Job interviews are a special challenge for everyone involved. Of course, the applicant is tense because his professional future is at stake here. However, especially due to the increasing shortage of skilled workers, HR managers are also coming under increasing pressure when recruiting.
On the one hand, they have to make sure that the applicant fits into the company and the open position. On the other hand, qualified applicants today often have several offers in their pockets and the HR manager wants to win the competition for the best talents. So he will not only have to be a good interviewer, but also a good salesman.
The pre-selection and social media
Before the invitation is issued, however, HR managers are increasingly looking at potential candidates within social networks. Professionally set up profiles on Xing or LinkedIN invite HR managers to form a first impression of the person before the interview, and in addition to the documents submitted. Facebook and similar platforms also offer the opportunity for advance information. Anyone who creates their profile under their real name and gives access to their online activities to all other people outside of their friends should be aware of this. Some things can seem useful for recruiting. If HR managers recognize that an applicant often makes negative comments about colleagues or that the person otherwise makes himself known as a troublemaker, he or she will certainly not be invited to the interview. Accordingly, HR managers often have more sources of information at their disposal today than in the past.
Achieving the goals – professionals are in demand
The more professional the HR managers, the better the impression of the company on the applicants. In order to ensure that the right candidate is recognized and not left to the competition, good preparation, a coherent concept and skilful moderation are required. Comprehensive knowledge of body language, personality traits and the required specialist knowledge of the job advertisement distinguish the HR manager as an experienced professional. He succeeds in taking away the applicant’s initial nervousness, for example by starting with a short small talk. A good hook is the question of whether the applicant was able to find the company directly. This little exercise serves to loosen up the situation, but also gives the questioner first impressions. Has the applicant inquired in detail about the company in advance, for example on the company homepage? What about the candidate’s time management? A little warm-up can reveal a lot about the applicant at the beginning of the interview.
The applicant talks, the HR manager pursues his concept
More and more companies have set themselves up to develop a guide for job interviews. This serves comparability and is intended to offer the candidate a real chance to introduce himself as comprehensively as possible. In the past, many conversations did not follow a common thread. The HR manager or supervisor often conducted monologues about the company or the activities in general. The candidate’s share of the speech, on the other hand, was rather small. Today, the applicant should be the focus of the job interviews. Very often, the potential employee is expected to present his or her CV independently. The HR manager can write down questions, observe the applicant and identify certain skills or deficits. Is the short lecture well structured? Is it presented fluently? Do the length and information content match and has the candidate prepared well for this situation?
After the summary, there is time for questions and, for example, the transition to the job profile. To what extent has the applicant dealt with the job advertisement? Can he make clear his motivation for carrying out this task? This generally results in a dialogue on specific work situations. What strengths and weaknesses does the candidate see in himself? What does he bring to the table for the success of the company? How does he deal with conflicts? The HR manager decides within the situation which questions are useful in this context. Especially in globally active companies, foreign language skills are tested during the interview. Those who say they are confident in English or Spanish are often asked to answer a few questions in that language during the course of the interview.
Against the backdrop of demographic change and the rapidly increasing shortage of skilled workers, those responsible in HR departments will have to prepare for a paradigm shift: Not only the applicant must sell himself well, but above all the HR manager must be a good salesman of “his” company!
Do you conduct job interviews differently today? What has changed? We look forward to your comments!
Image source: Fotolia.com, Photographer: viperagp
