Good and structured interviews are essential to ensure a good match between applicant and position, and a good match is crucial for both the solution of the core task and the employee's well-being at work.
Consider whether the classic interview can be complemented with the use of a case or a take-home assignment. You can also consider whether the use of tests can give you knowledge about candidates that can minimise the risk of recruitment errors. In the same way, you can qualify your impression of a preferred candidate by checking references.
If a candidate has been interviewed, it is important that the hiring manager gives personal, oral feedback - both in cases when offers of employment are made and in cases of rejection.
Different tools in the recruitment process
The purpose of interviews is to flesh out the information already gathered about the respective candidates. The purpose is simple: to uncover the candidate's ability to perform the job in question and find out if the candidate is the right match for your unit.
In order to identify this, the interviewers must start with the concrete requirements and expectations that were formulated when the position and skill profiles were identified and the job advertisement was drafted.
Before the interviews, it is optimal for the employment committee to agree on what needs to be examined in more detail for each candidate. For example:
- What are the professional requirements for the candidate?
- What are the requirements for the candidate's personal skills?
- What are the success criteria for the position?
- What specific aspects of the above areas need to be identified in the various candidates?
Questioning technique
Ask open questions (what, when, how, why, etc.) rather than closed questions that can be answered with yes or no. Also, be sure to ask probing questions about the candidate's answers. Ask for concrete examples. If you do not understand an answer, be curious. The more concrete questions you can help the candidate to answer, the more incisive you will be in deciding whether the candidate matches the position.
The interview guide in the toolbox on the right can be used for inspiration. The guide can be adapted with questions tailored to the specific position and candidate.
Planning of tests and cases
The planning of the recruitment process should include time for possible tests and the use of cases, which can be powerful recruitment tools to identify a candidate's personal and professional skills.
Cases are concrete, realistic tasks/challenges that are based on the everyday life of the organization and relate to the position the candidate is applying for. A case can help uncover the candidate's ability to:
- solve concrete, realistic tasks
- apply professional qualifications in practice, here and now
- analyse, prioritise and make decisions in concrete situations
- present transferable and understandable solutions
- cases can make it clearer whether a candidate is a good fit for the specific position and among the other colleagues.
A case assignment can be set in three different ways:
The oral case - consists of situational questions or a scenario prepared by the interviewer. The applicant does not know the case in advance, and thus the candidate's ability to bring his or her immediate professional level into play is tested.
The written case - is a small assignment given immediately before or during the interview. The candidate is typically given 10-15 minutes to prepare their assignment alone. The candidate then presents their answer with the opportunity to explain how they approached the task.
The prepared case - allows the candidate to prepare from home. The case typically consists of a 1-page case description, to which 2-3 questions are attached. The case is usually sent to the candidate by email with a request to prepare a solution proposal. Some interviewers prefer to receive the proposed solution in writing, while others would like an oral presentation of the solution at the interview.
The aim of a case is generally to assess the candidate's professional ballast and approach to the task. The aim is not necessarily to find out whether the candidate is achieving exactly the right results.
The oral case can be good for positions in which a dynamic environment demands a quick turnaround of tasks, whereas one of the advantages of the prepared case is that it gives you a sense of how much effort the candidate has put in - and thereby another impression of how motivated the candidate is.
A personality or cognitive test can help give an insight into the candidate's personal skills and abilities. Tests Should only be included as one of several impressions in the assessment of the candidate, including the experience the interviewers have of the candidate in one or more interviews, in the general dialogue and in cases.
A test can provide a frame of reference within which to discuss skills and can be a good starting point for a dialogue about the test result in relation to the position to be filled.
There are many different tests, each offering different options. If tests are being considered, the following should be identified in advance:
- Which test should be used?
- When should the candidate take the test? In general, tests will be used between the first and second interviews so that the test results can be discussed at the second interview.
- Who will be responsible for the test feedback to which the candidate is entitled? And when should the feedback be given?
- What skills do you wish to identify in the candidate?
At SDU, tests are a tool that the unit itself is responsible for selecting and handling.
References are an important tool in the recruitment process to identify specific points of attention about a candidate. References can show how the candidate performed certain tasks, was part of a team or how the candidate tackled a specific challenge.
It is illegal to contact a reference without the candidate's consent. Therefore, it is important to agree with the candidate that the reference providers will be called.
Questions for the reference providers should be tailored to explore areas of the candidate's profile that are relevant, but could include:
- What can you tell me about the candidate?
- What duties/areas of responsibility did the candidate have?
- How was the quality of the candidate's work? (Focus on overview, attention to detail, commitment, perseverance)
- How was the candidate's professional performance? (Focus on independence, initiative, responsibility, planning)
- What results/successes did the candidate achieve?
- What professional/personal strengths do you consider the candidate to possess?
- How was the candidate's ability to meet deadlines, work under pressure and receive/give constructive criticism?
- Why did the candidate leave the position?
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