What Are Tools For An Interview? (With Meaning And Examples)

Updated 6 September 2022

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As a recruitment professional, your duties may include publishing a job ad and assessing the applications. Your evaluation of a candidate during the interview process may influence your decision to hire them. You can employ tools that can help you make the process more efficient while keeping your approach structured and setting standards for effective hiring procedures. In this article, we discuss tools for an interview and their purpose and share useful ones for different stages that can help make the process productive.

What Are Tools For An Interview?

Tools for an interview are methods that can help the hiring managers in conducting the recruitment process effectively. When there are several job opportunities or a job receives several responses, using interview tools can be helpful to ease the process. They can make the interviewing process more efficient and ensure it adheres to organisational guidelines. Below are some ways in which interview tools can help:

Preparation: You can use interview tools to gather information and plan the questions you wish to pose to the interviewees.
Time management: Your management can want you to fill the vacancy by a specific date. With the help of tools, you may monitor who you are interacting with and schedule brief sessions systematically.
Accessibility: Interview tools can also help you conduct remote interviews, saving them the time it may take them to go to the office physically and ensuring timely recruitment.

Interview Tools For Different Phases Of An Interview

Below are some tools and techniques that you can incorporate into different phases of an interview process to make it more efficient:

When selecting candidates

Making a list of qualified individuals to interview from received applications for the position in advance can be helpful. You can do so by employing an applicant tracking system (ATS) that searches your desired keywords and attributes in job applications. The system can help you identify specialists with the credentials you deem necessary. You can also conduct different standardised tests, such as those listed below, and compare their results:

Personality tests: These tests can help you gauge if the traits of a particular candidate can fit within the culture of the company.
Technical skills assessment: Assessments such as writing tests and short quizzes that test the candidates about the principles of the sector can help assess the technical skills that the position may require.
Soft skills assessment: You can use these tests to evaluate different soft skills, such as time management and verbal communication.
Mock projects: You may also ask candidates to do a brief assignment related to the job before the interview. For example, if you are recruiting a graphic designer, you can ask the candidate to create a graphic for a fictitious customer. It can help you assess both the calibre of their work and the turnaround time.

Coordinating an interview

When scheduling interviews, it is crucial to pick a time that is convenient for you and the candidate. The following resources can assist you in arranging appointments with eligible candidates:

Calls: A phone call enables immediate communication with the candidate. For contact information, you can search the resume or job application and then inform them of your availability and confirm the time and date of the appointment through email or preferred communication method.
Emails: With emails, candidates can answer your emails whenever convenient, making it a more dependable medium than phone conversations. Consider sending a second email to confirm the attendance of the candidate the day before the interview.
Calendar events: It is useful to make an electronic calendar of events that visibly displays your availability when emailing a list of interview candidates. The calendar may also email you and the candidate a reminder so they can change their appointment time if necessary.

Getting ready for the interview

You can prepare for the interview after you have a list of candidates that you shortlisted. As a human resources manager, you may interview individuals for positions in various areas, specialities and levels of expertise. The following are efficient ways to prepare for interviews:

Gather more information about the position. Getting pertinent information about the open position can better equip you to explain the position and respond to the enquiries of the candidate. Instead of only relying on the description for information, you can contact the department supervisor or the manager as required.
Obtain details about the company. There might be instances during the interview where you may require providing information about the company, such as the mission statement or its policies. To do this, you can compile a brief and informative account of the history of the company and its achievements.
Search commonly asked questions. General interview questions can help begin the interview and continue with other more questions specific to the role or other questions to assess a candidate's eligibility. For instance, companies frequently ask candidates to outline their work experiences or work-related situational questions to test their familiarity with different responsibilities.
Thoroughly go through the resume of the candidate. Rereading the resumes of the candidates on your list before the interview can be beneficial. By demonstrating that you are familiar with their traits, you can plan the questions you want to ask and also ensure the interviewee feels confident and comfortable during the interview.
Plan the framework of the interview. Determine the order of the interview using your notes and list of questions. For instance, you may spend the first five minutes of the conversation discussing the background of the organisation before asking more in-depth questions.

Interviewing

Consider the setting of the interview if it occurs in person. The interviewee may feel more at ease if you meet in a relaxed environment, such as a restaurant or outside patio, allowing you to focus more intently on their personality traits.

A schedule for the interview might also be useful, particularly if it has different stages and may take longer. Employers may decide to do three-hour interviews, which may involve several interactions with various employees in the organisation and a tour of the workspace. Giving the candidate a well-organised agenda before the interview can let them know what to anticipate and how the meeting may proceed.

Tools For Video Interviews

A virtual substitute for interviewing candidates is a video interview. Before asking a candidate to meet at the office or to meet professionals who work in various areas or countries, hiring professionals frequently conduct video interviews. You can set up a video interview by establishing and emailing the candidate a link to the virtual conference room. The following resources can help make virtual meetings more productive:

Video conferencing applications

Applications for video conferencing let you see and hear the candidate through a screen, which can help you assess how they may operate or react in work-related situations. You can show the documents and presentations for you and your audience to see. You can also adjust the audio and video settings to ensure maximum convenience for your audience.

Microphones

In a video interview, microphones can improve the audio quality. To make your speech sound crisper when participating in a virtual conference, it is important to use headphones that have a functional microphone. If you are in a noisy environment, using a microphone can help keep outside noise from disrupting the discussion.

Webcams

Webcams help you appear on the camera during a video meeting. Check the webcam to make sure the image quality is clear. Ask the candidate if they can see and hear you clearly before starting the video interview.

Tools For Group Interviews

If you plan to interview several candidates for the same post simultaneously, group interviews can be useful. As it might be difficult to determine the credentials of each candidate, you can use the following strategies to keep the process efficient and ensure its success:

Large meeting room: A sizeable area, like a conference room, may provide distance between you and the candidates, making the interview more pleasant for everyone. You can also examine the acoustics of the room and the seating configurations before deciding on a meeting site.
Mediator: You can appoint a mediator or yourself to manage the discussion and monitor the time taken by candidates.
You can consider inviting a coworker to the interview so they can assist you in interviewing each candidate.
Multiple interviewers: It might be easier to assess the performance of the candidates and formulate informative questions when there are several interviewers present. For instance, you may invite the manager of the division that has the job opening to assist you in asking pertinent questions about the position and experience when required.