Don’t let these interview and hiring circumstances trip you up.
It’s one of the most stressful parts of work for many people—the interview process. And not just for the new hire! Finding, attracting, interviewing, and bringing on new team members is a crucial and challenging role for good managers and leaders. This week, my expert panel answers questions from our listeners about interview preparation, rehiring staff who’ve left, the importance of research, and even… what to do when a new employee’s parent calls in with questions!
Practice
There are countless books and courses on how to do better at job interviews… both for interviewees and managers conducting talent searches. It’s not a topic you can cover quickly because, like most skills, it takes attention and experience. That’s the main piece of advice I give to both types of workers who want to do better at interviews: practice. Find a partner who has had more experience and run through the paces. Make it as real as possible. And then do it again.
It’s not enough to have a set of questions and answers ready, because every position and person will reveal different possible conversations. The purpose of practice isn’t to get one job or hire for one vacancy, but to get comfortable with those possibilities.
And that’s what we’ve got in our “mail bag” from listeners this week—some hiring and interview scenarios that might fall a bit outside the average “possibilities.”
- What do you do when a potential candidate asks if they can see the interview questions beforehand?
- How do you handle former employees who want to “boomerang” back to your organization?
- What about when you make an offer and the candidate is so annoying that you reconsider your hiring decision?
- Or when a new hire’s parent calls in to ask to attend orientation!
Listen in as our experts provide some wonderful advice. Between us, we’ve conducted hundreds of interviews. Their experience is part of why I enjoy these panel sessions so much. Getting to hear from people who’ve “been there and done that” when it comes to all the different permutations of the hiring process is a rare treat. If you ever conduct interviews—or might ever be interviewed again, yourself—I promise you’ll come away with some great insights.
Listen to the Aim Higher episode here.
Image Credit: Christina Wocintechchat
