Plan for interviewing candidate for vacancy

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Plan for interviewing candidate for vacancy

Did you know that about 78% of companies plan to actively invest in HR services? Approximately 58% of businesses, according to 2022 statistics, are actively involving outside or in-house recruiters in the hiring process. This is a necessary investment in the efficient search for valuable staff and personnel management.

Today's HR professionals are fully aware of the responsibility entrusted to them and are trying to improve their productivity in every possible way. We have conducted a study of the recruitment industry and identified an important aspect of every HR – the interview with the candidate. We will tell in this article how to prepare for this process and make a plan for the individual interview.

What Is a Plan for an Interview With a Job Seeker

A plan for preparing and conducting an interview is a basic guide for HR, outlining the key questions and desired answers. In other words, it is a kind of checklist of the applicant's compliance with the hiring company's management requirements. An interview plan with the candidate is needed so the recruiter can properly conduct a meeting with the applicant and ask the right questions. The main purpose of such a plan is to optimize the time and resources devoted to communicating with a potential employee.

Stages That Make up a Plan for an Interview With a Candidate

The interview structure should be fully optimized and thought through in advance. It will allow the HR specialist to focus on important nuances and effectively spend time communicating with the candidate. A detailed plan is created based on the interview's duration, the job's specifics, and the requirements of a company looking for an employee. Let's take a closer look at the stages of creating a structure for communication with a job seeker.

Greeting and contacting a candidate for a job

Consider a candidate interview plan as an example. Any communication should begin with a greeting to the interviewee. In the recruiting process, any informal statements are unacceptable. For example:

Hey, hello!
Hello, are you here for the interview?
Hi! Let's get acquainted, I'm HR.

It is better to replace such phrases with simple and business-like phrases:

Good afternoon. We've been waiting for you.
Thank you for being on time, it's important to us.
Hello! Are you here for the interview? Have a seat.

This is quite a good interview plan example, which will show your professionalism to the person you are interviewing and set the mood for business communication.

Identifying the candidate's needs

The ideal interview plan includes an analysis of the applicant's needs. It is essential to determine straight away the purpose of the candidate coming to the interview. You can simply ask or approach the question more tactfully. For example, "Why did you decide to change jobs?", "What prospects do you see for yourself in our company?", "What did you like about the vacancy?."

Presentation of the company and the vacancy

The interview script implies a kind of visualization of the company's advantages. It is important to emphasize to the candidate the benefits of employment: high salary, social package, insurance, logistics, etc. You can also talk about the corporate culture and traditions of the company. It will help to interest the candidate in the vacancy and keep the talented specialist from looking for further employment.

Plan of questions for the job seeker

How to properly plan an interview? Focus on the specifics of the company and form questions according to the tasks the position entails. If it is a software company, the list of questions should relate directly to the job's terms, methodologies, and techniques.

Answers to the applicant's questions

The candidate interview plan should definitely include communication, not just a questionnaire. What questions are included in the interview plan:

Work schedule.
Salary.
Bonuses.
Vacations.
Insurance.
Compensation.
Terms of employment.
Responsibilities.
Team composition.
Supervisor's biography.

Without preparation for these questions, your interview plan will not be effective, and you will not be able to quickly and effectively navigate important information to the person.

Summarize the interview and inform about the procedure for informing about the interview results

The interview scheme always includes the end of the interview. Once you have received all the necessary answers from the applicant, you can take time to agree on the outcome with the company's management. To do this, you need to let the candidate know there are deadlines for reviewing the employment application. Be sure to give them an approximate date for the next contact before completing the interview.

Completing the dialogue

The interview structure implies that sooner or later, the communication will come to an end. It is important to end the dialogue positively, preferably with a phrase encouraging the interviewee. For example, "As for me, you're perfectly suited for the position. I will pass your application to management and fill it with my positive characteristics. I will let you know the results of the interview within X days. Thank you for your time. See you next time!"

Questions That Should Be Included in the Plan for Preparing and Conducting the Interview

You probably know that the interview process is set individually for each applicant. That is why the list of possible questions is different for each interview. An example interview plan includes different topics, some of which are professional and some of which are purely individual in nature. This is necessary to reveal the potential of the prospective employee. Let's take a closer look at the categories of questions.

Professional questions

When you first think about how to plan a job interview, you put professional questions in the first place. And that's a good decision. What can you ask a candidate?

Terminology.
Methodologies and their characteristics.
How to implement a particular component.
What technologies are used in development.

These questions directly relate to the specialty and the tasks that the interviewee will do in the workplace.

Questions of a personal nature

Experienced HR professionals recommend localizing communication topics around the job without touching personal space. We disagree with that. An interview plan from the employer's point of view is to find out as much as possible about the applicant's hobbies, personality, strengths, and weaknesses. You should not ask the candidate for too much detail, but you should not omit this topic completely.

What should you ask about?

The interview plan with the job seeker implies that you emphasize the critical things. For example:

Where have you worked?
What position did you hold?
What was the salary?
What do you expect from the position?
Where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years?
Why did you quit your last job?

It will help you better understand the candidate and determine their interest in the position and company.

Reflexive questions

An interview plan for HR is not just a list of questions but also the proper allocation of resources, or more precisely, time. In order not to drag out the interview and not turn it into a get-together, you need to be able to move the conversation in the right direction. For example:

This is interesting information. Let's discuss it another time and move on to the next question. Don't you agree?
Good answer. Are you ready for the next question?
We're a little short on time, so let's move on to the next question. Do you agree?

These phrases are necessary if you need to quickly change the subject and continue the interview.

Mirroring questions

Human psychology is an interesting discipline that can and should be applied in job interviews. Mirroring questions is a good technique to help you uncover the interviewer's point of view or simply clarify the information you've heard. Simply repeat the person's last statement in a questioning tone and get ready to listen to the details.

Alternative questions

Sometimes, it is necessary to reveal a person's personality when talking. Alternative questions can help with this. For example:

What do you do in your spare time?
Are you into sports?
Do you like spending time outdoors?

Answers to these questions will add to your understanding of the candidate and provide an expanded picture of their personality.

Conclusion

When preparing for an interview, be guided by the candidate application form. After all, if you get your hands on the right resume, in 90% of cases, you will immediately know applicant’s strengths and weaknesses. Also, the information in the profile will help you gather the interview plan structure and create a checklist of important questions for the company. Feel free to ask questions and listen carefully to the answers. This will help you find the best candidate for the vacancy!