Four Tips for Tackling the Interview Process

The interview process is where the magic happens in HR. When it comes down to it, an excellent candidate on paper can have a poor interview, and vice versa.

A well-conducted question and answer period can help your company identify the perfect employee for the job listing—and here are some tips to help you do so.

1. Spend the majority of your time preparing
This is often the final stage of a long process, so you want to be sure you go into the interview armed with all the questions you need to ask. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) recommends avoiding spur of the moment situations, as you may forget to ask some vital questions.

Whether you're interviewing five candidates or 25, you'll need to carve out equal preparation time for each of them. If you aren't already, use an applicant tracking system (ATS) to automate tasks like emailing responses and forms. This allows you to sit down and plan out the interview without falling behind on your work.

2. Ask the difficult questions
Don't lob balls across the plate—asking the tough questions during the interview leads to a happier employee later on. According to Glassdoor research, a challenging job process leads to 2.6 percent higher worker satisfaction once they've taken the job.

Some recruiters may shy away from questions that make the candidate flinch, but this helps to identify soft skill traits. Being composed under pressure and having the ability to process complex inquiries are valuable traits, and the interview process can help expose them.

Don't shy away from asking the tough questions.

3. There's no "I" in teamwork
While one of your goals is to find the best person to fill the open position, another should be to identify which candidate would best fit in with the company culture. If it hasn't yet been defined at your business, this goal could be a bit more difficult than most. Here are a few questions that should help you assess how a person would work within the department, according to Glassdoor:

• How do you handle conflict on group projects?
• Would you prefer to tackle a complex project alone or with a group?
• Tell me about a leadership experience you had at one of your past jobs?

These questions will elicit responses that can allow you to identify how a person works in a team-based environment. Glassdoor reported 80 percent of millennials value a culture fit within a company, rather than where the job can take them. While some candidates may be team players, they may not necessarily do well on your team. Use this time to recognize if an issue would arise.

4. Be open to technology
Sometimes, a video interview just makes sense. Especially if you're vetting a candidate who has to travel by plane. While it may not be traditional, technology has made video interviews a viable solution.

Just because there's a screen between you and the prospective employee doesn't mean anything changes. Still show up to the interview well prepared, and ask all the questions you normally would.