Many employers do not know how to properly interview a candidate for a position. Such a conversation should take place on equal terms - no arrogance or patronizing phrases. What should an employer look like in the eyes of a potential employee? Undoubtedly, an interesting, very open and attentive listener. A conversation taking place in this vein will help not only to see the pros and cons of the candidate, but also to study him very thoroughly.

A short introduction

Employers are often at a loss, not knowing what questions to ask. Here it is important to start not only from the professional component, but also from other aspects of life. It is important to learn about something completely abstract. This approach will help to win over the candidate and inspire confidence in him. The beginning should be informal in order to defuse the situation and prepare the applicant for the main part of the conversation, during which work issues will be discussed.

It is very important for an employer, before conducting an interview, to think about how he would like to see his employee, what traits will be important to him and which are unacceptable. In this case, you first need to think about the following two questions:

1. What type of employee should be suitable for a specific vacancy?
2. What qualities should he have?

Having an approximate portrait, look for the right person much easier. Knowing the approximate result, a solution is always found faster.

Interview - what psychologists think about it

Regardless of the duration of the conversation between the employer and the candidate, an opinion about the candidate is formed already in the first 3-4 minutes of communication. During this time, the manager makes positive or negative conclusions about the applicant.

Psychologists believe that the first few minutes should be devoted not to receiving information, but to creating a cozy and calm atmosphere, both for the employer and for the job seeker. This will help the candidate to relax. Constructive relationships and understanding will appear between the parties. It is this atmosphere that will allow you to work as productively as possible in the future.

The first few minutes can be devoted to the introduction. It should be short, informative and understandable. The employer must communicate the interview objectives to the candidate. It is also necessary to inform about the form in which the communication will take place and what its duration will be. Coordination of actions will allow you to establish psychological contact between the parties.

Interview formats

Before planning the structure of the interview, the employer must decide on its form. They can be divided into the following categories:

• Structured

This type of interview requires a clear and structured template. Before starting, the employer draws up questions, paying special attention to their wording. This variety is the most popular among respondents.

• Stressful

At such an interview, the employer deliberately tries to unbalance the applicant. This effect is achieved through personal questions, lack of time to think and other tricks.

• Situational

In this format, the applicant is placed in conditions reminiscent of work. This way he has the opportunity to show his professional and personal qualities, find a solution for a specific situation.

• Competency interviews

If used correctly, this format can be very effective. A list of competencies that the employee must fully possess is drawn up in advance. During the interview, each of them is assessed on a 5-point scale.

• Interviews for Skype

This option is most often used when searching for an employee to work remotely. Sometimes it is also used to make a first visual impression and establish contact. But in such cases, the interview presupposes a subsequent meeting in life.

Methods of conducting

In addition to formats, there are also certain interview methods. Here are the methods used today:

1. Retrospective method

It is based on obtaining information about the applicant's past work experience. The manager learns about the results obtained and the lessons learned. Relationships with superiors at your previous place of work also play an important role. This information allows us to predict how the applicant will behave in a new place.

1. Perspective method (also called modeling)

The employer offers the applicant certain conditions or a situation, who in turn must comment on what he would do and how he would act.

1. Situational method (game)

The point is to bring the proposed model closer to a realistic scenario. Sometimes it is possible to simulate situations where the employer is the recipient of the service, for example, and the applicant must serve the client.

1. Stress method

It makes sense to use this technique only when subsequent work will involve the occurrence of stressful situations. It is very important to use it very carefully so as not to harm the image of your organization.

After the manager chooses a certain technique and type of subsequent interview, he should understand how to begin communication.

First impression and appearance

It’s not for nothing that they say that the first impression is the most correct. It is formed before meeting the applicant, while studying his resume, communicating by phone or e-mail. This can be called a kind of selection, based on the results of which a decision is made whether to invite the candidate for a further interview or not.

Some people think that appearance is not that important when choosing. People say that you meet someone by their clothes, but they send you away by their intelligence. However, don't discount a person's appearance. Neatness, clothing - all this is a reflection of a person’s internal attitudes and values.

Many people mistakenly believe that starting an interview is very simple; they have probably never encountered this. The applicant forms his opinion about the organization within the first 3-5 minutes. It is very important at this moment not to disappoint the candidate. The following four tips will help you get started successfully:

1. It is necessary to prepare a meeting room or your own office for an interview. There must be order there. The room should not be stuffy. Before starting negotiations, ventilation would be an ideal option. It is important to obtain a written copy of your resume and place it in front of you.
2. Defuse the situation. This will help the candidate feel comfortable, he will be able to begin to trust to a potential employer. This can be done by asking abstract questions. For example, whether the applicant quickly found the right building or whether there were any difficulties in finding the right transport. Another option is to tell some interesting story that will relieve tension.
3. No delays or tardiness. The manager must accept applicants exactly on time. It is important to understand that it is the director who is the role model for his subordinates. If the leader does not have discipline, then how can we talk about discipline in the team?
4. Self-presentation of the applicant. It is very important here to start talking openly with the candidate. This will also help evaluate his communication skills. At the very beginning of the interview, you can ask the applicant to tell a little about himself, clarifying some questions or letting him choose what to talk about.

If free communication between the parties is established, then you can start asking questions.

Questions to Ask

When deciding on a list of questions, you need to think not only about their content, but also about their sequence. The conversation should be logically structured. Here is a procedure that will allow you to conduct the interview as correctly as possible:

1. Tell me something about yourself

The leader should note several nuances in this story:

• How the applicant presents information - talks about his biography or immediately starts talking about his advantages. The latter indicates a desire to work for this company.
• It is a good sign if the interlocutor speaks clearly, clearly and concisely. But an employee should not mumble. His thoughts should be clear.

1. What are your views on life?

You can also ask the applicant about how he deals with difficulties and obstacles. A question like this will help determine a person’s character, his nature. Pessimists will focus on the large number of problems and complexity of their lives. Optimists will agree that difficulties exist, but all of them can be overcome.

1. Why are you interested in this position?

Most answer rather clichédly, noting good conditions work, availability of prospects. If a person is a truly valuable specialist, then he will probably focus on some important details.

1. What advantages (advantages) do you have?

You can immediately ask why the person decided that he was suitable for the position. This question is one of the key ones. At this point, the applicant will be able to talk about his advantages. It is very important to monitor how a person presents information. Some people speak abstractly, others very reasoned. More attention should be paid to those candidates who prove their words with facts and figures. Their benefits are more real and significant.

1. What shortcomings (weaknesses) do you have?

A competent employee will not start talking about “real” weaknesses, but will focus on those points that will only increase the chances of getting a particular position. This includes increased demands on yourself and others. Some would call themselves a workaholic.

1. Why did you leave your previous job? What was the management's opinion of you?

These questions are relevant for those who no longer have a job at the time of the interview. If the candidate has not yet been fired, then it is worth asking why he decided to change jobs. It is very important to see how a person responds to his previous place of work. If he does this with negativity, showing his conflicting side, then this will certainly affect his future relationships with the team. Such employees need to be hired very carefully, after weighing all the pros and cons.

If the specialist is competent, patient and competent, then he will rather point out the positive aspects associated with his previous work. At the same time, he will say that he is now striving for more, wants to grow in his career.

1. Do you have any other job offers?

The qualified specialist was clearly invited for interviews somewhere else. An undoubted advantage will be his emphasis on the fact that he is interested in obtaining a position in this particular company.

1. Where do you see yourself in 5–10 years?

Many people don't think about their lives in the long term. The company hardly needs such specialists if the manager wants to find an employee for a responsible position in for a long time. Someone will answer in a very abstract way, which is also not very good. It is important to get a specific answer. There are not so many candidates with clear plans for life. They talk about desired personal successes and professional growth.

1. How would you improve your work in our company?

The best option would be if the applicant can offer specific ways to improve work. Availability will also be a plus own experience. It is unlikely that this will be possible to do at the first interview, because the candidate needs to look at the company’s work from the inside, evaluate its advantages and disadvantages, and only then offer his own solutions.

1. Where can you get feedback on how you performed at your previous job?

This question is very important and will be very useful to the employer. The most the best option will provide the employer's phone number or even several employee contacts that could characterize the candidate. Often, applicants do not provide such information. The reason may be a lack of work experience or positive recommendations.

1. What salary would you like to receive?

A qualified employee always values ​​his work. The company cannot always offer a salary that would suit the applicant. But sometimes candidates are simply bluffing when they claim high fees. It is quite simple to calculate such actions - you need to significantly reduce the amount offered or offer some benefits. This will certainly throw a person off balance.

1. What do you do in your free time from work? What are your hobbies?

You should ask about this at the end of the interview. Perhaps the employer will find a like-minded person, a colleague in hobbies. This will also have a positive impact on the applicant’s opinion of the director, which will help build the right relationships in the course of further work.

Sergey Abdulmanov, Dmitry Kibkalo and Dmitry Borisov

Founders and directors of the Mosigra company, authors of the book. We discovered many retail outlets and know how to conduct an interview like no one else. They talked about this in their book and we will write their recommendations below.

They looked at "Rejection in the second minute of the interview." This approach is very useful!

It happens like this: an applicant comes in and after a few questions you realize that he is not suitable at all. In this situation, there is no need to torment yourself or him with further questions. It is enough to explain that he is not suitable and end the interview. You still have to work with this person, and if you didn’t like him in the first minute, what to talk about further.

After all, it often happens that a person simply does not suit you in spirit. And most importantly, do not take such people into the core of the team. Therefore, if a tough professional comes to fill the same vacancy, with whom it feels difficult to work, and a person with less knowledge, but burning with positivity, the choice is clear!

Boris Petrov

General Director of the Petrocomplex company, St. Petersburg. Interview in 15 minutes? Easily!

Boris claims that his interviews usually last no more than 15 minutes. He shared the most important details that will help negotiate with the candidate as efficiently as possible:

Language of the body. Undoubtedly, you need to observe how a person behaves during an interview. The body will always reveal whether the interlocutor is sincere or disingenuous. Thus, insincerity usually means scratching behind the ears, a distant gaze not directed at the interlocutor, hiding his palms (he puts them on the table or lowers them between his knees).

If a person, having come to an interview, never looked the interviewer in the eyes, this bad sign. It is unlikely that he was frank during the conversation. At the same time, there is little point in spending time finding out the reasons for this behavior.

What were you paid for? What is the product of your labor? Any person, regardless of what field he works in, creates some kind of product for which he receives money. Some are responsible for drawing up documentation, others work directly in production. At the same time, a person must understand that paper itself is not a product until it has brought some benefit. Otherwise, it will simply be useless.

If a potential employee replies that he receives money for completing job responsibilities or for “sitting” the required time, he is unlikely to become a key and active employee. Such personalities, as a rule, cannot interest the interviewer. Some, on the contrary, speak very clearly about what they did, what they created. The detailed answer indicates two key factors at once. The first is that a person knows what he is doing and what he can do. The second is that it is aimed specifically at work, and not at “walking around” in order to receive a salary.

Evgeniy Demin

CEO and one of the owners of the companySplat, Moscow. What to pay attention to, what questions you can ask additionally.

Evgeniy notes that the duration of the interview depends on the position. It can last 10 minutes or an hour.

Thinking. To understand how a person thinks, you should ask him a question that can be answered in different ways. As an option, ask who is his authority or what he can teach the company’s employees. Such questions allow a person to answer in a free form. At the same time, he involuntarily demonstrates his character traits.

Trainability, ability to learn from one's mistakes. A person often exaggerates his successes and tries to minimize his failures. Everyone makes mistakes, but it is important to understand whether the applicant is able to learn some lessons from them and adjust his activities. Much depends on the specific situation and the scale of the consequences that occurred as a result of incorrect work.

Unusual questions to ask a candidate during negotiations:

1. What kind of superhero would you like to become if you had the opportunity? The answer will help identify those qualities that a person considers most important and valuable.
2. Ask the candidate to describe their ideal job. This applies to place, time, scope of activity and specifically functionality. This way you can learn about hobbies, interests, life principles. This will allow you to understand how honest a person is and whether he wants to work.
3. The question of shortcomings can be replaced with a kind of game. To do this, you need to draw a square on a piece of paper and ask the candidate to shade it in accordance with how professional he is. A completely shaded figure means that knowledge and skills are at top level. Typically, people leave part of the square unshaded. In this case, you can ask why it is not completely painted over, what the person specifically lacks.
4. What shortcomings of yours would immediately catch the eye of a new manager? This question will also help to find out the weaknesses of the interviewee. In this case, the candidate will have to look at himself from the outside.
5. For what reason do you want to change jobs now? Maybe this is how a person wants to change something radically in his life, maybe the work environment or relationships with the team. At the same time, the employer will also be able to learn about the priorities and motivation of the applicant.
6. If I contact your previous employer, what will he say about you? This question will also help the candidate look at himself from the outside and understand why he wants to change jobs.
7. How will you join new team? The new employee is not aware of how the work process takes place in the company, so he needs increased attention. A person will have to contact many colleagues in order to understand the principle of work, get help, explanation or advice. The answer to the question will help to understand whether the applicant himself is aware of this, whether he understands what will be required of him in the first months of work.
8. Explain to an 8-year-old child a concept from your field of activity (you need to name a specific one). Any professional term will do here. The clarity and speed of explanation will show whether a person is able to explain the whole essence of his work to a child who is completely uninitiated in this field of activity. This once again will demonstrate the candidate’s professionalism.

Vladimir Saburov

GGeneral Director of the company "Glinopererabotka", Bryansk. Don't give time to think.

It is important to ask about the presence of family (children, spouse, parents), clarify their age. Many people will feel that this question will not help clarify anything. In fact, these answers will help to understand whether the applicant has an incentive for intensive and fruitful work, whether he can work focused and intense, approaching his responsibilities with a high degree of responsibility and genuine interest.

Ask to rank priorities. In this case, you can indicate the following factors that may influence the choice of place of work: salary (size, availability of benefits), opportunity career growth, independence, location close to home, opportunity to improve your professional skills, good team atmosphere, difficulty of work.

Situational question. Here it is worth asking what the applicant will do if he is assigned a job that is not part of his job responsibilities. Refusal indicates a lack of desire to develop. Such a person will constantly have reasons and circumstances not to do what he should not do. Such employees can only be hired in the accounting department.

Getting to know the place of work. It is important here to show what the applicant will be dealing with. Sometimes expectations often do not match reality. In such situations, applicants themselves may often refuse to work.

Life interests. Vladimir shared a case from his practice. One day, a young applicant with an economic education came to his company for the position of head of purchasing and logistics. The decisive factor in choosing this candidate was that he plays sports and trains children. Vladimir realized that such interests probably mean that the applicant has strength of character, endurance and a clear understanding of the value of time. All this was exactly necessary to work in the proposed position. The manager was not embarrassed by his small age; he invited the young man to work with him. Within a year, this employee was able to positively influence the work of the service on a global scale. He established a supplier monitoring system and honed the interaction between different services of the organization. Such activities made it possible to significantly reduce the costs of purchasing components and transporting finished goods.

Honesty check. You can also ask a situational question here. For example, a job seeker is preparing to go on vacation with his family, and then he is unexpectedly called to work to complete an urgent task. What will he do in this case? Even if a person is insincere, it will be immediately noticeable.

Self-esteem. Here you can also resort to modeling the situation. Let the applicant imagine that he has done a lot of work, on which he has spent a lot of time and effort. The results of his work turned out to be unclaimed. How will he react to this? What will he feel? If a person low self-esteem, he will probably think that no one appreciates him, and that his time and effort were wasted.

A manager who doesn't know how to lead? It makes sense to ask the next question in a situation where you are searching for an employee for a leadership position. You can ask what the candidate will do if his employee does not complete his work on time. If he says that he will carry it out on his own, then this means that the person does not have the makings of a leader, he is only a performer.

Rigidity. This question should also be asked of those who want to get a management position. You should ask what the applicant will do if a subordinate is rude to him. If he resorts to moralizing, it is unlikely that the employee will be able to work as a manager. Work requires strict discipline; subordinates must complete assignments on time and in accordance with requirements. A positive response would be the application of penalties, dismissal if the incident repeats. A particularly tough position is needed by those who work in production.

Do you have any interest in the work? It is very important to understand whether the applicant is interested in the activity or just wants to receive a decent salary. Any manager wants to see in his employees an interest in the process and the resulting result. This is the only way to build a strong system.

Life principles - what suits the company? It is necessary that the company's principles coincide with those of the applicant. Vladimir again shared a situation from his life. Once he did not ask a candidate during an interview for the position of production director what “production culture” meant to him. It was important for the manager that everything in the workshop area was always in order and clean. It is this factor that directly affects the size wages. This culture is also associated with honesty at work. The hired candidate performed well, was able to join the team, and organize work. But he also had one serious drawback - he tried to hide shortcomings in his work. The employees worked in perpetual chaos. Vladimir tried to fight this for some time until he found out that the director and the house had the same situation. It became clear that there was no point in raising such a person. I had to part with him. The issue of cleanliness is very serious in production, because clutter increases the likelihood of injuries at work and equipment breakdowns. Ultimately, this leads to additional costs. In addition, the workers themselves treat the company very differently when there is chaos around them and they do not support it in any way.

How to formulate questions correctly

To get a true answer, you need to ask open questions. They always begin with question words - when, with what, why, how many and others.

Closed questions	Open questions
So no need to ask	This way, asking them will be as effective as possible.
Didn't you like your previous job?	Why did you decide to change your job?
Have you done this, this, and this?	How do you see your work in our company, what will it consist of?
Are you sociable? Will you be able to join the team?	How would you characterize the team at your previous job? How were your relationships with your boss and colleagues? What traits of a leader turned you off?
Can you handle the job?	Why are you suitable for this position? What are your knowledge and advantages?

Closed they also call those questions that do not require a detailed answer, only yes or no. They are used exclusively to collect formal information. Do you smoke? Have a family? Do you have your own car? And others.

There is no need to give the applicant hints, offer answer options, or say anything else immediately after the question.

There is no need to set other applicants as an example. Under no circumstances should a leader talk much himself.

Questions for backfilling

The following questions help the manager figure out whether this is his employee or not, and reveal the motivation of the applicant:

• You were criticized in Lately? Do you agree with the critical assessments directed towards you or do you prefer to challenge the statement? Why is this so?
• Where do you see yourself in a couple of years? What do you need to do for this?
• What goals are you guided by when identifying your desire to take up this position? Are your plans for career growth and development of professional skills related to the development of the company?
• What is missing in your work so that it can be called ideal?
• What job responsibilities bring you the most pleasure?
• What three adjectives would you use to describe yourself? What adjectives would your subordinates use?
• What does “achieving results” mean to you?
• Tell us about three situations in which you achieved recognition and success?
• Is it possible to get people to work better? What motivation do you give to your subordinates?
• Are you able to sufficiently praise a person for his achievements?
• What difficulties will you expect at your new job? Which ones would you like to discover? 3 examples for each.
• Tell us about three traits of yours that you would like to change.
• Why did you decide to change jobs? What don’t you like about your current (former) place of work?
• How do you work with “difficult” subordinates? How will you continue to communicate with an applicant whom you will not hire?
• What new things do you want to bring to the company?

Question form: what question to ask in a specific situation

The manager must compose the questions in such a way that the applicant is not engaged in deciphering them, but in answering them. They should be formulated clearly and understandably. The proposal must include simple words. There is no need to ask several questions right away.

• Open-ended questions help reveal a candidate. They are the ones that are used most often.
• Closed questions are applicable in situations where the manager expects to receive a positive answer or wants to receive clarifying information.
• If the manager really liked one of the answers, it’s worth asking a question for negative balance. So, one might ask, have there been situations in life that didn’t go so well?
• If something suddenly alerts the employer, he can ask a question that will confirm or refute the negative information.
• Clarifying questions are used as additional ones when the manager would like to know a little more about what was said before.
• Questions ending with “isn’t it?” They help direct the conversation in the right direction.
• Mirror questions. The person uttered a statement, the leader repeated it, only in a question form.
• Questions with choice or justification. At the same time, the most effective way obtaining reliable information will involve modeling a certain situation.
• Provocative statements. The manager sets a specific situation and asks for the applicant’s opinion.
• Leading questions that already contain the answer.
• A series of questions helps you immediately learn about all aspects of a specific situation, see it through the eyes of the applicant with different sides. This is a more stressful mode in which you can understand how the candidate perceives a large number of information.
• Questions related to the previous answer. They provide an opportunity to learn more about the statement or situation that interests the employer.

A lot depends on how a manager prepares for an interview. The more carefully he approaches this issue, the faster he will be able to find a suitable person to work in his organization.

Conclusion

This article turned out to be so long, but we tried to collect all the tips and recommendations for conducting an interview correctly. But these recommendations are only a support for you, and you will build your own interview format yourself. Because there are no identical leaders.

If you have your own methods for conducting interviews, please share them in the comments!

Constantly looking for new personnel, and applicants, in turn, are looking for suitable employers. Therefore, people often have a question: how to conduct a job interview?

Hiring an employee is a responsible undertaking for both the employer and the employee. The beginning of this difficult process is an interview with an applicant for a vacant position. The effectiveness of its implementation largely determines which candidate will take a place on the team. Therefore, both parties need to carefully prepare for the interview.

How can an employer effectively interview a candidate?

Many employers wonder how to conduct an interview when hiring a new employee. We will try to answer this question in as much detail as possible.

Be on an equal footing with the applicant

It is necessary to keep the conversation with the candidate simple and natural. Try to be an interesting conversationalist, open and attentive. These recommendations will help to reveal a person completely, as he will be as relaxed as possible when communicating. During a confidential conversation, it is easy to see the strengths and weaknesses of the candidate.

Establish contact with the candidate

To defuse the situation, you should talk to the applicant on common topics. This will help relieve the stress that a person experiences when going for a job interview. It is necessary to wait until the moment when he begins to feel comfortable and can relax.

Story about the company's activities

Next, you need to talk a little about the company’s activities, about the specifics of the work for the position for which the candidate is applying. This approach is necessary in order to bring the interlocutor to an important conversation about his professional and personal qualities. In addition, you can immediately understand whether the person understood that you expected him to tell a story about himself. If he understood, then this speaks of his attentiveness. Accordingly, it becomes immediately clear that the candidate has the ability to learn.

Observation of the candidate

You should carefully consider the personal qualities of the applicant for the position. It is important to understand whether you can work well with this person. To do this, the employer needs to create a portrait of the person with whom he would like to work in advance. To get the full picture, you need to find out what qualities the applicant has. Perhaps, for you as an employer, these should be fundamentally experience, organization, the ability to work in a team, a certain education, etc. To specifically identify such desired qualities, it is necessary to draw up a list of them.

The head of the organization does not always conduct interviews independently. Most likely, this is done by professional interviewers who work in recruitment agencies, or by recruiting managers. It should be understood that the requirements for how to conduct an interview effectively are the same for everyone.

How should an employer prepare questions for an applicant?

After meeting the employer and the candidate, you need to move on to the main part of the interview - the questions. The employer should prepare them in advance. All the interviewee’s answers must be recorded on paper so that in the future it will be easy to remember the dialogue and analyze it. Interview questions are asked by the employer following stories about the company.

First of all, you need to ask the person to tell about themselves. This step will prove to the applicant that you are interested in him. Next, you should ask what exactly attracts him to the company and the vacant position. Then you need to find out whether the applicant is satisfied with his career and the pace of its development. Finally, find out his opinion about his previous place of work and why he was not satisfied with it.

You should ask leading questions during the interview. Offer to analyze this or that situation, while listening carefully and writing down. Let the candidate describe in detail how he can get out of trouble with honor and dignity.

Sample questions

What are your strengths?

What are the weaknesses?

Which one do you remember difficult situation at your last job and how did you overcome it?

Reason for leaving your previous job?

Why should you work for us?

Do you think it's okay to lie sometimes? If so, in what situations?

What are the methods of stimulating employees necessary to increase productivity?

It is important to be able and know how to interview a candidate. This will greatly help identify the qualities of an applicant desired by the employer.

Testing

After successful interviews with applicants, as a rule, the employer prepares testing. They can be roughly divided into three categories.

Personality test. Necessary for assessing the qualities and character traits that contribute to the effective performance of work. Shows whether the candidate has the ability for official and professional growth.

Intelligence test. This source of information reveals the skills and professional abilities of the employee. Helps the employer find out in which area the candidate has work experience.

Interpersonal test. Reveals the employee’s communication style in a team, his ability to make compromises, and come to the aid of other employees in a difficult situation. Tests a person for conflict. The employer will carefully analyze this character trait, because conflicts in the team affect performance. If such a trait is present, he will probably refuse to accept such an employee. This test also reveals whether the candidate is a leader.

Tests during a job interview further help the employer form an opinion about the characteristics of the employee’s individual style of activity and the specifics of his motivation. After testing, the most suitable candidate for the vacant position is selected.

All of the above will help the employer find a worthy candidate for a vacant position in the company. Now let's look at the question from the applicant's point of view. After all, they are also interested, for their part, in the question of how to successfully pass a job interview. Let's take the banking sector as an example.

How to successfully pass an interview for a job at a bank?

The stage of preparing and distributing resumes to various banks is over. The long-awaited call comes with an invitation to an interview. This means that they are interested in your candidacy. At this stage, the applicant’s goal is to attract the employer’s attention, so you need to carefully prepare for the upcoming interview. Below we will describe in detail how to conduct a job interview effectively.

Neat appearance

To feel confident and look respectable in the eyes of others, you need to think about your outfit in which you will go to an interview. This must surely be business suit. For men: shirt, tie, suit consisting of a jacket and trousers. For women: a shirt or blouse, a skirt is required, it must be below the knee, beige tights only, a jacket or vest. Accessories should not overload the image. You can take a watch with you and wear no more than one ring. You need to hide all your gold chains and stuff. Hair should be washed and combed. Women need to put them in their hair. It is not acceptable to show up to an interview with your hair down. It is not recommended to wear too much makeup, wear provocative jewelry, or splash a lot of cologne.

Tell us about yourself at an interview, example - a credit specialist

After a short exchange of greetings that usually begin an interview, such as “How did you get there?”, “Was it easy to find our company?”, “What’s the weather like outside?” and so on, you need to start telling a story about yourself: about your professional activities, strengths and weaknesses of character, and so on. You should try to tell everything to the point, briefly and clearly, focusing more attention on those facts of your work history that may be most interesting to the employer.

Let's consider the option of telling about yourself at an interview, an example is a credit specialist.

You need to highlight your most important accomplishment in your entire career as a loan officer. You need a vivid story about yourself that is best able to remain in the memory of the employer. The purpose of telling about yourself is to fulfill the employer's request to stand out from the crowd of candidates.

For example, tell us what the maximum loan amount you issued, what low percentage of defaulters was in your loan portfolio, how you can work in a team to achieve the overall plan of the bank office, what Additional services you offer the most successfully to your clients and so on.

Remember that the employer does not need your biography, but information containing a couple of interesting facts about your career. Answers during a job interview should be brief, so your story about yourself should not exceed one minute.

Question answer

After telling me about myself main role the employer will undoubtedly take over in the further conversation. You need to listen carefully to his questions. They are usually standard and have been described above. Your interview answers should be truthful and thought out in advance. If you do not have enough experience or had a slightly different specificity of work, then say that you will need time to get up to speed on the new business.

One of the employer's favorite questions is to talk about strengths and weaknesses. You should carefully choose the words of what to say at the interview. Strengths include responsibility, willingness to help (this is important when working in a team), punctuality, efficiency, etc. Weaknesses must be interpreted in positive traits. For example, you don't know how to say “no.” IN Everyday life, of course, this hinders you, but professionally it makes you an indispensable worker who is always ready to help and perform important urgent work. This quality is valuable for a loan officer because he is a performer and works under management. These recommendations will help answer the question of how to conduct a job interview correctly from the employer’s point of view.

Another question that will definitely not be ignored is why you are leaving your previous place of work. Do not under any circumstances mention during the interview that you did not have a good relationship with your superiors, problems communicating with colleagues, or that you did not cope with your job responsibilities. The answer to the question should be something like this: there were no prospects for growth, low salaries, lack of opportunities for advanced training. These are quite compelling and objective reasons for a person to start looking for a job.

An important issue for a future employee is wages. The employer may ask what salary you are applying for. So that this question does not take you by surprise, you should familiarize yourself with the approximate salary in this vacant position, and also consider the income from your previous place of work, how adequately you were paid there because of your extensive experience in this field, and so on.

There are many options for questions. You should answer them sincerely and not be overconfident.

Final stage of the interview

At the end of the interview, the applicant must thank the employer for his time and agree on a time frame for making a decision. An active candidate must independently take the initiative to obtain a final decision on hiring, and not languish in anticipation.

At the end of the interview, the employer needs to summarize what issues mutual understanding was reached between the parties. He must clearly indicate what the candidate can expect and when the final decision will be made. If it is said that he will be notified by phone, then if the decision is positive, as well as negative, you should call and be sure to tell the result, because the person will wait.

As a result of each interview, the employer must conduct an in-depth analysis based on his notes on each candidate individually. How can an employer conduct a job interview effectively so that the candidate ultimately gets the job he wants? The answer to this question is revealed as much as possible in this article.

What to say at an interview

1. Tell us a little about yourself.

When a candidate answers a question, pay attention to the following: - formally sets out biographical data or immediately lays out “trump cards”, emphasizing his desire and ability to take this position; - states only the main thing, that is, talks about his qualifications, experience, responsibility, interest, hard work and integrity, or cites irrelevant facts; - speaks briefly, accurately, clearly, or mumbles for a long time and expresses his thoughts poorly; - behaves or speaks calmly, confidently or unsure of himself.

2. How do you look at life: what difficulties do you see in it and how do you cope with them?

Some people express themselves in the sense that life is difficult, there are a lot of problems, most of which are insoluble, that people are angry and unkind, that there are few joys in life and everything is decided by fate, chance or other people, but not by himself. This means that this person is passive, unsure of himself, does not trust others, is pessimistic and unhappy (loser). Other people speak positively about life: there is no life without problems, difficulties are surmountable, a person’s fate and career are in his hands, people are friendly and ready to cooperate, a person is the architect of his own happiness. This is said by a person who takes an active life position, is aimed at success, is ready to take responsibility, successfully interacts with people and knows how to enjoy life.

3. What attracts you to work with us in this position?

It’s bad if they answer with common phrases: “I am attracted by growth prospects, interesting work, reputable company...”. Must provide serious and specific arguments: the desire to apply your qualifications and experience where they can give the greatest return and will be appreciated, the attractiveness of working in a strong team of professionals.

4. Why do you consider yourself worthy to take this position? What are your advantages over other candidates?

This best question for the candidate to, without false modesty, name his main advantages over other applicants. At the same time, he must demonstrate his ability to persuade, emphasizing his advantages. It is bad if the candidate answers this question with weak arguments and cites his formal biographical characteristics.

5. What are your strengths?

The candidate must primarily emphasize the qualities required for this job and provide convincing evidence based on specific facts. But you can hear cliches repeated thousands of times: “I am sociable, neat, efficient,” etc. Ask him to clarify how his sociability, accuracy, diligence are manifested, what is his manner of listening to the client, what he has achieved thanks to his strong qualities.

6. What are your weaknesses?

From an intelligent candidate you are unlikely to hear repentance of sins and a long list of his shortcomings. He will try to twist the answer in such a way as to further increase his chances. For example, he will say: “Many people consider me a workaholic” or “I don’t know how to relax, I only feel good when I’m working” or “I’m too demanding of myself and others.” If the candidate boasts too much and you want to take him to frank confession your shortcomings, you can tell him such a joke. IN similar situation the candidate characterizes himself: “Conscientious, hardworking, I don’t drink, I don’t smoke...” Then he is asked in surprise: “You don’t have a single shortcoming?” “There is one,” the candidate admits, “I like to lie.”

7. Why did you leave your previous job?

It’s bad if the reason for leaving was a conflict, if the candidate criticizes the existing order there and his former leader. Leaving work due to conflict is an escape from difficulties, an admission of one’s own defeat, which leaves an imprint on the individual’s self-esteem. A negative attitude towards people, the habit of conflicts with employees, and especially with management, is a stable characteristic of a person and will certainly manifest itself in one form or another at work. new job. A good candidate will emphasize the positive things that were in his previous work and relationships with people, and will name such worthy reasons as the desire for a more interesting (highly paid, providing opportunities for professional growth) work and the desire to fully realize his capabilities.

8. Why did you decide to change jobs?

This question is asked to someone who is working at the time of the interview. As with the answer to the previous question, a story about a conflict will not characterize the candidate well. While the desire for professional growth, expanding the scope of application of one’s knowledge and skills, and increasing salaries is respected and welcomed in all developed countries.

9. Have you received other job offers?

The candidate’s authority will increase if he talks about other job offers, but notes his particular interest in this one. It’s good if he expresses his desire to receive maximum satisfaction from his work. His mood not only affects his health and the moral climate in the team, but is also the most important necessary condition for high productivity, the most reliable guarantee against mistakes, negligence and defects, and ultimately the main guarantee of the company’s prosperity.

10. How successful have you been in interviews in other places?

It is important to find out why you failed an interview in some places and passed successfully in others. If he convinces you that your competitors are interested, then you try to keep him.

11. Will your personal life interfere with this job, which is associated with additional stress (irregular working hours, long or long-distance business trips, constant travel)?

This question is often asked to women. In some companies, trying to circumvent the law, they set strict conditions, such as not having children for a certain time, not registering sick leave for child care, do not take leave without pay, etc.

12. How do you imagine your position in five (ten) years?

Many uninitiated people who do not plan their careers and lives answer that they cannot imagine such long-term prospects. And a person aimed at personal success, will readily talk about his planned professional growth, and, possibly, personal goals. Max Eggert, in his book A Brilliant Career, talks about the importance of career planning. At one famous business school, on the first day of classes, students were asked who had written down the stages and goals of their personal career. Only 3% of them raised their hands. After 10 years, it was these 3% who achieved more financial success than everyone else combined.

13. What changes would you make in your new job?

It’s good if you show your initiative and familiarity with the situation of innovation and reorganization. However, this is only permissible with a thorough knowledge of the problems in the company. It’s bad if you don’t know the state of affairs very well, but strive to change everything in your own way.

14. Who can I contact for feedback on your work?

Must readily provide telephone numbers and addresses of former colleagues and managers. Concealing such information will immediately reveal the lack of positive recommendations or the inexperience of the applicant.

15. What salary do you expect?

A Russian proverb says: “He who doesn’t know his own price will always sell himself short.” Good specialist always knows his worth and expects a high salary. It is better for the candidate to overestimate the expected payment for his work than to underestimate it. If the proposed salary, do not forget to “enlarge the pie” and list the benefits available in the organization: bonuses, health insurance, children’s preschool institutions, free travel and meals, free training and other manifestations of care for staff. [...] If the candidate is clearly bluffing, you can “knock him out of the role” and cool his ardor by sharply lowering the proposed salary and benefits. Remember this joke? An arrogant young artist, in a demanding tone, puts forward his conditions to the chief director of the theater when applying for a job: “Salary 500 dollars, main roles, 8 performances per month and the provision of a separate apartment.” To which the chief director calmly puts forward his own: “50 dollars, daily performances, extras and a dorm room.” - "Agree".

You can add 5 more questions to the main ones.

16. What can you tell us about your professional connections that you could use in your new job?

17. How do you improve your professional qualifications?

18. What do you like to do in your free time?

19. When could you start a new job?

20. What questions do you have?

V. Polyakov
excerpt from the book “Career Technology”

Finding a job today is not so easy, but long searches and self-confidence allow you to find a suitable option. Just finding a job that suits you is not enough; you also have to show your skills and convince the employer that you are the one who should fill the open vacancy. After agreeing on all conditions, the next stage of employment will be an interview. In this case, the candidate has a lot of questions, because first of all he needs to show all his positive qualities. How to successfully pass an interview? What words should you say? How to present yourself from the best side? We will try to consider all this below.

An interview is a process of negotiations between an employer (his representative) and a candidate for an available vacancy. It is worth remembering that such a meeting should only take place during live communication, phone conversation does not count as an interview. Let's say you are satisfied with all the conditions and you are ready to start the interview. But the employer may ask you quite strange questions, many of which will be related to professional skills. Even if you are a professional and have already applied for a job more than once, you will still have to prepare for the interview.

How to pass a job interview?

Most often, a meeting with an employer and a specialist takes place in the company’s office or in an informal setting. It is also worth considering that there are always more stringent requirements for professionals in their field and people who want to take up a serious profession. The employer is a person just like you, so whenever possible, try to show your opinion and personal position, the main thing is not to overdo it. Below are 2 basic rules following which you will build a good relationship with your potential boss:

1. Try to show yourself as a mature person and a true professional. Show the employer that you are an individual person by speaking convincingly and confidently.
2. Don’t be too confident that you will be hired for this position; always be prepared for refusal. It will be easier to survive, but if you are a self-confident person and show this more than the norm, the employer will try to refuse you.

You should also remember about certain qualities that not all people have. Try to be polite, respectful and professional.

Job interview tests

You may still not know, but recently in Russia special tests have been used during interviews. They appeared in America a long time ago, because employers there, first of all, want to see a true professional who will help the company develop. Thus, if you are interviewing at a large and modern company, get ready for testing. No matter how you want it, such tests are very necessary for an employer; they show greater efficiency and allow you to select the best applicant. Most often, taking into account Western requirements, Russian companies turn to psychologists to compile tests. Today, this procedure is not used everywhere, because there are many supporters of this innovation. But the main advantage of testing is considered to be the opportunity to recognize the candidate not as a professional, but common man. Most often this way you can find out:

• level of self-esteem;
• ability to respond to emergency or complex situations;
• life position;
• psychological state, resistance to stress.

Testing has a number of advantages, because in one interview with a person you cannot find out about his personal qualities, position in life and psychological state. We also tried to identify several examples of job interview tests. As you understand, testing can take place in a variety of directions; it can be a determination of the psyche, mental skills, and even motivation to work.

• Math tests. Here the candidate will have to test his mental abilities by solving mathematical problems. This way the employer will know about your ability to work with numbers, percentages and other calculations. They are especially often used when applying for jobs related to financial matters.
• Motivational tests. The employer determines how positive you are about doing his job. A life goal, a desire to achieve something, is also determined.
• Psychological tests. This type of testing determines the internal qualities of a person, his resistance to stressful situations. An employer can determine a candidate's propensity to lie and even his level of intelligence.

As you can see, such simple examples Job interviews can be useful for absolutely anyone, even those who are not yet seeking employment.

(Example dialogue)

The process of getting a job is a ceremonial event that requires preparatory measures not only from the applicant. The employer is obliged to prepare questions, work out the structure of the dialogue, and the criteria for checking the qualifications of candidates.

Today we will talk about the features of the interview, its varieties, and purpose.

An interview is a dialogue between an employer and a potential employee of an organization. Practical implementation - checking the qualifications, goals and aspirations of the applicant, hidden motives and potential.

The above procedure is important - the boss needs to make sure that the chosen hiring policy is correct and get a professional employee. Candidates are given a chance to prove themselves, to show best sides, improve social status.

Testing is going through a unified procedure by filling out specific documentation.

Such papers consist of a list of questions that form the basis for organizational structure. They can reveal the hidden potential and shortcomings of the applicant.

A case is a simulated situation related to the candidate’s expected job responsibilities. A non-standard approach reveals the hidden advantages or disadvantages of a person, his ethical and moral qualities.

Features and purpose of the interview

An interview with a boss/potential employee is a chance for the parties to find a common language, identify hidden motives, and the benefits of cooperation.

The employer uses open dialogue to:

• assessment of the professional, moral, ethical, business and psychological qualities of a potential employee;
• identifying the candidate’s hidden capabilities, how satisfied he is with the position, whether the vacancy is capable of satisfying the applicant’s growth in the future;
• establishing the reliability of the information provided, how truthful the person was at the stage of forming a resume and cover letter. you will learn what a letter of guarantee for employment is and why it is needed.

You will learn what questions to ask during an interview in this video:

The applicant uses an open interview to:

• obtaining reliable information about the material support of the company, the atmosphere in the team, working conditions, wages;
• assessing the potential of the organizational structure, whether the place of work will satisfy his ambitions, professional growth;
• obtaining the desired position with a high degree of probability, improving social status, stabilizing financial status.

It is important to know! Dialogue with an employer is not a guarantee of immediate employment, but rather a chance to show the best sides, qualities and abilities that will be useful to the company in question.

Stages and types of interviews

Examples of interview questions.

Testing and cases

Analogues of an open interview are good in their own way. An integrated approach will give the best results.

Tests check a potential employee's awareness and professional suitability. But the printed paper cannot provide for all the personal characteristics of the candidate under consideration.

How to pass an interview as a candidate

A few tips to make yourself known and win over your interlocutor:

• present yourself as a mature, responsible person;
• take a refusal easier - it shows a difference of views, not your professional incompetence;
• Listen carefully, without interrupting, to the question, do not hesitate to clarify any details that have escaped. Answer clearly and clearly, avoid verbosity;
• present the negative aspects truthfully, but try to balance the story with advantages and achievements;
• ask 2-3 questions when the opportunity arises. Pay attention to the working conditions, the difficulties of completing assigned tasks;
• ask about the time frame for making a decision, the opportunity to call and inquire about the results;
• Don't forget about manners and politeness at the final stage of the interview.

Conclusion

A job interview is a great tool for getting the best employee for an open job. A systematic approach and professionalism of the management team will increase the chances of finding a highly qualified specialist.

How to conduct an interview with an employer - instructions are contained here: