Preparing for an Interview

View or download the printable version of the Quick Guide to Preparing for an Interview (PDF).

Preparing for an interview helps you avoid leaning on your impressions of a candidate, which is commonly known as a “gut decision.” An objective and thorough interview process can help you make a solid hiring decision, which will help decrease unwanted turnover, improve engagement in department priorities, and save time and money in the long run.

Applying the following best practices in the interview process will ensure an objective, unbiased interview process and reduce the influence of subjective (and often wrong) “gut decisions.”

02. Educate About the Process

The most important responsibility a hiring manager has to their hiring team is to talk beforehand about expectations for the interview process. Some important discussion points are:

Position Requirements and Selection Criteria. Review the minimum and preferred qualifications with the hiring team. Remind them that anyone who meets the minimum qualifications should be carefully considered.
Interview Procedure. Standardized interviews are the most effective approach (see Establish an Interview Procedure below). Standardize not only the order of the questions, but also who will ask which questions.
Overall Timeline. Plan out the timing and logistics.
Ways to Reduce Bias:
- Make them aware of the risk of a “gut decision,” which takes root in the interview process. A gut reaction to a candidate can be a symptom of a hidden bias.
- Encourage the hiring team to refrain from discussing the candidates until all interviews are officially done. This can lead to false assumptions or biased judgments about candidates.

Watch out for: “gut decision”

Assessing identical resumes differently based on the name of the individual.
Applying objective requirements more rigorously to candidates from underrepresented groups and more loosely to those from the dominant culture.
Applying the “halo effect” to one group (one strength generalized into an overall positive rating) or the “horns effect” to another group (one weakness generalized into an overall negative rating).
Eliminating an otherwise qualified candidate because s/he is “just not the right fit.”
Evaluating some candidates on what they have accomplished, while evaluating other candidates based on their potential to do the job.

Challenge yourself to go through this list when preparing to screen or interview the candidates to avoid bias and improve inclusivity in your hiring process.

03. Select an Appropriate Assessment Method

Depending on the level of the job you are hiring for, other assessment tools (e.g., personality assessments, cognitive ability testing, work simulations) may be more useful than others. Whatever the position, quality assessment requires a clear idea of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required in the position.

The interview is the most commonly used tool. A structured interview is considered the most valid interviewing tool and helps to avoid bias in the process.

While unstructured interviews are tempting, they often lack validity and can, at best, provide a glimpse at the candidate’s personality and interpersonal skills.

Structured interviews are the best way to get valid, predictive, objective responses from candidates.

04. Design Effective Interview Questions

Behavioral interview questions ensure accurate assessments by giving the candidate a chance to give concrete examples of how they handled specific situations, avoiding speculation or guesswork. Behavioral questions:

Assess key behaviors that will be necessary to perform the job well. Refer to the required competencies - knowledge, skills, and abilities of the position to pinpoint which behavioral questions would be most useful.
Don’t imply a “correct” answer. They reveal a candidate’s approach to their work and interactions with coworkers.
Call for real examples of past behaviors. If you find a candidate doesn’t answer a question specifically, find a way to ask the question again or give them another chance to provide an answer. Your goal is to get a concrete answer.

Sample behavioral questions

“Describe a situation where your work was criticized. How did you react?”
“What is the biggest error in judgment or failure you have made in a previous job? Why did you make it? How did you correct the problem?”
“Describe an experience you had interacting with someone that had a different background than your own. What was the situation? What were the results?”

Refer to the Interview Guide (Google Doc) for more information and examples of behavioral questions as they align with key leadership competencies.

05. Establish an Interview Procedure

Interviews are most effective when they follow the same procedure. This approach minimizes inconsistencies among different interviews, which will reduce bias in the process. Not following the procedure may impact a candidate’s responses either for or against their candidacy.

A sample standard procedure includes:

Introduction. Introduce candidate to hiring team members and give an overview of the department.
Job overview. Give candidate a realistic job preview - a candid and complete picture of what it would be like to be in the job - not overly positive or overly negative.
Interview Questions (in order):
- Q1
- Q2
- Q3
- Q4
Opportunity for questions from the candidate.
Wrap-up and next steps. Opportunity to educate about the timeline, and when the candidate should expect to hear back.

View or download the printable version of the Quick Guide to Preparing for an I…

Service Areas

Supervisory Development Program

Topics

Selection and Hiring

Resource Type

Quick Guide

Course Focus

Foundations

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Preparing for an Interview

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