This document provides guidance for non-HR supervisors on conducting effective interviews to hire the right candidate. It discusses different types of interviews including phone, in-person, and Skype interviews. It offers tips on being prepared such as reviewing resumes in advance, having a list of questions and the job description ready, allowing enough time, and using a score card. The document cautions against making assumptions, being unprepared, allowing interruptions, dominating the conversation, and providing an unclear follow up process.

1. Interviewing Skills for the
Non-HR Supervisor
Jennifer Fisher
Graduate Retention Program Manager
Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce

2. Different types of interviews
How to conduct a good interview to get
the right candidate
Questions to ask college students with
limited experience

4. Take time to review the candidates resume and cover
letter right before the interview
Have a list of questions you can ask
Have the job description in front of you
Be prepared to answer the candidates questions
Leave yourself plenty of time for the interview and to
take notes (1 hour)
Have a score card to keep your evaluation of each
candidate consistent and fair

7. Phone Interviews
• Great alternative to candidates who can’t come in for an
interview.
• Allows you to pre-screen candidates and reduce your pool
of candidates.
• Should be conducted the same as an in-person interview.
• Make sure that you are in a quiet and interruption free
environment to conduct the interview.
• Best to do over landline to avoid cell phone signal
problems.

9. In-Person Interviews
• Gives you an opportunity to meet the candidate and
see their professionalism in person.
• Should be conducted in a quiet and interruption free
environment (consider a conference room away from
your office or normal work area)
• If you have pre-screened candidates by phone, an in-
person interview can be the next step and give you a
chance to give a tour of the work area.
• Can be conducted by one person or a group of
employees.

11. Skype Interviews
• Done online and provides video feed of both
the candidate and the interviewer.
• Must have a good connection on both ends
for it to work well.
• Allows you to interact with the candidate and
see their professional appearance.
• Can be a great alternative for candidates who
cannot come onsite for an interview.

13. What to Ask
• Open-ended questions that allow the candidate to talk.
• Avoid the dreaded, “So tell me about yourself” question.
There are other ways to get the candidate to open up and
talk.
• Behavioral style questions can help you understand a
candidates past behavior: (Tell me about a time when you
were working together with a team. What role did you have
on the team?)
• Refer to sheet of questions. Come up with your own.
• Remember, you’re talking to a student who may not have a lot
of experience. You’re looking for trainability and work
ethic, not necessarily job knowledge.

15. Definite Don’ts
• Don’t make assumptions about the candidate before the
interview has started.
• Don’t be late. Start the interview at the scheduled time.
• Don’t allow interruptions once the interview has started.
• Don’t spend the whole interview talking.
• Don’t leave the interview open-ended. Give the candidate
a timeline of when you plan to make a decision and tell
them how you’ll follow up.
• Don’t stray too far from your questions or the reason the
candidates

16. Tips

17. Good Example of a Bad Interviewer
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PMv4vtX
4_A&feature=related

18. Jennifer Fisher, Program Manager
Graduate Retention Program