Negotiations before employment are a responsible event for both the employer and the applicant. Both parties should carefully prepare and think through what to ask at the interview. There is a huge amount of literature on this subject. The abundance of information presents a wide selection of model questions. This will help a person who is in search of a suitable vacancy to draw up a strategy for conducting a successful interview. It is important to find out the primary issues, as well as which ones are best left for later.
The leadership of the employing company or personnel officer also needs to find useful information and properly prepare for what to talk about and what to ask at the interview with the applicant.
In what manner of negotiating, the employer decides for himself. They can be conducted in the form of a casual conversation, testing or a written survey. There are many options. In any case, the choice remains with the management of the company.
Consider the ways of holding the event from the point of view of the employer.
Straight Talk
If you think about the word itself, understand its original meaning, you can easily find the answer to the question of how and what to ask at the interview with the applicant. Just chat with him.
Approaching the equal position of the parties, you can establish contact with a potential employee. This will allow a person to open up and have a casual conversation. There will be a great opportunity to observe the behavior of the applicant and draw the right conclusions about its possible qualities.
Calm, only calm!
Coming to get a job, not a single person can know in advance what they will talk to him about. What questions to ask at the interview is decided by the company's management or personnel officer. Most likely, not a single applicant admits the likelihood that he will have to face boorish behavior or hear a series of purely personal questions.
Do not be alarmed if this suddenly happened. You have become a victim of a fashionable type of interview - a “stress interview”. You risk getting a certain dose of adrenaline only if you intend to become a sales specialist or an accountant.
In this case, it is important for the personnel officer to decide how tough and what to ask at the interview. The sales manager can be asked about his personal life or about the presence of bad habits. The more incorrect the questions, the better the stress resistance of the candidate for the position is checked.
Conditional stages
The success of any interview depends on careful preparation for it:
- Highlight a specific room.
- Schedule a specific time.
- Make a list of questions of interest.
- Study the resume of the applicant.
- Make notes if necessary.
- Prepare a list of requirements for the candidate.
Remember to plan some time. This is necessary for questions that the applicant himself will ask for the position.
Meet by clothes ...
So, defining an interview as a process of meeting between two parties, it is important to distinguish two of its components: psychological and practical. The specialist conducting the event should be well prepared in all directions and know what to ask the candidate for an interview.
Since the purpose of any interview in negotiations is to find out as much as possible about the candidate, the first thing to do is to establish contact:
- Get a candidate for yourself. Ask the applicant a question on any topic. The simplest and most appropriate would be how quickly the road to the office was found.
- Offer tea, coffee or just a glass of water.
Tell us about the company.
- The role of the presentation about the company and the essence of the proposed position is very important. It is advisable to ask about what is known about the company and the vacancy. Do not underestimate the role of good and competent speech and listening skills. Ultimately, there should be a mutual pleasant impression.
- When contact is established, proceed to the second part of the interview — questions. You can offer the candidate to undergo an additional psychological test. It must be compiled by a qualified specialist.
Do you have a resume?
If you have not yet decided what to ask for an interview, there is one simple rule. It is better to start any event by inviting the candidate for the position to tell about himself.
- Ask for a resume. If you have not studied it in advance, then during negotiations you can make necessary notes on it with a pencil.
- Let the person tell you about previous places of work. Be sure to warn that in the course of the story you may have questions that will need to be clarified.
- In the case when the candidate does not have a resume, you can offer to fill out a pre-prepared application form, the purpose of which will be to find out some interesting details. For example, the motivation for choosing a particular profession, the adequacy of self-esteem, the ability to control your emotions in a conflict. You can start a conversation by discussing the answers.
In any case, the negotiating specialist should always remember that the list of issues cannot and should not be the same for all posts. A clear understanding of what to ask for an interview with a designer, for example, or a jobseeker for a seller’s position is necessary.
Types of Questions
To conduct a conversation in the way you need, pay attention to a variety of questions. They will help set the tone for the conversation.
- An open-ended question requires a complete, common answer. Experts recommend conducting interviews using just such questions.
- Another common type of question is the general one. The answers should be specific: yes and no. However, they should be used only in extreme cases to revitalize the conversation.
- If it is important what to ask at the interview, then the question of the previous place of work and seniority can be considered reasonable during the interview. There is an opinion that a person at a subconscious level uses previously gained experience. Analyzing the strategy of behavior in given situations, you can create the most accurate picture of the applicant.
- The question of the weaknesses of the prospective future employee is not inconvenient. It is known that there are no ideal ones, and along with visible virtues in each person there are several drawbacks. It’s best for the HR officer or manager to directly ask a person to describe weaknesses or to talk about situations of concern.
- When the interview is at an impasse and you urgently need to save the current situation, interrogative elements with an interesting name - reflexive, will come to the rescue. This is the type of question in which you ask it with a statement, and your counterpart has no choice but to agree.
- At the end of the interview, it would be nice to use leading questions. They are appropriate when the basic information about a potential employee is already known. It remains to clarify just a few nuances regarding future work.
- The impetus in the conversation can serve as another type of question - urging.
- Psychological questions will help to get to know the applicant from a personal point of view. Perhaps they will most accurately reveal the inner world of the person with whom the conversation is being conducted. You will be able to evaluate his ability to respond to certain situations and unconventional thinking.
Properly preparing for an interview for negotiations and mixed using each of the types of questions, you will get the opportunity to achieve incomparable results. The employer always reserves the right to choose what to ask at the interview with the applicant.
Accounting does not sleep
A separate clan at any enterprise is to allocate accounting. These people associated with direct access to the finances of the enterprise are required to undergo an interview in several steps. What are the important differences in the negotiations with the applicant for the accountant vacancy. Accordingly, the plan of the event is slightly different.
The priority of the first meeting is almost always given to the HR specialist. In the case of a job as an accountant, the first interviewer is the chief accountant. He will more accurately determine what to ask the accountant for an interview.
Typical tests and questionnaires in this case will not work. The company is developing tests with specific accounting questions. They will help to identify the suitability of the candidate for this vacancy.
If the candidate has passed the selection for general testing and an interview with the chief accountant, they may appoint an additional meeting. The priority of the second meeting often belongs to the director of the enterprise. However, it is for guidance only. And often the last word remains with the chief accountant.
Change of roles
Having considered all aspects of employment from the point of view of company management, it will now be logical to find out what to ask the applicant for an interview with the employer. Of course, the questions asked at the negotiations play a very important role, and you need to be able to not only correctly prepare them in advance, but also ask them correctly. This is necessary to clarify some interesting details.
A wish list
Think about what interests you the most. There should be no more than six questions for the employer. To prevent interrogation with addiction, select those that are key from the list of your questions. It will be completely normal if you can’t immediately find out all the nuances. If you make a positive impression at the first meeting, then most likely, an additional one will follow. This is a great opportunity to discuss previously interested issues.
Highlights
Still not deciding what to ask the employer for an interview? The advice of specialists in this field will come in handy. Sample questions that are important to ask:
- what place the company holds in the market;
- Be sure to find out the priority job responsibilities;
- ask how the vacancy appeared, who was in this position before;
- Find out to whom you will directly obey while in this position;
- whether someone will be subordinate to you (if so, how many people) and whether any expansion or reduction of the unit is planned;
- what are the conditions stipulated by this post and whether any bonuses are relied upon;
- one of the priority issues is about the work schedule;
- the possibility of further career growth, as soon as such will be considered;
- do not forget to ask about the salary, this question should not become uncomfortable for you;
- clarification of the criteria for evaluating candidates for the position will not be superfluous.
Set accents
Do not be shy to ask your questions. This is always better than not finding out anything at all. Knowing how and what to ask at the interview, the candidate for the position thereby shows the level of his qualifications and interest in the proposed vacancy. This will help you make a good impression on your opponent.
Negotiations should take place in a relaxed atmosphere. The employer must clearly state the questions asked, and the applicant must answer them honestly. This is especially true for the item "Your pros and cons." Do not be afraid to say honestly that you do not like to work on the weekend. This will show your veracity.
Now you know what to ask the employee for an interview. You are ready to conduct the event correctly, and this is the most important in the selection of personnel!