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By: Helios on September 6th, 2013

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How to Give Effective Interviews to Hire the Right Employee Every Time

Business Management & Strategy | Talent Acquisition

Interviewing is a very important process in a company and defines the culture of the people who work there.  In order to find the best, you need to interview for attitude and not accolades. Hiring managers need to look beyond the surface and grab their shovels to really dig deep.  Did you know that 46% of new hires failed within the first 18 months?  And that 89% of the time, these new hires failed because of attitude?

With that being said, here at Helios, this is a critical subject for our company and the many companies we assist in finding and hiring the right people. Like so many others in today’s economy, they don’t want hiring mistakes, and the interview needs to be effective every time. Although there is no “bullet-proof” plan, here are some best practices to follow:

5 Most Important Questions Managers Should Ask in the Interview

1. Always ask about the candidate’s work history –   A rule of thumb would be to cover at least three jobs.  The more senior the position, the more important it is to cover everything.

2. Focus your questions on why the candidate was let go or decided to leave a position – The main thing is don’t be afraid to probe.

3. Find out what they did exactly – There is always a gap between those who got the most done and those who just went along for the ride.

4. Ask behavioral-based questions – Before an interview, set aside time with your hiring team and come up with scenarios that will really make the candidate think.  Be aware of the candidate’s answer and wary of those who refuse to pick a side.

5. STAR questionsSituation, Task, Actions and Results

After the initial interview, what’s next?

Once you have gone through the first round of interviews, the steps you make next are equally as important as the initial step.  These steps should be:

1. Conducting at least one more interview that includes another executive leadership member if you believe that the candidate may be a right fit for your company.

2. Check references! Ask to speak to the candidates’ managers to get a more objective perspective.  Don’t ignore the red flags. Probe again for fit within your organizational culture.

3. Background checks are also a very important part of the process that you don’t want to skip.

These steps will help you identify your ideal candidate.  A great mindset to have going into interviews would be: The people you hire should be better than when you were hired; so much so that if you left and came back, you might not be hired again in that position. Every new hire should be better than the last and then your entire company will become stronger.