Marie Raperto, The Hiring Hub

Interviewing is difficult. With the pandemic, I'm seeing less in-person interviews and more  over the phone or on video.  Limited time, online delays, not seeing facial features etc., all make the process even harder.  For hiring managers, the most important step is to plan out your interview prior to the call.

1. How much time do you have? To structure your interview, allow at least 10 minutes for candidates questions and about 10 minutes to talk about the opportunity. Then allow the most time to question backgrounds and direct experience with the remaining time on personality/culture questions.

2. Ask specific questions:  What have you done; Do you have experience with; How did you/would you handle this situation; On your resume, you said___, can you explain what you did.  With limited time, you want to find out as much as possible.

3. To find out personality/culture matches ask questions like:  Tell me about; How did you handle; Did you ever see a situation like; In your opinion; What do you like/dislike about a particular situation/job.

Preparing in advance will help you get the most out of the interview.  Both candidates and interviewers need to be prepared!