really great questions that help you decide if they’re right for the job.

Make the Candidate Feel Comfortable

Some candidates interview better than others, but lacking these skills doesn’t necessarily make someone a poor choice for the job. If you sense a candidate is nervous, help them calm down so they feel more comfortable. Pay them a compliment, start a conversation about the weather or warm them up with a few easy interview questions to boost their confidence.

Ask Open-Ended Questions

The more the candidate reveals during the interview, the better, so ask questions that require more than a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response. For example, instead of asking if they like their current job, find out what their three favorite things are about the job. Remember, you want to end the interview with as much information as possible to base your decision on, so choose your questions wisely.

Don’t Stick to a Script

Like any good interviewer, you always have a long list of questions prepared, but sometimes you need to deviate from the plan to get the best results. When answering one of your planned questions, the candidate may reveal some information you want to dig into a bit deeper, so be ready and willing to make adjustments as needed.

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