Interview Tips: 6 Common Interviewing Mistakes
Interview Tips: 6 Common Interviewing Mistakes
http://info.profilesinternational.com/profiles-employee-assessment-blog/bid/100768/Interview-Tips-6-Common-Interviewing-Mistakes
Selecting and hiring the perfect employee is a difficult task, but if done right, it is one of the most important moves you can make for your business. In an economy like todays, there is no room for bad hiring decisions! And the interview process plays a key role in hiring the best candidate for the job.
Interviewing is an art, but few people are artists. We’ve all been there: as anxious job candidates, we researched the prospective company, prepared resumes, perfected our elevator speech and dressed in the perfect business attire. But believe it or not, conducting the interview takes just as much, if not more, preparation and skill. And effective interviewing skills only come with practice, experience and know how.
Here are six common errors to avoid when conducting an interview:
1. Rely on First Impressions
Interviewers tend to make rapid decisions about the qualifications of a candidate within the first few minutes of the interview based on minimal information. What you first see is not always what you get! So it’s important that interviewers reserve their judgment until sufficient information on the candidate is gathered.
2. Emphasize on the Negatives
Unfavorable information tends to be more influential and memorable than favorable information, but an effective interviewer shouldn’t focus solely on negative information. They need to keep an open mind to see all the candidates’ strengths and weaknesses.
3. Not Knowing the Job
Interviewers who don’t have a comprehensive understanding of the job often form their own opinion of the ideal candidate. But how can someone select the best person for the job if they don’t fully understand the demands and skills needed for the position? To be successful in the selection process, interviewers must fully understand all the job requirements to know whether an individual is really right for the position.
4. Pressure to Hire
When interviewers believe they need to make a decision quickly, they tend to make decisions based on a limited sample of information, or on a small number of candidate interviews. Interviewers should stick to the established interview procedure and timeline with each candidate to avoid making wrong hiring decisions.
5. Contrast Effects
The order in which the candidates are interviewed can affect the ratings given to candidates. While making ratings, interviewers shouldn’t compare and contrast candidates to those who have been previously interviewed. Again, keep an open mind and rate candidates based on their information and whether they can do the job or not.
6. Nonverbal Behavior
Interviewers should base their evaluation of the candidate on their past performance and current behavior as it relates to how they will perform on the job – not just on how the candidate acts during the interview. Questions and probes relating to skills and work behavior will usually direct the interviewer to the most important information.
Avoiding these common interviewing mistakes will help you select and hire the best person for the job!
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