Ask good questions, get good people

G Ravishankar
17 May 2003

Mumbai: It is often witnessed that during a job interview, the interviewer takes the privilege of asking any question that comes to his mind to fathom the knowledge of the candidate. This is a usual and casual practice. The interviewer adopts this technique to assess the candidate's potential and to test whether he would be an asset to the organisation.

One cannot, however, say whatever the interviewer may choose to find out, the merit and worthiness of the candidate would go erroneous. This is because the interviewer is well aware of the company's requirements and accordingly scrutinises the candidates. This approach is dependent on the criteria he would like to prescribe to select candidates. What requires far more importance is to initiate a realistic and rational approach to ensure that the selection will actually enrich the human resource pool of the organisation.

A systematic and well-planned effort of the interviewer will go a long way in assessing the potential of the candidates. The following factors will be helpful towards this end:

• Defining the job function is important. Before interviewing a candidate, what type of job is expected from the interviewee should be considered thoroughly. Otherwise it is possible that those questions may be asked which may be irrelevant to the job for which the incumbent is called for the interview.
  
• A brief profile of the job requirement will help the interviewer to select the right candidate.
  
• Requirements need to be assessed well in advance. After defining the job, it is essential to identify the criteria required for the job function assessed. This will help the interviewer to scrutinise the potential of the interviewee in an effective manner. A well-planned and prudent approach towards this end ought to be of utmost importance to the interviewer; and the interviewee will benefit from it a lot.
  
• It is advisable to keep a chart clearly stating the probable questions that are to be asked. Make a chart in respect of various attributes of the candidates. It is essential to prepare a candid format to extract the information from the candidate instead of writing remarks instantly.
  
• The selection criteria should be assessed. The interviewer has to predetermine the total points to select a successful candidate. Each attribute sought from the candidate can be given a point, and the total points will determine the success or failure of the candidate. A prudent approach in this regard is of paramount importance.
  
• Evaluating a candidate's potential for the job needs to be analysed. A selection committee may review this chart.

No doubt, several organisations follow the above criteria. But some organisations may ignore these norms because of paucity of time. If a well-planned and systematic approach is undertaken there will be no wastage of time for adhering to the above criteria for optimum results. Some more criteria can be added depending on the requirements of a particular organisation.

A causal way of interviewing may lead to the recruitment of candidates who are not eligible for the post. Consequent to this, people may be forced to discontinue the job, leading to an employee turnover, which may be detrimental to an organisation's interest.