Lon Rec's Top Tips for: Interview Stage

1. Trust Your Instincts

Follow your instincts and use the interview to get to know the person. Too much structure for interviews doesn't allow for a personal connection and really getting to know someone. The way you do that is to make your interviews conversational and just talk with the candidate. Allow the conversation to unfold.

2. Look At Talent And Cultural Fit

Work experience is nice, but talent and cultural fit are critical. How will this candidate relate with their supervisor and their team? How will they manage the expected work schedule and responsibilities? How well do they understand your customer base? Hiring practices should assess employee fit and job competency, and companies need to use their intuition and data analysis to make job decisions.

3. Give Them A Relevant Task

You will not find a candidate who says, "I suck!" Nor will their references come out and say that. As a result, you have to be creative and dig deeper in your selection process.

4. Take The Candidate Out Of The Office

Meet them at a restaurant or coffee shop and see how the candidate acts in a less formal setting. Ask yourself if you enjoy spending time with this person and if you feel like they are making you better or smarter by being around them. Ask yourself if you would want to be led by them. This will tell you a lot more about the candidate.

5. Look Past The CV

Hiring teams get wrapped up in fancy resumes. Sometimes the best hire had the worst resume. Interviewers should ask questions and pay close attention to the answers. What has this candidate accomplished versus participated in? How do they approach work and collaboration with others? What role do they play on teams? Make offers to candidates that most closely fit the role and your organization.

8. Focus On The Future 

Spend less time focusing on past accomplishments. Instead, concentrate the interview on reviewing with the candidate what needs to be achieved in the first year and what in their background they believe gives them the skills and confidence to accomplish the first year goals of the job.