Candidate Preparation

Setting the Tone

How you as a recruiter begin the job interview is very important since it sets the tone for the rest of the interview.  A good opening allows the candidate to feel relaxed enough to provide you the information you need to assess their fit for the job.  In this post, we will focus on recruiter tips on how to start an interview with a good opening statement.

Opening Statements

Good recruiters prepare opening statements before they interview the candidate.  Opening statements are statements that you begin the interview with.  It helps frame and focus your interview.  It also helps create a professional atmosphere and will help put your candidate at ease since in your opening statement you will explain the interview process.  Here is an example of an opening statement:

“So how do you feel about getting started?  Well my role here at ABC Professional Staffing is Senior Recruiter, I have been in the staffing industry for 15 years and  with ABC for 5 years specializing in information technology.  As you know today, I am here to interview your for the role of Web Developer for my client, a high profile employer in the Video Game Industry.  I would like to spend the first 5 minutes just getting to know you a bit better.  I would like to hear more about your background, education and experience.  In the next part of the interview, I will ask you some questions to get specific examples of  what you have done.  To allow me to determine job suitability for my client, I will need you to help me by making sure that you give me specific examples of things that have actually happened.  You can take your time when thinking of an example and if you get stuck just let me know and we can skip that question and circle back.  If have any questions about the position, I would be glad to answer them at the end of the interview, so I will make sure to leave enough time for that.  I will be taking notes during this interview because I am really interested in your background and it will help remind me later of your qualifications.”

Interview Not Interrogation

Last but not least, the most important element in creating an environment where your candidate can be comfortable and relaxed is you!  Over the years, I have interviewed with many hiring managers and others in the recruitment and staffing business

and have witnessed tremendously different interview styles.

Beverages, air conditioning, and comfortable chairs are meaningless if you do not create a warm and welcoming environment with your personality.  Be aware of your own body language.  Are you leaning away, distracted, and looking else where?  Are you making eye contact and smiling?  Interviewing is tiring and after a full day of interviewing, it’s hard to be high energy and friendly for that last candidate but it is so important.  Some hiring managers and recruiters I have worked with interview are more like interrogators.  Rather than looking for evidence of how the candidate is qualified and evaluating, these interviewers are more focused on looking for a reason to demonstrate how the candidate is not qualified.  These interviewers are mistrustful by nature  and are more focused on looking for inconsistencies rather than getting the information needed to evaluate.  I call these “hard interviewers”, while in some industries like policing this might be acceptable and even purposeful, I find you will get better results when your candidate is relaxed.  So remember the candidate is nervous enough as it is, it is your job to do what you can to help them feel at ease.

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