SmallTalk2Me Team Blog
2021-06-01 11:32 English for Business

5 tips to conduct a successful interview


So, you need to conduct an interview. It can be stressful and sometimes even awkward, so there are some tips for you to make this process a success.

Tip 1: Talk to an employee on the role currently and come up with questions:

  • What are your daily responsibilities?
  • What knowledge, skills, or personal traits the potential candidate needs to possess?
You need to understand what a bad, average, good, and perfect answer to each question you make should be.

Tip 2: Use behavioral and situational interview questions.

A situational interview question can start with “What would you do in…”. Describe a key job requirement that the candidate will do in the role.
A behavioral question implies that you ask the candidate how they behaved in situations that could happen in the role you’re interviewing for.

Tip 3: Include a job-related test.

This is one of the best ways to predict a candidate’s performance in the role.
Get candidates to write you a creative test, an email, or conduct an imaginary sales call about your product or service. If you need to check the candidate’s verbal English proficiency, try Smalltalk’s AI-based assessment tool, which will help you evaluate your candidate’s English skills in a quick and unbiased way.

Tip 4: Follow the structure during an interview.

Ask all the candidates the same questions, in the same order. Otherwise, it will be difficult for you to compare all the candidates fairly.

Tip 5: Invite other colleagues to join an interview.

Conduct interviews with more than one interviewer to have a broader picture of the candidate’s potential. Group interviews are often more reliable and accurate.