I searched internet for a minute and found out that it is full of tips for interviewees. I believe interviewers needs to know few common sense related stuff so that they become wiser interviewers.
Before we begin, the most important question: Why should you take my tips? 
Answer: Because most of my co-interviewers have complimented my interviewing skills with following words: “Boss, really nice interview”, “Hey man, you ask nice questions!”, “I’d like to accompany you in interviews, I would like to learn from you”, etc.
So, for those who are unfortunate and have not had / will not get a chance to be my co-interviewer; here are my tips for you:-
- A Smooth Take Off: Most (99.99%) of the interviewees (both fresher grads & experienced professionals) are nervous; some admit it, some don’t. Its your job to make them feel relaxed and cool and maybe even ‘chilled’. I repeat, its your job to do that. So start the interviewer with a good smile, or compliment about interviewee’s appearance, by asking him/her about his/her day so far, about his/her expectations from the interview etc. This must not last for more or less than first 4 minutes. This makes the candidate feel good about himself and his/her nervousness goes away. (S)he’s now all set to handle you with the best of his/her capabilities.
- The Resume matters: Understand that the interview is meant to have the interviewee show off his/her skills – not you. Most of the interviewers try to show (and scare) the interviewee by asking ‘the tough’ questions right at the start. That’s the most idiotic thing an interviewer can do. You know you are smart, don’t show it off. The best way to start questioning the interviewee is by picking up points from his/her resume. Its okay to expect an interviewee to know what he/she has written in the resume. I enjoy reading ‘smart resume’. I hate any resume that goes beyond 2 pages. Ask the person about his achievements, awards etc. Make him/her feel good about him/her self. All above two stages should take initial 10 minutes of the interview.
- The Technical Round: Now that you’ve set the stage for the candidate (and also for yourself), its time to pull the strings and make the candidate dance to your commands. Do I sound evil? Maybe, I do. But this is where the fun starts. Start asking technical questions related to the latest project he/she worked on. Try to guess if he/she really understands what his/her team did. This is completely your arena – pull the strings and see how the candidate dances. But remember: Don’t go bullish anywhere. Always give the candidate a choice. Question him/her on his answers. I believe you can tell whether you will hire the candidate in first 15 minutes of the interview. Don’t be biased though.
- Parting Slot: Even if you get completely bored; don’t show it on your face. Always pretend that you’re listening to the candidate with all the interest of your life. Offer the candidate freedom to ask any questions related to work/company etc. Most of the times, the candidate won’t have any question. So help him/her form questions to yourself and answer them in brief.
Overall, make it an interesting experience for the candidate. Ask the candidate to wait in the reception and wait for the HR personnel.
I hope you already knew this stuff. But it doesn’t hurt to implement it.
–The Big K–
July 22, 2008
Hey, good enlightenment. You know when I appear for an interview, I hate the question “Tell me about yourself”. My shoot back is, its written in the resume, can you be more specific? Perhaps if you want to know more about my communication skills, I can give an extempore speech. So I never ask this question when I interview people (which is quite often)
If I’m the decision maker, at the end of the interview I prefer to tell them if they stand a chance. What’s the point in saying we will get back to you?
Anyway…
July 22, 2008
ha ha.
I used to ask “Tell me about yourself” when I was a newbie interviewer. But once I interviewed a candidate who actually forgot who he was (he missed one line in his intro and couldn’t recollect remaining ones. I never asked that question again.
Oh, I never tell the candidate anything about his/her performance or result. Its better left to the HR folks – they are good at conveying the bad news.
July 23, 2008
Sames here. Great tips Biggie!! I use the tell me about yourself to do also a quick scan of the resume. Next time ill try to be a better interviewer!
July 23, 2008
Haha 🙂
Its hilarious you know – people mug up “tell me about yourself” speech.
Here’s another experience –
I was interviewing a fresh graduate and we discussed about his name, which was quite an odd one. We chatted for about five minutes about his name and its meaning etc. Then my co-interviewer popped up the questions “Tell us about yourself” –
And the guy began with –
“Good Morning. My Name is … ”
lol 😀
Its like you type a command on console and files show up one after the other. 😀
July 23, 2008
When you start with the interview its always better to explain the candidate about the Job profile and job expectations.
Joel Spolsky has written a nice article on Interviewing named “The Guerrilla Guide to Interviewing”
September 11, 2009
Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog. 🙂 Cheers! Sandra. R.