5 Questions You Need to Ask Yourself After Interviewing a Candidate

The focus of getting interviews right is often on the candidate but there's a lot of responsibility on companies and recruiters to take the right measures to secure the best person for the job.

A large part of this is effectively digesting and analyzing the information you get during the interview process. This is usually best done as part of a group, allowing you to talk about the highlights and concerns of each potential candidate.

Here are five questions you need to be asking yourself after interviewing:

Would they get on with the team?

Of course you want individuals to be able to act independently, but knowing a candidate will be an effective part of a team is also a major consideration. Even if a professional is incredibly talented, if they're not able to share this wealth of knowledge and expertise with those around them, their value to the rest of the company is limited.

Do they fit into the company ethos?

Candidates need to fit into the wider ethos of the business. This helps to ensure they will be on the same page as their colleagues and makes it easier for the company to achieve its goals. You need to reflect on how they would embody the values of the business and whether they'd be able to put this into practice if they were to take up the role.

What are your main concerns?

Maybe they seem a little too ambitious or perhaps they're not driven enough - whatever your concerns may be, it's good to identify them as early as possible. It can help you sort the good candidates from the exceptional ones but, more importantly, it can also give you an insight into what their future manager may need to monitor if they do get the position.

How much support would they need to onboard them?

What areas will they need support with and how much? Analyzing this will help you to see how much time you will have to invest to get a candidate up to full speed and acting with your company's best interest at the front of their minds. It's also easier to see how this support will affect their productivity in the initial weeks and months. Small tweaks to get them around to your company's way of doing things is much less labor-intensive than concerns you may have about their work ethic.

What's your elevator pitch for them?

Sell them in two sentences. This will allow you to summarize their strongest points and see the value they may offer to the business. This should get you to easily identify the candidates who are significantly better than others.