Interviewing Errors

When it comes to interviewing a candidate for a job there are errors that the person conducting the interview can make which can lead to a bad interview, therefore affecting the person being interviewed. Luckily there are ways to avoid these errors, resulting in a successful interview for both the candidate and the interviewer.

The first error that can be made by a person interviewing is that they don’t take the time to plan properly in terms of not planning ahead on the type of questions to ask the candidate as well as lacking structure and organization an interview needs in order for it to be successful and run smoothly. In order to avoid this issue, one must prepare ahead of time in terms of writing down relevant questions as well as making sure there is some type of order when interviewing so that you are not all over the place, as this can make the candidate feel uneasy and unprepared. You can also avoid this by making an agenda for yourself as to what will happen from the beginning of the interview to the time it finishes. This way you will have some sort of timeframe that you can refer to in order to keep it more organized and well structured.

Another common interviewing mistake that can be made is not having proper knowledge about the job itself or what the job entails. This can greatly affect the outcome of decision that you make when choosing who to hire, as you will not have hired the proper individual for the job since you were unable to interview them based on the correct information about the job. To avoid this from happening it is very important that as the interviewer, you get as much information you can about the job and make sure you have not only understanding about the job but you need to make sure that information is correct. If you don’t have the accurate knowledge about the job, then how are you going to be able to interview someone properly when you are unsure about the type of candidate you are looking to hire? Therefore it is important that you take the read about the details of the job and if you are unsure then it is essential that you do the proper research in making sure that the information you have is accurate.

When it comes to interviewing a candidate you may feel like you should be doing most of the talking since you are conducting the interview, however that is not always the case and it is possible that talking too much during an interview can make the candidate feel like they are being dominated and unable to clearly articulate themselves resulting in them not being able to get their point across and let you know about why they would be the right candidate. The interviewer might unintentionally ask questions but then not let the candidate finish their thoughts or they may interrupt them causing the candidate to lose their train of thought. In order to avoid this, the interviewer must give the candidate a chance to fully express what they are saying without interrupting them or cutting them off, which will give you the chance to pick the right person for the job and be able to hear everything they say.

As an interviewer it is your responsibility to make sure you treat each candidate equally and go through the same interview process for all of them and not to prejudge based on what is written on their resume. Making judgements based on what is written on paper isn’t going to help you in finding the right candidate, since it is just one aspect of them as a person and interviewing them is what gives you the chance to get to know them as a person. This can be displayed by looking at them a certain way as though they are not worthy and by having this attitude towards them it will make them feel uncomfortable and unwilling to be interviewed. Ways in which you can avoid this from happening is to get to know how the person really is when you interview them and allowing yourself to be open-minded to the possibility that they may be right for the job. Also if you really feel like you have the tendency to prejudge then it is probably best that you not conduct interviews since you are unable to see past what is written on paper. Also put yourself in their shoes and imagine if you were treated this way during an interview and how you would feel if you were being judged by someone who could possibly give you a great opportunity only to find that you are being set up for disappointment.

When a candidate goes for an interview they want to be in an environment that is friendly and open, not a hostile one, which is another issue that can be made by an interviewer. The interviewer can come off being too serious and unfriendly which can make the candidate feel uneasy since they are looking to work with these types of people so that type of environment can be off putting for them. There are several ways for this type of error to be avoided, and that is for the interviewer to be more friendly and outgoing, such as smiling when appropriate and greeting them and asking how they are in a friendly manner when they first walk in. Doing this will allow the candidate to feel more relaxed and will help take off the stress from being interviewed, therefore giving them the chance to give a successful interview.

Interviewing Errors

Prepared By: Saba Jalali
Student Number: 822733028
Professor: Indra Raghubir
Course Code: HRMT 301-821
Due Date: February 26, 2014