Mastering Technical Interviews: Proven Tips for Hiring Top Talent

The purpose of the interview is to obtain a reliable assessment of the candidate. There are no universally good or bad candidates, there are suitable and unsuitable candidates for each specific vacancy.

Today, 63% of recruiters say that lack of talent is their biggest problem. It is also known that the number of jobs requiring both analytical and social skills has increased by 94% since 1980.

What methods of candidate assessment should be used during the interview? How to start and effectively conduct an interview? How to complete the interview correctly and at the same time avoid typical mistakes during the interview?

1. Define what you are looking for

To fill a vacancy with a suitable specialist, you must understand who are you searching for. Clearly define the tasks and responsibilities that you feel are underperformed in your team or department and that the person you are interviewing should be doing.

It is also necessary to take into account the details regarding the future employee: age, competencies, critical thinking skills, personal qualities, experience from previous jobs, education, and the willingness to learn and further improve various skills.

Have a portrait of your ideal employee before you start meeting with job applicants. So it will be much easier for you to choose the right specialist for this position.

2. Preselect your candidates to save time

When choosing a suitable candidate, fewer interviews should be conducted, after candidates have already been selected in advance. This may seem counterintuitive as you might be tempted to think that more interviews mean more hires.

However, the first step to effective interviewing is to limit the number of interviews. This will allow you to focus on viable interviewees and assess candidates’ suitability without wasting time on those who do not meet the job description criteria.

3. Get the right tools for interviewing

Since most interviews today are conducted remotely, it is very important to adapt our technical hiring process to this reality. Previously, it was possible to meet face-to-face with the candidates and get some idea of the identity of the future employee through informal communication.

However, even when conducting an interview remotely, the recruiter must make sure that the interlocutors clearly understand each other. When conducting a technical interview, the recruiter should use tools that will allow such communication with the candidate.

You should not create additional stress by forcing the candidate to answer questions that are difficult or not directly related to the job specified in the vacancy, as well as forcing the candidate to use tools with which the candidate is not familiar.

The more similar the interview environment is to the “real” experience of the candidate, the better the results will show the real abilities of the candidate.

4. Prepare a list of actionable questions

Before starting the interview, you should have a specific list of questions ready to help you select the ideal candidate. The list of questions should be designed in such a way that it is clear from the candidates’ answers whether they can perform the tasks that the employer wants to solve through hiring.

Try to make the questions reveal the effectiveness of the employee. If during the conversation you have an additional question for the candidate, be sure to ask it. Your goal is to get the most complete picture.

5. Look for culture fit

As once said: “Successful companies are built by investing a large amount of money and hundreds of liters of sweat.” — Amit Kalantri

However, for a successful company to work like clockwork, and for the teams to be cohesive and productive, a recruiter should hire employees who are close to the company’s values. Compliance of new employees with the corporate culture, as well as their ability to somehow improve it, bring something new, is very important.

Find out what corporate culture the candidate is used to working in, and what corporate culture is unacceptable. Does the candidate have a negative work experience that could affect the job in the new job?

A recruiter should find universal questions that will help to better understand the nature of a potential employee and, based on this, assess how close the candidate’s life priorities are to your corporate values.

Here are some examples:

• What is your ideal work schedule?
• Do you like to make colleagues your friends or do you not cross this line?
• Do you work more alone or in a team?
• What do you hope to achieve in your role here?
• How did you resolve conflicts at your previous job?
• How do you feel about changes? Have there been times when suggestions for improvements came from you?

You will get clear answers to these questions, which will show what the candidate’s expectations from the workplace are.

6. Demonstrate your employer’s branding

A very important part of the interview is the presentation of the company and the vacancy. The preparation of this speech should be approached with special responsibility. Your task is to the candidate interested in a vacancy and to assure a correct understanding of the upcoming work-specific features.

Tell the candidate about the company’s philosophy, corporate ethics, and policies. Submit information about the requirements for the candidate and the bonuses that the candidate will receive.

Your company’s pros need to fit naturally into the conversation, so you need to have confidence in your company. Then the candidate will understand that these are the real advantages. If the interview is conducted correctly, the candidate will leave the interview with a great desire to work in your company.

7. Leave time for the interviewee to ask questions

Get feedback. You need to understand how interested the candidate is in the vacancy, is there anything that confuses the candidate?

Listen carefully and evaluate the candidate. Pay attention to what the interviewee will tell you immediately after the presentation, what questions will start asking, how facial expressions or behavior will change, and the number and meaning of the questions that the candidate asks.

Make sure that doubts are dispelled, questions are removed. The most acceptable option is when the candidate has several (3-5) questions, mainly related to the content of the work, relationships in the team, and the level of business specifics. Answer these questions in as much detail as possible.

However, you should not be alarmed by the situation if the candidate has no questions at all. Firstly, this may happen if you correctly and in detail described the vacancy to the applicant. Secondly, questions may arise after analyzing the information received in the following stages.

Conclusion

Most importantly, make your hiring decision based not on emotions, but facts! Remember — you are not evaluating a person, but a candidate. Therefore, are no good or bad candidates, there are suitable and unsuitable candidates for each specific vacancy.

Following these tips, you’ll be able to interview quickly and efficiently, making the best hiring decisions. Use these recommendations to hire and further retain top technical professionals for your company.