How to interview students and low-level candidates

But if you know how to interview, by asking the right interview questions, you can better select the candidates that match the job requirements.

Recruiting male staff

Male candidates often lack experience training in behavior-based communication; so recent graduates often benefit as employers often take a few minutes to explain to them how an interview works, says Stacie Garlieb. You are the author of My Resume Is Perfect (in my opinion)… so why wasn't I called for an interview? The book is a quick and easy guide for students and recent graduates to write a resume to get an interview invitation.

As an interviewer, it's best to give job candidates a guide on exactly how to respond to your interview questions:

“When I ask you questions, answer by giving examples from times when you were involved in school activities or doing part-time jobs. Answer specifically what you did and what was the achievement.

Even after providing such information, it is likely that the employer will still need to probe the details with follow-up questions, Garlieb adds.

The following phrases may work for students and entry-level candidates with no experience:

“Tell me a little more about what you did. What happens when you face that problem? How complete is your project?”

3 important job skills

Wherever you are, or even as a student, here are three skills to learn in an interview – because these skills are used in most jobs, Martin Yate, CPC, author of Best Hire: A Manager's Handbook to Hiring and Selection says. 3 important skills mentioned include:

1. Organizational skills and time management

For time management skills, ask candidates:

“Tell me how you manage your time during the day?” Expect an answer that shows how candidates must consider everything they have to do for the day and then prioritize their tasks.

2.Problem solving skills

To assess problem solving, if candidates have prior work experience, ask:

“What are some typical issues you have experienced in this job? Who is responsible in these matters? What did you do when you had such a problem? How did you prevent that from happening in the future? What skills did you use to solve this problem? "

If the candidate has no prior work experience, ask about situations in schools or collective action groups:

“Tell me about a time when things didn't go as planned at your school or when you worked in a group. And what did you do to solve that problem?”

3.Communication skills

Verbal communication skills can be assessed by observing how the candidate speaks during the interview and how they listen to and respond to interview questions. For example, do they respond immediately or does it take time to process the question?

The following questions can also help us assess a candidate's communication skills:

“What communication techniques do you use? What communication platforms are familiar to you besides Facebook and Twitter?

Soft Skills Assessment

Next, ask about emotional intelligence and social attitudes by asking the first question: “What does your favorite teacher say about you?”. Next ask: “What did your teacher dislike the most about you?”

These questions help you explore a person's worldview and how that person cares about his or her authority in the workplace, says Joseph Logan, author of Seven Steps to Getting Your First Job.

Motivational rating

Next we will look at candidate motivation. You can start learning about job seeker motivation by asking:

“What do you like to do most in college? When you're not working, what do you enjoy doing the most? "

Then, direct the candidate to discuss the position applied for. Has the candidate researched your company or not, what makes them want to work at your company:

“Why do you want to work for us? "

Find out if the candidate knows the position well enough by asking:

“What do you know about this job? What more would you like to know about this position? "

The answers will reveal the candidate's values and direction in making contributions, as opposed to just earning a salary.

Pay attention to answers that focus on alignment with your company culture.

You can also ask more deeply about values and ethics in the workplace at this point in the interview:

“Can you tell me what your life values are?”

This will often create silence for the first few minutes, but a good candidate will return with clear, specific answers like: “I am honest, trustworthy, and have a good work ethic.”

Your feedback? Ask for more details about what will help you gain insight into the person you are interviewing:

“Can you give some specific examples to show you are an honest person?

When you meet a low-level candidate who seems like a good fit for the job, do your research to make sure the job is right for them, says Garlieb. See if they really understand the results you want in the role you're hiring for, perhaps by asking them to do a similar job.

You should also discuss how the company will evaluate the candidate's performance over 90 days, six months, or an entire year, whether it's measuring performance, productivity, or other tracking metrics.