Interviews are one of the most important steps in the hiring process. They provides an opportunity to get to know applicants before you make a commitment and invest in a new employee.
When it comes time to interview you need to be careful not to let any unconscious bias or distractions enter into your decision-making. It is important to treat every applicant the same during the interview process.
This means asking the same questions in approximately the same order, keeping the environment as similar as possible, and using the same set of criteria to assess each person you interview.
The same individual (or group) should conduct all the interviews for the same position (i.e. all the field crew positions should be interviewed by the same person). The person doing the interview should be trained in what questions may, any may not be asked during an interview.
Resources:
- Our "Twenty Questions for Any Job Interview" - a list of 20 questions that farmers can use as any part of a job interview.
- Our "Sample Interview Agenda for Farm Positions" - a one-page guide to organizing an effective interview for farm and ranch jobs.
- Iowa State University's "Job Interview and What Questions Can I Ask?" guide provides more information about conducting interviews, including the kinds of questions that are legal to ask.
- Evaluation and Selection of Job Candidates, also from Iowa State University, provides information on factors to consider in the process of evaluating candidates.
- Reference Checks: This 4-minute video shares tips for how to use reference checks to learn more about a prospective job applicants. You'll also learn about the limitations of reference checks and how to incorporate it in your overall assessment of and decision-making about an applicant.