The job interview is a large part of any company’s hiring process—more than simply conveying the experiences and skills that candidates have (which can already be gleaned from their resume), it allows employers to gauge whether the candidate will be a good fit for the organisation. Here are some ways to know if your potential new hire is a good fit for your company.
- Understand your company culture
Having a good understanding of your company culture is the first step to choosing someone who will actually fit in with your company. Some ways to do this are asking co-workers and employees for their input and taking a look at your company’s vision and mission statement to figure out what makes your company tick. Additionally, noting down the typical profile of the top performers at your company is a good way to gauge what kind of people are most likely to succeed with your company.
- Get more people involved with the interview process
In any organisation, employees do not work in silos—it’s highly likely that they will work in cross-functional teams that requires them to have a good understanding of the different processes and departments in your organisation. Getting more people involved in the interview process—beyond just the one person from HR—will allow you to get a better feel for whether the candidate can work with all teams in your organisation.
- Asking the right questions in the interview
Instead of asking questions that you can answer by looking at the candidate’s resume, think about asking questions that relate to your company’s culture and organisational goals. Ideally, you should find out if the candidate’s professional goals are in line with those of your company, if they share the same values as your company, and if the candidate’s personality matches the general profile of other employees in your company. Hiring a candidate who ticks all those boxes is likely to be a good organisational fit for your company.
At the end of the day, the best hire for your company is ultimately the one that can best engage with and flourish within your company, rather than the candidate with the most skills or experience. Choosing the hire who best fits your company is the first step to ensuring that the company can bring out the best in them, and vice versa as well.
