How to run a good interview

When it comes to running an interview, there aren’t necessarily right or wrong ways. However, there are certainly some things you can do to make sure you give candidates a good experience.

Have more than one person in the interview

When assessing someone, it’s important to have perspectives. This is why having more than one person in an interview can really help. Two people should give it a good balance—one of the interviewers can drive the conversation, while the other can help take notes.

Have a structure

Before you go into an interview, establish with your team roughly what you want to cover. By having a rough set of questions, it’ll help assess candidates on the same playing field and potentially remove any biases. At the end of the day, this should just be a guideline. Most importantly you want the conversation to flow. You wouldn’t want the candidates to feel like they are getting interrogated.

Make the candidate feel relaxed

Interviews can be nerve wrecking. We want to make sure we create an environment where candidates feel relaxed so they can be their best self. When they arrive at your office, get them a glass of water because when nervousness kicks in, they are going to want that sip of water (whether they realise it or not). Also, try to have some small talk as you walk them to the interviewing room or at the start of the interview. Maybe even give them a quick tour of the office. Everyone is different so you’ll need to adapt to the individual.

End the interview well

Candidates usually have questions they want to ask, so make sure to have time allocated towards the end to cover them. When it’s all done, thank them for their time, set expectation about next steps and roughly when they will hear back. Of course, make sure you get back to them in a timely manner, ideally within 24-48 hours.

I’ve done a few sessions that go into more details about this with our clients and their engineering teams. If you’re interested in hearing more, hit us up!