How to Interview Potential Employees

Date: Sun, 6 Sep 2009 Time: 4:09 AM

When you have to go to an interview for a potential job, you're probably nervous. But have you ever considered the idea that the interviewer might be nervous, as well? It's not always easy to interview a person, and you might not know just what kind of questions to ask. If you find yourself needing to interview potential employees and worried about whether you can find the right one, there are some things that you can do.

First, one of the best things you can do is be clear about your job description. If you don't really know what you need, how are you supposed to find the right person? Having a vague job advertisement won't get you as many qualified candidates. Once you find good candidates and you get them in for interviews, ask questions related not only to the job but to the talents and skills of the people you're interviewing. You need to know if what they can do and what they want from a job matches up with what your company is looking for and what it needs out of its employees. If those things aren't a match, the person might not be someone you would want to hire, even if he or she is very nice, intelligent, and has a lot of skills.

Another thing that you want to do is ask questions that are a little bit unique and different. Don't just ask the same boring questions about why the person wants to work there. Get to know the person a little bit, but be careful about asking certain types of questions. You can't ask about things like religion, for example, and if you're unsure about what you can and can't ask, there are resources out there to help you. The requirements vary from country to country, so be sure to pay attention to what's acceptable and legal for your area. If you don't, you could find yourself in trouble after asking a question that you thought was completely innocent. In addition to these tips, you should also allow the potential employee to ask questions about the company and the job. If you don't allow the person to get the information that he or she needs, it's possible that the person won't want the job even if it's offered. Don't let the perfect candidate get away because he or she thought that the job wasn't right. Be open and communicative, instead.