Recruitment is a major cost to all employers yet many staff are unaware that they could easily improve their ability to interview potential new staff effectively. Rushed or poorly planned interviews often result in costly decisions to recruit or reject the wrong candidate. At worst, well-meaning questions from un-trained interviewers can leave the interviewee feeling they have cause for complaint against the company, or leave them with a poor impression of your company’s strengths. 

In a typical company, the interviewer needs strong interviewing skills to be able to make an accurate assessment of a high-performing candidate’s strength in several areas, e.g. technical expertise, intellectual capability, interpersonal skills and leadership potential. Employers are being over-optimistic if they rely on untrained interviewers to make a fair and accurate judgment on all of these fronts especially given the intercultural differences which also come into play in an international workforce.

Organisations should encourage staff to attend this course; even if they are already confident of their interviewing skills. We are aware that many companies are already committed to promoting best practice in conducting interviews – this course will reinforce this commitment. We also recommend that staff who attend should afterwards share with their colleagues the advice, techniques and structures provided during the workshop

Interviewing is key to developing a high performing workforce – if you have poor methods then it’s down to luck if you select a good employee. This course will help interviewers to prepare for and select the best person for the job, using a systematic process.

Course Outline

• What is the purpose of the interview?: Consider how best to structure and carry out an effective interview and the roles played
• What do we interview against?: Process of developing effective questions
• How do I remain fair: How to guard against bias & error
• The skills of listening & questioning: The interpersonal skills required
• Recording skills: How to take note effectively
• The interview experience: Structure of and actually having a go at interviewing
• Making the decision: How to do this effectively
• Development of a work based action planning   

Course Aims & Outcomes:  By the end of the workshop delegates will have:

• considered the interview process and the roles within it
• identified person constructs from job description/person specification and developed effective questions for use within the interview
• practiced effective questioning and listening techniques
• practiced the skills of recording, within an interview situation
• identified the processes necessary to ensure that the interview is fair
• considered how to choose the best candidate