Conducting a job interview? Follow these 4 tips

Conducting a job interview is an important part of a recruitment strategy, and therefore also of the candidate experience. This is the moment when both sides decide whether there is a match! Every job interview is different. That is why we are happy to give you some tips you can always apply, and example questions you can ask.

1. The balance between talking and listening

Conducting a job interview often goes wrong in the balance between talking and listening. Of course it is important that you do enough of the talking. That way you can tell the candidate about the role, but definitely also about the fringe benefits and other nice extras you can offer. That way candidates find out what they can expect from you, and whether the company suits them. But do not get carried away: make sure the candidate gets to speak too. And jot something down now and then. It will come in handy later, and it shows you are genuinely interested.

2. Steering a job interview by asking smart questions

You partly determine who responds to your vacancy through the content of your job ad. If you want to conduct an effective job interview, you will only find out whether someone fits your company if you ask the right questions. Especially with candidates who are not very talkative, it is important to ask smart questions. Here are some tips and example interview questions!

Avoid yes/no questions and ask open questions instead. And ask follow-up questions. Another important tip: do not limit yourself to serious, work-related questions. By asking about a candidate's hobbies, interests, hometown, friends and family, you not only break the ice in a job interview, you also discover (part of) the candidate's character. That lets you better judge whether someone fits your company culture. Does the candidate have a good sense of humour, for example, or is he or she very businesslike?

3. Go into the interview as unbiased as possible

Prejudices and assumptions are, unfortunately, completely natural. That is why it is smart to actively try to prevent them. To do that, ask every candidate the same basic questions (see the heading above). Keep the focus on someone's CV. His or her (hard and soft) skills, experience and knowledge remain the most important, along with character. Do not let yourself be distracted by things like skin colour, religion, sexual orientation or gender. They are completely irrelevant.

4. Conducting an honest job interview

It seems obvious. But unfortunately it is much more natural to talk about your company more positively than the truth, especially if the person you are talking to does not know your company that well yet. By making the story about the salary, the work or the responsibilities nicer than it really is, you may leave a good impression... But as soon as your candidate discovers how things really are, the disappointment is all the greater. They will be gone as quickly as you brought them in!

When you lead a job interview, also ask the candidate what he or she expects and likes, and then compare that with how things work at your company. Here too: honesty is the best policy and will be appreciated most. That is how you turn a regular job interview into an effective one!