Preparing to Interview a Job Candidate

Managing the human resource function of a church is every bit as challenging as managing people in any other business setting.  A church is only as strong as the people it employs, and weak employees can affect the ability of the church to flourish and meet objectives.  As Jim Collins states in Good to Great:

“Get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, the right people in the right seats and then figure out where to drive.”

Employing the right people requires a great strategy to recruit, screen, interview, orient and train new employees.  Each step of the hiring process can affect the ability to select the right candidate so a structured process, and consistency in practice, is important. 

One-on-one interviews are the best way to really get to know a candidate.  Add that to good preparation, and targeted questions, and you are well on your way to determining if the candidate is a good fit for your ministry.

Preparing for a one-on-one interview with a  job candidate is an important first step in the process.  Making sure you are familiar with the available position and the job candidate can be crucial in selecting the right person.  It is always difficult to carve out preparation time, but doing so can have a significant impact on the final outcome of the interview process.

 Steps to preparing for the interview:

1. Spend time reviewing the job description and specific skills that are required to perform the job.
2. Take time to think about the person vacating the job and what characteristics he or she had that enhanced or took away from job performance.
3. Study the candidate’s application and resume so you can ask specific questions about work history and job skills.
4. If the person will be answering the telephone, a phone interview might be appropriate to test how well the candidate communicates on the phone.
5. Select interview questions that are appropriate for the level and job of the candidate.  You will obviously ask a manager different questions than you would an entry level employee.
6. Set an agenda and use an interview guide to help keep you focused.  Tell the candidate what to expect so there are no surprises.

Some things to remember as you interview a candidate:

• Be aware that an applicant’s performance in the interview may not necessarily reflect his or her performance on the job—good or bad.
• Don’t look solely on what the candidate knows but seek out specific accomplishments and how the person added value to a prior employer.
• Someone with good people skills may indicate that the applicant has the potential to talk too much.
• An applicant who is detail oriented might have a hard time seeing the big picture.
• Be realistic and understand that most candidates stretch the truth or exaggerate at least a little bit, so filter answers accordingly. (Yes, even Christians do this.)
• Interviews are uncomfortable, so do your best to make the candidate feel welcomed and relaxed.  The more comfortable applicants are, the more likely they will be to let their guard down and have an honest discussion.   This is what you are striving for.
• Remember, skills can be taught, but personality and social style cannot.
• Start with the beginning of the applicant’s work history and go through the person’s current or former position.  Try to find out why the person left other jobs and look for how long he or she stayed with an organization.  Job-hopping every couple of years is an indication of instability and could mean that you will lose them after a short time. In other words, look for patterns of behavior.

 Other things to think about.

• Past behavior is the best predictor of future success.
• If the candidate has problems with a former boss, he may have the same issues with the current boss.   Most people don’t change.
• Ask for copies of former performance appraisals.
• No matter how well you like a candidate, don’t forget to do reference checks.  You’d be surprised what you can learn that maybe she’s not telling you.

Interviewing mistakes managers make:

1. Hiring someone who is like you.  This is often done unconsciously.
2. Not probing and drilling down on answers.  Keep asking questions for clarification until you get the answer you are looking for.
3. Asking hypothetical questions.  This allows for the candidate to give answers that may not necessarily reflect his typical approach to problem solving.
4. Asking leading questions.  These can take a candidate down a road that she would not have otherwise gone.
5. Hiring on first impression.  If you make up your mind early in the interview that you like the person, you will not be as likely to probe and give the interview the full focus that it deserves.
6. Hiring on gut feeling.   Our “gut feelings” are sometimes accurate, but often they are wrong.  Make sure hiring decisions are based on objective data obtained from the interview process.

Interviewing job candidates is a developed skill.  Taking the necessary time to prepare for an interview is the best way to practice and develop that skill.  Getting to know the job candidate through interview questions improves the likelihood that the candidate will work well within the organization.

photo by:  World Relief Spokane