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Setting the Stage for Your Interview – Building Rapport Dianne Shaddock

What do I mean by setting the stage for your interview?

Well, it is very important that you make applicants feel comfortable when they are coming in to meet with you to interview

For a number of different reasons…

…one it is just a good practice to make anyone that you are meeting with feel comfortable…

…but it will also help the interview to progress smoothly when the applicant feels some semblance of comfort or rapport with you…

…as much as they can in an interview setting anyway

There are several steps that you can take to make your applicant more comfortable when they come in to meet with you

When you greet them in to your office, make sure that they are comfortable

Ask them if they need a beverage maybe some water or some tea if that is appropriate Ask them if they are comfortable and open a window if it is too hot or turn down the heat Do what you can to make them feel comfortable initially when they are sitting down to meet with you   

The next step in the process of making someone comfortable in building rapport would be to make some small talk just for a few minutes

Ask them about their coming in Find out if they had any difficulty finding your office Talk about the weather Make some sort of conversation that will help to relax them before the start of the interview    

Before you start asking the applicant questions after you have made small talk, it is a good idea to give them a sense of what they can expect during the interview

What I often do in my interviews is to let the applicant know how long we will be meeting Usually for me it is 45 minutes to an hour

I will give them a general sense of the types of questions that I will be asking them during the interview And I give them an understanding of when it is appropriate for them to ask questions

For me, I usually let the applicants know that they can ask questions at any point during the interview

But for you, if it is more comfortable to have them ask questions at the end, it is good to establish that upfront with them before you start the interview process

After you have completed your interview with the applicant, it is important to give them a sense of what they can expect next

Let them know if you have other applicants to meet with Let them know your time frame in terms of making a decision And give them a sense of whether or not you will be contacting them by phone or by email   

Whatever you discussed with the applicant as the next step in the process, be sure to get back to them as promised… …it is just good business practice

And you never know if that is the applicant that you will want to hire in the future

REMEMBER Always be respectful of their time in terms of coming in for an interview and get back to them as promised