There are ways to prepare for this potential life-changing interview. Start by delving into the past. Each job in each company is about so much more than technical skills and knowledge. Use the interview process to evaluate past performance and fit with your business's environment and company culture.Ask questions to get behavior based answers. What you want to determine is how well this person performed at past jobs. What did they do? How did they do it, and most importantly, were they successful?Typically, candidates want to make themselves shine. They'll be happy to tell you of their successes. You want to know what those were and why they succeeded. You also need to know when they failed.



This is a tougher area to delve into and candidates might be resistant. One way to help them open up is to phrase your question in a positive way. For example, you can say, ?We find that people learn the most from the mistakes they make. Everyone makes mistakes. Please tell me of a major mistake you made and what you learned from it.? If the candidate's description is clear, if they've thought this through and, most importantly, if they show what they learn and it makes sense to you, this may be a potential fit for your business. Everyone does make mistakes. You just want them to have made most of theirs at another employer. So if you get the candidate that answers they have never made a mistake, there's a good chance this person's ego or nerves are standing in the way. Either way, it's probably not a good fit for you.

Requests such as, "Tell me about a time when" or "Give me a specific example of" can help lead to insights of the candidate's encourage candidates core competencies, performance track records and areas of weakness as well as strengths. Be sure to ask them to describe the situations in detail and listen closely to the answers. Does this person think things through in a logical sequence? Can they relay that information to you in a way that's easy to understand?

Look beyond the skills listed on paper. Listen to what the candidate says and how they say it.