How to Conduct Video and Phone Interviews Like a Pro
BY NATASHA MYERS
After completing thousands of interviews as a recruiter, I could interview in my sleep, but I don't. I make an effort to focus on each interview as if it's my first.
As a recruiter and the founder of People Tree, I’ve received feedback from many candidates after their interviews with client managers. One of the most disheartening things to hear is that the manager sounded distracted or disinterested. As a hiring manager, it's your role to take the lead on the interview experience and put your best foot forward for yourself and your company. Interviews are a time for both the candidate and the hiring manager to get to know each other.
During the interview, the candidate is also getting a chance to interview you. Take the opportunity to show your company and the role in a good light through a positive interview experience. Take time to give them a good overview of the role and the company. Highlight an exciting project or interesting development they will get to work on.
Interviewing During COVID
Due to COVID, most interviews these days are taking place over the phone or video calls. It can be even more difficult to make a natural connection over the phone or video. Even with people you have met before, Zoom calls are often strained or awkward due to voice lags and other technical issues. Those issues aside, you can take a few steps to ensure that your phone or video experience is as smooth as possible for both you as the hiring manager, and the person being interviewed.
Tips for Giving a Great Video or Phone Interview
1. Stay Focused
This is not the time to catch up on your inbox. If it’s a phone interview, be sure to clear your monitor of everything but the resume and note-taking. Log out of your email and chats. Candidates are going to notice if you miss an answer or follow up with an irrelevant question.
Pretend that you are in a conference room with this person, and give them their full attention. Would you check your text messages (or worse, Instagram) in front of a candidate? Don’t do it on a phone interview either. Whether or not you think they are the one for the job based on your initial impression, give each candidate the attention they deserve. Even if they aren’t a fit for this job, it's an opportunity to make new connections and grow your network.
2. Read the Resume
Take a few minutes before the interview to review the candidate’s resume in detail. You should already have a sense of their career path and educational background before kicking off the interview. This will also help you prepare better questions and be more engaged. If you are catching up on their resume during the interview, you are wasting precious time to dig into their personality and abilities.
3. Prepare Your Questions
Prepare a list of questions prepared in advance. I recommend preparing your questions before you start interviewing any candidates, and use the same questions throughout the hiring process for that job. That allows you to compare candidates fairly, versus asking different questions. It’s fine to bring a natural conversation into the interview, but it is a better process to stick to a similar format.
There are many different types of interview methods. I recommend using a few behavioral-based questions using the STAR method. These questions prompt the interviewer to give the following information as part of their answer: Situation, Task, Action, and Result.
4. Use a Scorecard
To maintain the consistent interview process, use a scoring system to measure the candidate’s answers. It’s a simple way to track your opinions on candidates without having to memorize their answers. By the end of your fifteenth interview for a role, you will be glad you have these scorecards to look back on to compare all of the candidates.
The scorecard is something you would create in advance while drafting your questions. You can use the “-2,-1,0,+1,+2” method. For example, if you are neutral on someone’s answer you would give them a 0. Otherwise, a simple 1-10 ranking also works. Whatever you find the easiest. Along with the numbers, give best-case answers and worst-case answers to guide you and other interviewers.
5. Follow Up
It is good practice to follow up with your candidates within 48 hours of the interview regarding the next steps. Even better, let them know the next steps at the end of the call. Even if you are passing on a candidate, they really appreciate the effort to get back to them promptly. It leaves a good impression on your company and yourself as a manager. Leaving a candidate hanging for weeks leaves the opposite impression.
How COVID Has Affected the Job Market
The job market looks a little different during COVID because many companies have transitioned into full-time remote work. Candidates aren’t limited to a specific mile radius while job searching. They are interviewing for roles across the country. This means the job market just got a lot more competitive for companies trying to hire strong talent.
Candidates also seem to be putting less effort into their resumes these days. Which means you might have to dig a little deeper to discover their true abilities and skills. The skills that might be a perfect match for the role you are trying to fill. Making time for a phone interview with a candidate that has a less than stellar resume could help you land the perfect fit.
Job interviews can be a very stressful time for a candidate. These steps will help to ensure a pleasant and consistent experience for all of your candidates, and ultimately the one that will be joining your team as a long term employee. Keep that in mind as you speak to each one. They may be a person you will manage or work alongside on a daily basis. A good first impression is imperative.
The most important thing to remember is the Golden Rule. Interview others the way you would want to be interviewed.
About Natasha Myers
Natasha is the founder of People Tree, a full-service recruitment company. People Tree has a proven background of successfully recruiting for technology, digital marketing, operations, and executive roles. Our recruiters save hiring managers time and money by only providing the top talent for any given position. Reach out today for help filling the open positions on your team.