Masonry Magazine June 1997 Page. 17
Top Seven Interviewing Tips
Be Prepared
Set the Tone
Ask Open-ended Questions
Ask Only Lawful Questions
Resist the Urge to Hire Someone After one Interview
Involve Other People in the Interviewing Process
Always Check References
Take a few seconds to answer the following questions: How often do you submit estimates for a job without looking at the blueprints and specifications? How often do you put in a bid for a job without completing an estimate for that job? How often have you started the masonry work on a job before you talk with the general contractor and have the project schedule in hand? How often do you send out a crew to a job site without a foremen or materials?
In other words, when was the last time you sent some of your employees to an empty lot and told them to start building a wall with the hope that it was the right site and the right kind of wall?
Anyone answering yes to these questions would probably soon be out of business. Without taking the time to gather information, plan and pay attention to detail, there is no way a project could be done on time, correctly and profitably.
Yet, it is often a lack of information gathering, planning and attention to details that affects us when choosing a company's most valuable resource - the employees. Finding, developing and retaining a quality workforce is the most important issue your business faces. Everything that your business does is effected by the competency of your workforce.
Job Interviewing
# A Critical Component to a Quality Company
By Connie Kitzinger
If your company is profitable, thank your employees. If your company is productive, thank your employees. If your company has a reputation for quality, thank your employees.
From the mason tenders to the project managers, from the general office clerks to the accountants, each of your employees can be an invaluable resource or a profit/productivity drain on your company.
With so much riding on the performance of the employees, it would seem that the hiring process would be a sophisticated, thorough, precise mechanism. However, in most cases the employment interview process is haphazard, inconsistent, ineffective or ignored all together.
When an employment interview is poorly planned or conducted, very little useful information about the candidate is learned. Consequently, hiring mistakes are made. These mistakes can cost the company a lot of money in performance and personnel problems.
Quite simply, if your company doesn't take interviewing seriously, than you deserve what you get.
THE PROCESS
# CAREFUL PLANNING IS REQUIRED
As with planning a job, there are sequential steps involved in planning and conducting an interview. The specific information in these steps will vary with the job, but the process is generally the same. Each interview involves a preliminary preparation stage, the actual interview, the closing and the follow up.
# Preliminary Preparation
Before actually conducting an interview, there are several pieces of information that you should have. First, you should have a written job description of the position that you are hiring to fill. It is nearly impossible to select the right candidate for a job if you do not have a clear idea of what the job requires. Moreover, if you place an ad in the newspaper, the ad that you write will be much more effective if you have something to reference when you write the ad.
Although each job description will be specific to the job, there are several different areas of information that should be included in all job descriptions. The job title, the immediate supervisor, regular duties and if your company doesn't take interviewing seriously, then you deserve what you get responsibilites, skills necessary for the position and minimum level of education and or training needed are all components that should be in every job description.
Second, you should try to obtain (legally) as much information about an applicant prior to the actual interview. Resumes, letters of recommendations, job applications, or any type of skills testing are methods of obtaining information.