ask, first use the job description to determine which
HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT
(August 03, 2019)
 When interviewing candidates, it’s valid
to ask about willingness to travel if that
is part of the job.
“Are you willing to travel” is a common interview
question, especially if the company you’d like to work
for has multiple locations or you’re applying for a sales
or consulting position. When a hiring manager asks
this, along with related questions like, “Are you willing
to relocate?” it’s to determine your level of flexibility
and your commitment to the position and the company.
Why Employers Value Flexible Employees
Essentially, flexible employees are more valuable.
Workers with an orientation towards flexibility never
say, "It’s not my job" or "Do I have to?" when they are
asked to take on a new assignment. Flexible
employees modify their approach to tasks based on
the preferences of stakeholders and the unique
demands of each situation.
1. BE PREPARED
Explanation:
When it comes to interviews, it’s good to ‘be prepared.’
Just like candidates spend time to research the
company, interviewers should be ready to evaluate
candidates properly and promote their employer brand.
Good preparation takes time, but it pays off: you’ll
evaluate candidate skills more effectively and create a
positive candidate experience. In addition, you’re more
likely to win over the candidate you’ll eventually want
to hire.
A GUIDE TO INTERVIEW
PREPARATION FOR EMPLOYERS
 Prepare your interview questions
Interviewers who don’t prepare their questions
beforehand are missing out on the chance to evaluate
candidates effectively. To decide what you’re going to
skills are most important and should be assessed
during the interview (if you’re not the hiring manager,
ask for help from the hiring manager or a recruiter).
Then, build your questions around those skills. Here
are two examples to evaluate communication
skills and leadership ability:
 Communication: “How would you reply to a
negative online review about our company?”
 Leadership: “In what specific ways do you motivate
your team?”
Keep in mind that generic, overused questions like
“what’s your greatest weakness” probably won’t help
you evaluate candidates; they’re so widely used that
it’s easy to find good sample responses online.
Behavioral or situational questions are more effective
because they encourage candidates to think on their
feet and tell their story.
 Know your candidates
When interviewing candidates, it’s best to avoid
asking for information they have already provided.
Instead, take some time to read candidate
resumes, profiles or applications and make notes
of key points concerning their skills and past
experiences. Then, you can use interview time to
elaborate on these points or ask for the new
information you need to help with your evaluation.
 Be ready to answer questions
Remember, interviewers and candidates are
evaluating each other during interviews. On their
part, candidates will try to determine whether the
job can fulfil their aspirations and whether the
company is a good place for them to work. So they
might ask relevant questions which you should be
able to answer. If you give pertinent, transparent
answers, you’ll be able to create a better
candidate experience and sell your company in a
way that helps candidates decide if they’re a good
fit.
 Sharpen your selling skills
While you assess whether candidates are right for the
job, candidates try to determine whether they want to
work with you. If they’re convinced, they’re more likely
to accept your job offer. Or they’ll still think well of your
company, even if you don’t hire them in the end.
 Prepare a checklist to sell your company and the
position you’re hiring for. Here’s what you could go
over:
 The main characteristics of your company culture.
 Any new developments or exciting plans (like new
products, new offices etc.)
 Practices or techniques your company employs to
keep employees happy and motivated.
2. PUT APPLICANT AT EASE
 Greet them properly
All you have to do is make sure that your interviewees
are greeted by a friendly member of staff and that
they know that they’re going to be taken care of.
If possible, greet them yourself, even if they have to
take a seat for five minutes before the interview
starts. It all helps settle their nerves.
 Offer them a drink
A glass of water can be a lifesaver for a candidate. For
one it’s difficult to talk with a dry throat and lips, which
is an inevitable side effect of nerves.
It can also give them a moment to pause and refocus
when they’re faced with a difficult question. So, make
sure you offer them a drink before the interview starts.
 Smile
It might sound obvious, but body language is an
essential part of the interview process on both
sides. We’ve written about it ourselves.
So while you’re keeping an eye on your candidate’s
body language for giveaways, don’t forget your own.
If you want to put your candidate at ease then keep
smiling, keep an open posture and make sure you
seem receptive to their ideas.
3. ASK ABOUT PAST BEHAVIORS
 Tell me about how you worked effectively
under pressure.
What They Want to Know: If you’re being considered
for a high-stress job, the interviewer will want to know
how well you can work under pressure. Give a real
example of how you’ve dealt with pressure when you
respond.
 How do you handle a challenge? Give an
example.
What They Want to Know: Regardless of your job,
things may go wrong and it won’t always be business
as usual. With this type of question, the hiring manager
wants to know how you will react in a difficult situation.
Focus on how you resolved a challenging situation
when you respond.
 Have you ever made a mistake? How did
you handle it?
What They Want to Know: Nobody is perfect, and we
all make mistakes. The interviewer is more interested
in how you handled it when you made an error, rather
than in the fact that it happened.
 Give an example of how you worked on a
team.
What They Want to Know: Many jobs require working
as part of a team. In interviews for those roles, the
hiring manager will want to know how well you work
with others and cooperate with other team members.
 Share an example of how you were able
to motivate employees or co-workers.
What They Want to Know: Do you have strong
motivational skills? What strategies do you use to
motivate your team? The hiring manager is looking for
a concrete example of your ability to motivate others.
4. LISTEN
 Good interviews feel like natural
conversations and the only way to engage
someone in conversation is to listen to them.
 Employers will reveal their values, what skills
they want out of a candidate, what qualities
they desire, or what type of cultural fit they
need through the questions they ask, how
they respond to your answers, and through
their body language.

 Practicing good listening means so much

more than merely understanding what people
say, it means paying attention and gaining
understanding of what is being
communicated, which is a much broader
definition.

5. TAKE NOTES
6. AT THE END OF THE
INTERVIEW, MAKE SURE THE
CANDIDATE KNOWS WHAT TO
EXPECT NEXT.