Interviewing

Interviews can be carried out in a number of ways including:

• By telephone or face-to-face
• By one individual or a panel

Alternatively when using registers or standby agreements you may delegate the responsibility for interviewing to another organisation in a similar way as you would expect your head office to undertake interviews.

This guide concentrates on face-to-face interviews in the field.

A few simple guidelines

• At least two people should carry out all the interviews for a post.
• One interviewer might well be the line manager for the post, the other might be a HR specialist or another manager
• Interviewing is tiring – four interviews in one day may well be enough
• The interviewers should agree how they will run the interviews in advance; one person might ask the questions, while the other person takes notes. Roles can be swapped during the interview.
• The interviewers should have copies of the job description and person specification.
• Agree a standard format and timings for the interviews if at all possible.
• An interview might usefully be divided into three parts:
  • Introductions followed by interviewee talking about their education and career to date – the aim is to put everyone at ease and to check the information contained in the application.
  • Detailed questioning on competencies, ask short questions to get the candidate to express their ideas – don't ask long questions which only need a Yes or No answer. If answers do not provide the necessary information, be persistent and ask additional questions. This is an important opportunity to ensure the person you recruit is capable of doing the job.
  • Closure with opportunity for candidates to ask questions.
• Discuss, agree and write down your conclusions immediately after seeing each candidate – a key recommendation is whether each candidate should be considered for the post or not.
• At the end of the day or interviews, candidates who are to be considered for the post should be ranked in order of preference.

If you are unsure about anything, consider arranging a second interview or telephone follow-up to get the additional information needed to make a decision.

Time and care at this stage is a good investment which will help you to recruit the right person and therefore save a lot more time and energy later.

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