Practise your employee interviewing technique

Most entrepreneurs are planning to hire new staff members during the next 12 months, or at least hoping their growth will allow them to do so.

But while most business owners have been on the receiving end of a job interview as a prospective employee, not all will have had the experience of asking the questions as the interviewer. And asking the right questions is crucial to finding out as much as possible about your potential hires.

There are thousands of potential interview questions to ask, but most experts suggest focusing on open-ended questions that will allow you to see the candidate’s values, temperament and skills. Some favourites include:

• Can you describe a situation where you’ve worked within a team?
• Have you ever had to work with/handle a difficult person?
• What are you passionate about?
• Where do you want your career to head in the next five years?

Practise asking these questions with a colleague to get the feel for potential follow-up questions you might ask.

Oh, and just remember there are questions that you need to steer clear of in an interview. Anything that might lead to discrimination – questions around age, gender, sexual orientation or religious views are of course out of bounds.

Get it done – today.