How to run an interview that convinces technical talent
In a tight market the candidate evaluates you just as hard. A good interview selects and sells at the same time.
Anyone wanting to hire technical talent must realise the interview works both ways: while you evaluate, the candidate decides whether they want to work for you. In a market where strong profiles have several options, the employer who selects and convinces wins.
Structure beats improvisation
Agree in advance with all interviewers which three to four criteria are truly decisive and who probes what. Without agreements everyone asks the same general questions and you decide on gut feeling afterwards. One structured hour-long interview says more than three vague meet-and-greets.
Ask for behaviour, not theory
'How would you handle a breakdown under time pressure?' yields a socially desirable answer. 'Tell me about the last time a breakdown upended your whole planning' yields a real story, with details you can probe. For technical roles a short practical case on the shop floor often works better than an hour of theory questions.
Sell the role honestly
Show the workshop, introduce the team and be honest about the less pretty sides: the ageing machine park, the peak periods. Candidates see through a story that's too good, and whoever is surprised after starting leaves again. Finally, reserve ample time for the candidate's questions; you often learn more from those than from your own list.
And perhaps most importantly: decide fast. There should be no weeks between a good interview and an offer. The best candidates are off the market within a few weeks, and a slow procedure reads to them as a preview of slow decision-making in the job.
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