There is an order to the interview process that often results in hiring success, and there is an order that does not often correlate to success.  By understanding the order and using it to your advantage, your interviews will go far better, and will likely be much more systematic and efficient in a structured interview format.  This process entails the following:

The format for the interviewing process for a strategic position as it is outlined in Chapter 8 is a simple eight step methodology as follows:

1. Send the top 10 to 20 candidates an email with the attachment of one form for the candidate to complete and return. The form will allow you to begin gathering critical elements of employment information that will help you to select candidates to move to the next step. Generally, only about 70% of candidates reply with the completed form. Some people just send out resumes without even thinking about a position and some people are too lazy to spend 10 minutes completing a simple form. Either way – be glad that those people did not respond.
2. Conduct an initial 30-minute phone interview with the candidates who return the paperwork. This brief interview is designed to (a) secure a candidate’s understanding of the position and the company, (b) review any employment deal-breakers such as a non-compete agreement, (c) obtain a general agreement with the salary range and benefits offered, and (d) gather some brief facts about the person’s prior employment.
3. Select the top 5 to 8 candidates and conduct a behavior-based phone interview. The Secrets to Hiring Success offers pre-set behavior-based interview questions for you to use based on the top 10 soft skills required for success in a position.
4. Select the top 3 to 5 candidates for face-to-face interviews and prepare the candidates for the onsite interview by emailing material to them.
5. Conduct the onsite interview using the strategies, forms, pre-set questions, scenarios, and techniques that are described in the Secrets to Hiring Success.
6. If the candidate will be seriously considered for the position based on his/her answers to questions during the onsite interview, the interviewer will implement a process of “selling the opportunity” to the candidate.
7. When the interviewer is done “selling” the candidate on the opportunity, the manager needs to test the offer to ensure that the candidate is interested in the position. This process also includes techniques to identify any issues that would prevent a candidate from taking the position such as inadequate salary, a counteroffer from the candidate’s current employer, objections from a spouse, etc.
8. Following the onsite interview, the interviewer would begin the process of post interview analysis of all candidates, selection of the best candidate, reference checking, and negotiation of an offer of employment.

While interviewing a candidate, it is essential to have some organization.  By using these steps and following them throughout the process, interviews will run much more smoothly, and your company will have a standard operating procedure for interviews.  This standard procedure will allow for much more consistency in hiring, even if the interviewer is not the same in every interview process.