The funny thing about interviewing someone is that I shouldn’t be the one who is nervous. This is the second time I have gone through an interview process where I was the interviewer as opposed to the interviewee. The first time was almost a year and a half ago now, and it went terribly. It wasn’t that I was ill prepared, because I rarely go into anything unprepared. It was more the fact that I did not have a clear objective. I knew I needed some assistance in my department, and I was allowed to find an intern.
Great! I’ll take two! …or maybe not.
I had no idea what I expected from the new intern. I didn’t even know where my authority lay, or if my boss was in charge of them. It was a total mess, and totally unfair for that person. Granted, it was a poorly chosen candidate to begin with, I still won’t take all of the blame for the failed first attempt at hiring.
Now it’s time for some redemption. This intern won’t go home crying.
This time around, I not only looked closely at updating my job description, I also identified more fully, the projects I will be expecting the candidate complete. I recommend having a full list of projects you are willing to part with if you are looking to hire an assistant or intern.
This may be because of the first failed attempt, but I definitely have a better idea what skills the ideal candidate should possess. I may not be able to identify the personality traits to avoid, but I certainly know how to look for each candidate’s strengths. If you prioritize those key projects and figure out what skills will be needed to complete them, it will be so much easier to know if someone will fit the position and save yourself a lot of heartache.
My game plan went like this:
1. Figure out what projects I needed the most help with, or projects that I was neglecting or behind in completing.
2. Put this list in order of priority.
3. Present the list to my boss, and convince them that no human could complete these tasks in addition to the other items in my workload. (I’m a department of one.)
4. Identify the skills needed to complete the tasks.
5. Base a detailed job description on the tasks and skills that a student might reasonably have, or quickly learn.
6. I wanted a test of ability to help weed out the weakest candidates, and I chose to have each applicant create a sample marketing email from one of our products.
(This helps me on a few levels. I get to see a sample of their writing, and also their creativity and research aptitude. Most interns do not bring previous work samples even if they happen to have any.)
7. If the job is an internship like this one was, I needed to have an evaluative plan in place in order to set realistic goals.
(Project time lines and learning objectives that the hired intern will have should be determined at the start of employment, but it’s always good to have some objectives ready before you hire someone.)
8. This one is KEY. Post the job in as many appropriate places as possible.
(Besides the obvious places like Monster.com, college career centers, the state’s job employment services and the people in your own office are often very good ways of getting the word out about the job opening. If people can’t find the job listing, then your pool of candidates are going to be very slim indeed. I even used Twitter and Facebook, but this might not always be appropriate.)
I have found that lately, the people referred to us by our current employees have been particularly strong candidates, and are often the ones who are eventually hired.
I also learned that no matter how much prep work I put into each interview (an I didn’t even do the scheduling!) I am still a tiny bit nervous before each new person walks in the door. I can read and select the perfect questions, but experience is the only way to strengthen that interviewing muscle. Ironically, I was equally nervous on the other side of the interview.
I wonder if that is true for all new interviewers or just people who are more on the shy side? I would be interested to hear other points of view, and also other tips or personal experiences on hiring.
As before, feel free to leave me your comments or drop me a line, just be sure to keep it clean!
