Help your clients conduct effective interviews

Help your clients conduct effective interviews

Helping hiring managers to conduct more effective interviews reduces the risk that they'll "blow" a great placement opportunity, says recruitment trainer Ross Clennett.

One of the most frustrating things about being a recruiter, he says, is when a hiring manager's poor interview skills result in rejection of a great candidate, or cause a candidate to opt out of the selection process.

Clennett says recruiters can avoid these outcomes and stop wasting their time, skill and effort by taking five steps that will help hiring managers interview candidates more effectively:

On the candidate resume summary (or front page) you prepare, specifically state the evidence you have collected that demonstrates that the candidate's skills, competencies and motivations match those required for the job.

"The best evidence is gained from referees, skills testing or answers to properly formulated behavioural interview questions," Clennett says.

Doing this keeps the client focused on the real drivers of job performance (i.e. skills, competencies and motivations) not the imagined drivers (e.g. qualifications, gender, age and years of experience), he says.


Give the client a list of recommended specific behavioural interview questions that address the skills, competencies and motivations required for the job.

Many clients are under-prepared for interviews or lack interview training, Clennett says, and as a result, they ask interview questions that are:
not evidence-based, for example, "What are your strengths/weaknesses?"

irrelevant - "What football team do you follow?"

illegal - "Are you planning to start a family?"

an attempt to play amateur psychologist - "Tell me about your relationship with your mother and father?" or

just plain dumb - "If you were an animal, what animal would you be and why?"

"Your list of questions could save the day," he says.


Ensure the client understands the importance of 'selling' the job, and the company, to the candidate. "This is normally most effectively done when the client shares their own story of why they joined the organisation, what they have gained job-wise and/or personally from their employment and what opportunities they see for themselves into the future," Clennett says.

He points out that company websites, prominent employer branding, market salaries, excellent benefits and smart offices are all helpful in creating a positive impression with a candidate, but, "real stories from real employees, communicated powerfully during an interview, surpass them all for having a lasting impact with candidates."


Ensure the client is aware of the one or two most important factors (both positive and negative) that will affect each candidate's consideration of the job, so they can emphasise the positive, and address the negative. "What considerations are the major positives (e.g. global opportunities, internal mentoring program) or negatives (e.g. long hours, recent slide in share price) for this candidate?"

This is important because each candidate is different and has different motivations, Clennett says. "If the client only focuses on what they believe to be the major factors in the candidate's consideration then they risk wasting valuable interview time discussing irrelevancies."


When the client says, "'I really liked the candidate", or, "the candidate interviewed really well", make sure you respond by saying (words to the effect of) "Tell me about your assessment of how well the candidate can do the job and is motivated to do the job?"

"No matter how much a client 'likes' a candidate they won't like them for long if, after starting, the candidate can't do the job or is not motivated to do the job. Also, there is no research (to my knowledge) that demonstrates that interview performance (i.e. the candidate was affable, attractive, articulate and ambitious) is a reliable indicator of performance on the job," Clennett says.
Your overall aim, Clennett says, should be to keep the client's focus in interviews firmly on the candidate's skills, competencies and motivations as a match (or not) for the job. "Keep the client's focus off the candidate's personality and other factors unrelated to performance.

"Remember, if the client hires a poor performer, they will always blame the recruiter for referring a poor candidate rather than take responsibility themselves for making a poor hiring decision.

"A key part of your job is to help your clients conduct effective interviews - interviews that lead to smart hiring decisions and a win-win situation for all."

by : Clennett's