To make it to an interview, a candidate has already passed a review of his resume, a review of his cover letter, a comparison against all of the other current candidates applying, and possibly, a telephone screen.
Consider the odds of an individual's candidacy making it this far. Even if the position you are applying for appears to be perfect for you, the hiring manager and the reviewing Human Resources staff need to agree.
Really, Do They?
With the difficulty candidates experience to make it to the interview stage, you'd think the candidate would appear for the interview polished, prepared, on time, and knowledgeable about your company. Is this always the case? Despite all of the job search advice that is available, candidates don't always do the right thing. In fact, some of them seem to have a candidacy death wish, they do so much wrong.
Best Practices in InterviewingCompanies that use "best practices" in interviewing and that are extremely effective in consistently hiring top performers, use customized or standard behavioral-based interview guides with interview questions to remain consistent in their line of questioning. These companies not only train their recruiters, but they train their executives, department managers, and hiring managers on legal and effective interview questions and techniques to utilize during the interview. You will want to do the same.
Job Interview Resources
If you interview potential employees, you'll want to take my email class about job interviews. I've consolidated my material about interviewing and added some new thoughts, too. So, whether you want to improve your current approach, gain new skills, or are just getting started, this class is for you.
If you're in the market currently looking for a new job, you'll want to take About.com's Job Searching Guide, Alison Doyle's advice in How to Ace the Interview. Find more interviewing resources, including my new work on management interview question answers for employers.
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Resources About Interviewing
Thanks for letting us know about the email classes, they seem promising.
“A best practice hiring managers can employ before they even get to the interviewing stage is to ensure hiring team is on the same page internally… do the HR folks developing the job description, the recruiters reviewing initial resumes and the colleagues helping out during interviews all understand what you’re looking for in a top candidate? Establishing and agreeing on the specific skills, knowledge and competencies early on in the recruitment process ensures hiring managers are able to easily cherry pick top talent that’s aligned with what the organization’s goals.”
– Robert Segovia, senior talent acquisition manager for TriNet
Interview resources have proved to be extremely helpful for me. I follow Alison’s & susan’s blogs and always have a positive response.
I’ve been recruiting for about 7 months now, for an advertising agency, and I have to answer with a yes to your question, Mrs Heathfield. I would have expected the people who graduated university or have master degrees to have better knowledge about how to present themselves during an interview, or before one. But they are late, or ahead of time with over 20 minutes, they don’t dress up (the minimum office look), some know nothing about the company you are recruiting for. Not to mention the amount of people who don’t even show up (don’t even send a word that they won’t be coming) or want to reschedule the meeting (and then don’t show up). I’ve made for the department all the HR materials needed (interview guidelines, mails to sent out, job specifications, guidelines also). Not to mention that when you tell them they have to come for a day to take some tests, they drop like flies! It’s more like candidates tend to believe or to think highly about themselves, more interested in their wants than in what they can actually do with their skills!