Without a doubt, interviewing is the most critical step in any hiring process. After candidates have been identified and have shown an interest in your opportunity, the interview is your first opportunity for a face-to-face meeting. A professionally conducted interview can result in many positive benefits for both the interviewer and interviewee, regardless of whether a hire is made or not. Poorly done interviews will fail to accomplish much in the way of actual information gathering and ultimately can result in a poor hiring decision which can be disastrous for both parties.

As a professional services firm, we work with a variety of clients and have assessed their hiring processes and interviewing style. As a result we have assembled a list of top interviewing practices that have worked for many of our clients.

With this in mind, we offer the following tips on conducting better interviews:

Up-front Preparation is Key

Make sure you have defined the problems you are trying to solve by hiring this individual as well as the key objectives of the position. What results will define success for this person over the next year?

Creating a formal job description is time well spent and will help greatly in the interview process. Listing the critical "must-haves" prior to the entire interview process is a worthy exercise and will help the interview stay on task. This list can actually act as a guide for the interview itself. Using a structured interview process will pay dividends for the time you spend in the recruiting process.

Have a core set of essential questions prepared that you will ask the candidate. This will help you stay on task and afford the opportunity to compare different candidates. There may be specific areas you want to explore with a certain candidate and having these questions pre-planned will help to get more from the interview.

Show the Candidate Around

Should time allow, and should you feel positive how the interview went, show the candidate the surroundings. This is even more crucial if the position is "live-in". Give the candidate the opportunity to ask questions. You can learn a great deal about a candidate's preparedness and interest by the questions they ask during an interview.

This is not a Psychological Exercise

Often, when an employee does not work out, it is not because they were not technically qualified, but because of a cultural mismatch. An interview should address what culture a candidate is seeking. Make sure to explore the reasons behind the job moves a candidate has made. If the answer seems overly rehearsed, or if the reason given causes concern, donšt hesitate to ask for clarification. Finding out what motivated a candidate to leave a job will often times tell you a great deal about their fit in your culture. Your household culture may be exactly what the candidate needs or, conversely, you may more closely resemble a previous household they left for negative reasons.

Most interviewers are not trained psychologists and asking abstract questions in an attempt to "get into the head" of a candidate will usually not produce an accurate assessment. A better approach is to operate the interview under the format of a business meeting. Mentally place the candidate in the role you are hiring for and see how their attitude, skills and knowledge match.

Keep your questions straightforward. Focus on identifying a candidate's true competencies, not their "experience." Many times this "experience" is of lesser value. Ask also "how" they did what they did. Find out about the process they used, and you will learn a great deal about their grasp of the subject matter.

Style and Presentation

Be aware of a candidate's degree of eye contact, their communication style and posture. Most communication is non-verbal and a candidatešs overall presence is important to note. This is especially important if you are hiring a butler or a nanny who will be interacting with the family members and guests. At the management level, candidates should exude confidence and poise and take care their appearance is professional.

Asking a candidate about their hobbies and outside interests is highly recommended. You can learn a great deal about how a person presents themselves and sells ideas to the outside world by having them describe an activity (such as golf) they enjoy and what equipment they play with.

Move Past "Gut Feel"

We hear often how an employer knew a candidate was right or not in the first minutes of an interview. However, those first impressions can be misleading. Take the time to conduct a complete interview and then make your decision.

Rarely can any real insights be gained from the first few minutes of an interview. Donšt hesitate to ask for clarification on what a candidate said or meant, and don't be afraid to disagree or push back. Discuss your observations and concerns and give the candidate the opportunity to clarify. You may discover your concern was unfounded or that the candidate has a unique outlook you could benefit from.

Debriefing

In case other members of your family, or members of the staff interviewed the candidate also, obtain the input from each interviewer concerning the interviews they conducted. Refer back to the list of essential skills and proven competencies, and compare the interviews accordingly. If you have been working with a search firm who has conducted their own interviews with the candidates, assemble that information as well. Decisions on who to hire should be made with care and only after you have done a thorough review of the interview results.

The Wennekes International Method

Consultants at Wennekes International utilize a Chronological In-Depth Structured Interview (CIDS) process. We find that our interview methodology virtually eliminates the guesswork associated with many interviews and helps our clients avoid costly mismatches. Many of the best-known firms do not take the time to train their consultants in advanced interviewing techniques. We feel this is the pivotal point in the search process and pride ourselves on utilizing the best practices available.