March 6, 2025
The goal of screening resumes is to select the most qualified applicant to interview, so you do not waste your or the applicants’ time interviewing candidates who are not suitable for the job. Take the time to create a screening checklist. Using the job description, list the skills, experience, education required. Compare each candidate’s qualification with the checklist to help determine who you would like to interview.
Job interviews allow employers to get to know the candidates and assess whether or not their skills and qualifications fit with the needs of the position, current team, and the culture of the business. Remember, it is also important to value transferable skills, whether it is in customer service, sales or other areas.
Prepare for the interview by reviewing your candidate resumes in advance. Decide whether you will be conducting an in-person interview or a virtual one. Depending on the situation and the position, you may choose to do both, where the first interview could be virtual, followed by an in-person second interview. If you are conducting a virtual interview, confirm with your candidate that you are meeting virtually. Ensure the candidate has access to the application/platform you will be using (ie. Teams, Zoom, Google Meets) and ensure the meeting invitation link is received and accepted prior to your interview time.
Choose a quiet location free from distractions. Introduce yourself and the Company; this is your time to sell your brand and the Company. Select interview questions relevant to the position, and encourage a candidate to describe what they have done in the past instead of a hypothetical scenario.
Consider asking: “Tell me about a time when you handled a customer complaint. What was the situation? What steps did you take, and what was the outcome?” instead of asking “What would you do if a customer complained?”. Avoid questions that only elicit a yes/no response. Be consistent – use the same list of questions for all candidates so you can make a fair comparison and take notes so you don’t forgot who said what during the interview.
Remember to ask the candidate if they have any questions for you, as they are also gathering information about the role and the Company.
Avoid basing your decision on first impression or liking/having a good feeling about the candidate. Remain objective throughout the interview and actively listen. Observe the 80/20 rule: the candidate talks 80% of the time, and you ask questions 20% of the time. Still can’t decide on the best candidate? Book a second or final interview with your top candidate(s) and have them meet a member of the Senior Management team and/or a member of their immediate team.
To protect both you and the candidate’s rights, it is important to be familiar with the fundamental principles of human rights legislation and how it applies in the context of job interviews and ensures that questions you ask are not viewed in any way as discriminatory. Human Rights legislation prohibits discrimination based on a series of protected grounds (e.g. race, religion, age, sex, physical disability, sexual orientation). Interview questions and rationale for candidate selection should focus strictly on determining the applicant’s ability to perform the essential duties of the position and should avoid these protected grounds.
