How to Make the Most of an Interview

When you're bringing someone new into your business, it's important to make sure they're the right candidate. An impressive resume only tells you that they're capable of performing the basic functions of the job: The interview is your chance to get a feel for their their work ethic, how they function under pressure and if their personality fits into the culture of your company. These factors can be particularly nebulous for new businesses that are still in the process of developing goals for the future. Here are some ways you can ensure the questions you're asking get you the info you need: 

'Tell Me About A Time…'
Behavioral interview questions are your way of figuring out how a candidate acts on the job. They give the candidate an opportunity to share their experiences overcoming obstacles and apply that knowledge to the opening at your company. However, the way you phrase these questions can make them too easy, possibly making them useless. Instead of a prompt like, "Describe a difficult goal you set for yourself and how you achieved it," just ask, "Describe a difficult goal you set for yourself." Simply removing the latter part of the question puts the onus on the interviewee to describe their achievements. You're looking for a candidate who can explain how they have turned adversity into a positive, and if the person you're interviewing can't do that across multiple questions, that may be a sign they're ill-equipped to handle road bumps. 

Ask Surprising Questions
A good candidate will have prepared answers to common interview questions. A great candidate will be able to take those answers and apply them to questions they didn't know you'd ask. This doesn't mean you should ask questions entirely out of left field: Asking someone's favorite sandwich might show you how they react when they're caught off guard, but other questions can surprise them and let you know if they're qualified. The best way to do this is to rework standard interview questions in a new way. Business Insider highlights this in their interview with James Caan, CEO of the Hamilton Bradshaw Group. Caan asks questions like, "What was your claim to fame in your previous role?" You're just asking about their strengths, but phrasing it in a way they're not used to makes them actually think about the question instead of reciting practiced answers. 

Facilitate Follow-Ups
In a perfect world, every single concern on both sides would be settled in the interview. However, the reality of the interview is a lot of information is passed back and forth at once, and sometimes it can take candidates (and interviewers) a while to process everything they've talked about. Odds are good a candidate will go home, sit down, and immediately think, "I should have asked X." Be sure to invite candidates to reach out to you at the end of the interview with any questions they think of later on, and give them a note or business card with your contact information. Even if they already know your email address, physically reminding them of how to contact you drives home that you're open to further contact.