How To Successfully Start an Interview (Plus Tips)

Leading a successful interview can make it easier to find the strongest candidate for a role, represent your company well and keep the interview process productive. One of the key factors in determining how an interview may go is its beginning. By reviewing tips and steps for starting your interviews, you can conduct more rewarding and beneficial conversations with job candidates. In this article, we explain why it's important to start an interview well, list steps you can take to lead a successful interview and offer additional tips for keeping your conversations with potential hires as productive as possible.

Why is it important to start an interview well?

There are many reasons it's important to start an interview well. How you begin your interview can establish the tone for the entire experience, shaping both your ability to get to know the candidate and their capacity to talk openly with you. Here are some of the primary reasons it's important to prioritize the beginning of your interview with a job candidate:

It defines the energy level

Interviews that are dynamic, engaging and energetic can leave a lasting impression on both you and the prospective employee. Often, great interviews happen naturally, with little interference from the interviewer. If you and the interviewee have a great connection, it can ensure conversation flows and that you develop a holistic sense of their personality. Other times, those connections don't come as organically. If the candidate is nervous or if you can't get a sense of their personality right away, the energy level for the rest interview might feel lower than you'd like. To combat this, approach interviews with high levels of energy and positivity. Seem genuinely happy to see the candidate and sound excited when you ask your initial questions. This can help elevate the confidence and energy of the person you're interviewing, making it easier for them to feel comfortable and share their personality. Related: How To Conduct a Job Interview

It makes it easier to establish a flow

Like the energy level, the start of an interview can also affect the ease of your conversation. When an interview flows, it can lose some of its formality and lead to more insightful responses. Interviews might take small tangents, where you can connect with the candidate over one of their answers. This can make interviews feel faster and more productive. The first few interactions you have with the interviewee can help them feel comfortable, which can make the conversation smoother. The confidence you display in the interview can have a profound effect on the confidence of the candidate. Knowing what questions you plan to ask and being prepared for the interview shows the interviewee you care about getting to know them. The enthusiasm and authority you display toward hiring for their position can inspire their own confidence in the role.

It ensures you represent your organization well

Finally, starting an interview is about more than introductions. It's also about showing candidates you take the interview seriously. Coming prepared, asking genuine questions and representing your company well can all ensure the start of your interview informs the success of the whole meeting. Candidates are also interviewing you and your company. Your ability to conduct the interview and lead the conversation can influence your company's reputation, so it's important to ensure your interview starts well.

How to start an interview

To have a successful interview, here are some steps you can take at the beginning of your meeting:

1. Identify your goals

The first step to starting an interview occurs before the interview even takes place. Your preparation can be especially important for the success of your interview and your ability to have an insightful conversation with your candidate. Likely, by the time you're ready to interview for a position, you understand what you're hoping to find in a candidate. Use your goals and expectations to help you prepare questions relevant to the position and the reason you're hiring for the role. Try to only select questions that add value to your search for the strongest candidate. Use the candidates' resumes to adapt your questions. Notice any areas of concern and prepare to address them in the interview. If something interests you, like one of the interviewee's hobbies, volunteer experiences or something you have in common, make a note of it. Mentioning this in the interview can be a good way to connect with the candidate. It can also show them you value their time and respect their candidacy. Related: 30 Things an Interviewer Should Look for in an Interview

2. Introduce yourself

When it's time to meet the candidate for the interview, start with an introduction. Tell them your name, explain your role within the company and welcome them to the interview. You might choose to start the interview with a tour of the workspace, or you might choose to lead them straight to the interview area. Whatever format you choose to use for your interview, try to keep your tone friendly and light. Offering your guest a drink, if you have one available, can also help them feel more welcome.

3. Establish rapport

Before you start asking your key questions, try to get to know the interviewee as candidly as you can. Ask about something you saw on their resume, offer them a compliment or notice something about the weather outside or the time of day. Find a way to connect with them and establish a conversational flow. This can make it easier to transition into your interview questions without the transition feeling abrupt. The first parts of your conversation can determine the energy, flow and ease of your interview, so try to approach the meeting with levity and enthusiasm. Related: Interviewing an Employee: How To Successfully Conduct an Interview

4. Ask them to share information about themselves

Once you've established rapport and introduced yourself, you can ask the candidate to introduce themselves more thoroughly. Many interviewers choose to prompt candidate responses by saying, "Tell me about yourself ." If you want to deviate from this question, you could ask something more specific. "What interested you in this position?" "Can you talk about your professional experiences leading up to now?" and "What discoveries have you made about the direction you want your career to go?" can be suitable alternatives. Asking specific questions might lead to more insightful responses because it gives the candidate a prompt that's more clear and direct. "Tell me about yourself," could include personal life events, a history of where they've lived, what they do for fun or where they worked previously. Some candidates fumble because they don't know what response you're looking for in their answer. With too much to explain, they might give you a confused answer or one that doesn't effectively respond to the question. Prompting them with a more specific query can improve the quality and value of their answer.

5. Explain the interview process

Signal the official start of the interview by explaining how you expect things to go. This lets your interviewee know you're ready to ask more serious questions and begin the formal phase of the interview. It can also help clarify some of their own questions. Tell them what they can expect if you offer them the position. Explain how many interviews you plan to have each candidate complete and when you hope to have a decision. Explaining the interview process can offer an added benefit of reinserting professionalism and authority into the interview. While it's important to establish rapport, it's also valuable to maintain the interview's structure and to lead the conversation productively.

6. Transition into your most important questions

With the interview started, you can begin to ask your most important questions. If you successfully set the tone for the interview and built the candidate's confidence, you can expect to learn more about them and their experience through your questions and their answers. Consider writing a list of questions you hope to ask and having a place where you can record notes as you receive the candidate's responses. This can help you keep interviews focused and make it easier to differentiate between candidates when you're ready to make a final selection.

Tips for starting an interview

Here are some additional tips that can help you start your interview successfully:

Come prepared

Coming prepared can help you keep your conversation focused, ensure you ask everything you want to ask and show the person you're interviewing that you're an organized leader. Be certain you know the candidate's name and key details about their qualifications. It's also important to arrive on time with all the materials you need for the interview.

Read their resume

Reading the candidate's resume before their interview can be a great way to find interesting conversation topics, address any concerns you have early and get a better sense of who you're interviewing. Because interviews are often relatively short, it's important to use your time wisely. Design questions around a candidate's specific experience so you can learn more about their background and qualifications. Try to learn more about what's not on their resume, like their interests, communication style or values. Your notes from their responses can supplement the experience on their resume and give you a more holistic view of the candidate's suitability for a particular role. If something from their resume intrigues or worries you, be sure to address it in the interview.

Maintain a comfortable environment

When candidates are comfortable and confident, they may be more likely to display their true personality and answer questions without overthinking or hiding the full truth. Do your best to set them at ease by keeping the conversation light and flowing, especially at the start of the interview. Try to appear friendly and approachable by making jokes or asking them about their hobbies or interests. The more authentic you are during the interview, the more authentic you invite the candidate to be.

Be flexible

While there are probably a few essential questions you need to ask every candidate, don't be afraid to lead a different interview experience with each interviewee. When you're interviewing multiple personalities, no two interviews may look the same. You might choose to explore new topics or address specific issues with different candidates. Maintain a loose structure to keep the interview focused, but be flexible within the structure. This can give you the freedom to respond to candidate answers genuinely and devote more time to some questions than others.