Interview Framework for Growing Companies

Many managers do not receive interviewer training. But you're building your team, and their success equals your success. It's in your best interest to get it right. If your company doesn't offer hiring manager training, ask for it, and train yourself in the meantime.

For those of you who are hiring or building companies and don't yet have an in-house Talent Acquisition team, here is a simple framework to help guide your interview process:

✅ Meet with your interview panel BEFORE interviews begin. Goal: assign each person a focus. You get more depth to the candidate's experience, and the candidate doesn't have to answer the same set of questions multiple times.

✅ Hone your interview process so that it is 3-4 interviews total. If you're taking more than 5 interviews to decide, you are giving the impression that you don't know what you're looking for. This can be a major red flag to strong candidates. You'll get a better employee if you can make your efficient hiring process high impact.

✅ Use an interview scorecard. It eliminates bias, drives toward a decision (no more drawn out interview processes only to discover the first person you spoke with was the best and has since taken a new job), and gives you insights to reflect on later as you refine your process. Ask me for a template.

✅ Ask specific questions in interviews. Better questions = better answers. Instead of "Tell me about yourself" try "What's motivating to you at this point in your career." Familiarize yourself with behavioral interview strategies. "Tell me about a time when..." then dig for more details - "How did you enlist support? How did you move through that roadblock? What strategies did you use to learn that skillset quickly?"

If you're getting generic answers, you're probably asking generic questions.

Looking for more guidance? I can help you build your leaders and their teams while improving your market reputation and building repeatable systems for you to recycle as you grow. Email me to discuss recruiting services.