Conducting an effective job interview is key to selecting the best talent for your company. And not only that, but choosing the right candidates will allow you to achieve a quick and efficient adaptation of new hires and save on turnover costs, avoiding unsuitable candidates or those with no vocation of permanence.
Structure of a job interview
To ensure that the interview is conducted optimally, it should follow a well-defined structure. Although there may be variations depending on the type of position or industry, the parts of an interview are usually divided into the following phases:
Introduction and presentation
The first contact with the candidate is crucial to generate a comfortable and professional environment. In this phase:
- Introduce yourself and explain your role in the company.
- Provides a brief introduction to the organization and purpose of the interview.
- Build confidence with a short, friendly conversation to reduce the candidate's stress.
2. Questions about the candidate's background
This is where the interviewee's experience and skills are explored. Some key questions are:
- Can you tell us about your experience in the sector?
- What has been your greatest professional achievement so far?
- What skills do you think make you ideal for this position?
It is important that the interviewer actively listens and takes notes to compare candidates later.
3. Competency assessment and cultural adjustment
At this stage, both the candidate's technical skills and soft skills(hard skills and soft skills) are analyzed. To do this, you can use situational questions or questions based on the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action and Result). Examples:
- Tell me about a time when you had to solve a problem under pressure.
- How do you handle conflicts within a work team?
4. Explanation of the position and the company
To ensure that the candidate is aligned with the expectations of the position, provide detailed information about:
- Daily responsibilities of the position.
- Company culture and values.
- Growth opportunities and benefits.
This step helps manage the candidate's expectations and ensures that you are both on the same page.
5. Resolution of doubts and closing
In the final phase of the interview, allow the candidate to ask questions about the company, the team or the selection process. Then, explain the next steps in the hiring process and say goodbye in a professional manner.
How to prepare for a job interview effectively
Preparing for a job interview in advance is essential to optimize the selection process. Here are some recommendations:
- Define the profile of the ideal candidate: Establish the key competencies, experience and skills for the position.
- Prepare strategic questions: Design questions to assess both technical knowledge and interpersonal skills.
- Create a comfortable environment: A relaxed candidate will respond more authentically and better demonstrate his or her capabilities.
- Take notes and compare answers: Keeping an organized record makes it easier to make decisions at the end of the process.
However, this whole process is incomplete. To get reliable insights about candidates and to be able to make a truly optimal decision, you need the help of a tool that gets more detailed data about the candidates. This will prevent human factors such as biases or prejudices from leading you to the wrong decision.
In that sense, the intelligent Predictive Index software is the leader in selection processes, as it helps to extract a complete behavioral profile of candidates with a simple 6-minute assessment. It also allows you to measure their cognitive ability, their leadership type (in case of applying for a management position) and even recommendations on communication with other team members based on their personality type.
How Predictive Index improves the selection process
Using tools such as Predictive Index in the interview process allows you to make data-driven decisions and reduce the margin of error in hiring. With this platform, you can:
- Evaluate the candidate's personality traits and behavior.
- Compare your profile with that of successful employees in the company.
- Identify their degree of suitability for the position, previously defining what profile I need for that vacancy.
- Reduce employee turnover by hiring talent aligned with the company's values.
If you want to optimize your job interviews and improve the selection of talent in your company, Predictive IndexContact us to find out how to implement this tool in your hiring process!