How do you select the right person for your business? There is no perfect answer, but the interview process can be a tremendous help if you use it effectively. In other words, you must have completed all of the other steps in the hiring process in order to get the most out of the interview process.

Interviewing candidates for a position within your company is one of the final steps in the hiring process. Before you get to this step, you want to make sure that you've completed all of the preceding steps since each of these steps will have a direct impact on how effective the interview process will be. Below is a list of the steps involved in the hiring process. Note that after you have completed the interviewing process, there are still two additional key steps that you need to complete. In order to achieve the best hiring results possible, just remember that all of the steps are important.

In order, the key steps to finding the right person to fill a position in your company include:

• Determining your need to hire a new employee. Are you properly utilizing the skills and talents of your current employees? Do you know what needs to be done? Can your business growth support a new employee?

• Conducting a thorough job analysis. What are the job's essential functions and key performance criteria?

• Writing a job description and job specification for the position based on the job analysis.

• Determining the salary for the position, based on internal and external equity. Is the salary comparable and proportional with the salaries and responsibilities of other positions inside your company as well as similar positions out in the marketplace?

• Deciding where and how to find qualified applicants. What are the recruitment techniques to be used? What is the time frame for conducting your search? Remember, advertising is not the only, or necessarily the best, way to recruit.

• Collecting and reviewing a fair amount of applications and resumes and then selecting the most qualified candidates for further consideration.

• Interviewing the most qualified candidates for the position, based on the job's description and specification.

• Checking references.

• Hiring the best person for the job.

Hopefully, after reviewing all of the resumes, you will be able to pick and choose a select number of qualified applicants to be interviewed. (If not, you may want to expand your time frame and re-write any ad copy and/or look at another recruitment technique)

Now that you know where the interview process fits into the hiring process, let's take a look at the "do's" and "don'ts" of conducting a Successful interview.

Conducting the Successful Interview - What to DO

1.  Prepare in Advance for the Interview

• Know what you want in a candidate before you begin the interview. Review the job specifications and requirements that have been prepared.

• Know the job and its responsibilities. Review the job description.

• Prepare a list of standard questions concerning the candidate's skills, abilities and past work performance that you want him/her to answer.

• Prepare a list of prioritized and measurable criteria, either in the form of a worksheet or other method, for analyzing and comparing the candidates.

• Review the candidate's resume prior to the interview.

• Set specific appointment times and reasonable time limits.

• Be prepared to justify the use of any required employment test. Typically, the most legally defensible tests are those that involve a "piece of the job."

2.  Collect Pertinent Information During the Interview

• Since past behavior predicts future behavior, look for the candidate's behavior "patterns" as you collect information. For example, has the candidate enjoyed "big picture" work or detailed analysis more? Is he/she more of a generalist or more of a specialist? Oftentimes, by listening to how the candidate responds to your questions about previous jobs, you will be able to get a very good idea of what their behavior will be like in the future.

• Try not to offer too much detailed information up front so that the candidate will be able to formulate answers that exactly fits your company's needs. Don't put the right words in his/her mouth! Remember, the candidate (hopefully) wants the job and will be looking to say the right thing to impress you.

• Ask questions that focus on the candidate's past performances. For example, if the job, such as an office manager, demands an individual who is well-organized and handles paperwork easily, you may want to ask, "How do you keep track of your own schedules and desk work in your current position?"