Interview Techniques

As corporate culture changes and evolves, interviews have changed as well. Many employers now have multi-layered hiring processes, and interviews are only conducted with top candidates. Some companies treat the interview as a mere formality, while for others, it is the crucial sticking point.

Encouraging candidates to feel comfortable is a good idea. If they are too nervous, they may stumble through questions and come off poorly when they really are highly qualified. Asking potential employees to elaborate on their answers or discuss in more detail aspects of their resumé can be a good way to ease into tougher questions.

Panel interviews are often easiest for employers. This way, more people are able to voice their opinions on a candidate's qualifications, and a more balanced applicant is usually selected. It is a good idea to set up some ground rules, though. If five people are all firing questions at a candidate at the same time, it can appear unprofessional and will likely not allow the person being interviewed to answer clearly.

The Toughest Interview Question

Probably the most difficult interview question to answer is the "tell me about yourself" question. Candidates should talk about their strengths, career ambitions, and how they think they will be able to help this company with their skills and training. If a candidate can't give you a good reason to hire them, it's probably best to move on to the next applicant.