7 ways to begin interviews: setting the stage to learn what you need to make the right hiring decisions

Suppose you have a vacancy to fill. You advertised the position, received and reviewed resumes, and a number of candidates have been invited to be interviewed.

You will only have a short time with each of the candidates to gather information necessary to decide who is the right person to hire. 

It’s essential to use your limited time wisely. Key to this is getting the interview off to a smooth start. 

What happens during the first few minutes is important. This is when you set the tone for interview. You set the agenda by sharing the “map” for the interview, while also firmly establishing that it’s you who is in the driver’s seat. You attempt to reduce the candidate’s stress with words and gestures because a more relaxed candidate will provide more thoughtful responses to your questions—and you will get more of the information you need.

Here are seven ways to get interviews off to a good start:

1. Be prepared. Choose a location that is conducive to interviewing—quiet and private—and bring what’s needed for the interview.
2. Start on time. When scheduling interviews, build in intervals between interviews to ensure you can get back on schedule if you spend more time with a candidate than expected. These breaks will also allow panel members to relax and be fresh for the next interview.
3. Introduce panel members. Let candidates know who is in the room and why they are there.
4. Explain what will be happening during the interview: “We would like to begin by having you talk a bit about your professional background, then we may have a few questions to ensure we understand everything on your resume, before we get into the questions we are asking all the candidates. Finally, we have some information for you about the position/the organization/the community and we will give you an opportunity to ask any questions you have for us.” 
5. Begin with a “softball question,” which will allow candidates to talk about a familiar topic—themselves: “Please take two minutes to tell us what in your training and experience you feel has prepared you for this position.”
6. Ask about the candidate’s resume. Clarify anything that may be unclear, such as reasons for gaps in the candidate’s employment or unfamiliar terms or phrases.
7. Take a moment before asking your first question to explain how the questions will be worded and how the candidate should answer them: “The process we are using today is called ‘behaviour description interviewing,’ or BDI. We will be asking you to recall specific, work-related circumstances or events. We know that it can be difficult to come up with these examples. It’s okay to take a moment to think about your response. Don’t feel that you have to give us an example of some big event or task. Often, a small example will provide us with the information we require. Don’t feel that you have to go into great detail. If we feel we need more information, we will ask.” This might be followed by an example of a BDI question and suggestions of the type of information that candidates could provide in their response.

Before your next interview, think about how you will use the first few minutes after the candidate arrives. Consider scripting what you will say.

During Interview Right to Hire Right, participants receive scripts they can use to begin interviews, from introducing the panel through preparing the candidate to answer the interviewers’ inquiries.