As a manager, how do you prepare for interviewing potential employees?

Question

Anything from what type of questions do you ask? what do you look for? And what steps do you take personally to prepare for the interview?

Answer 1

I have always found it effective to structure the interview so that the potential employee will explain to me how s/he has handled situations in the past rather than how they would handle situations in the theoretical sense.  The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.

For example, instead of asking an employee to tell me how they would cooperate with other employees, I would ask the question in this way:

Tell me about a time in which you had to work as a team with others to complete an important project.  What were your responsibilities?  What were others' responsibilities?  What was the outcome of the project?

If the person being interviewed cannot answer the question, that is a pretty accurate indicator that they are not accustomed to working cooperatively as a team on a project.  Most people will not answer the question correctly right off the bat.  It often takes encouragement on the part of the interviewer to keep them focused on past behavior and actual experiences.  People naturally want to shift to the theoretical because that is easier and they can make up anything they want!  But be persistent and keep guiding them back to relating their actual experiences.  You might be surprised at what people will tell you!

I prepare for an interview by writing the questions in advance.  Sometimes, I will add a written question to the interview to gage the person's verbal skills, which are an important indicator of success in other areas.  I also look over the application and resume.  That will tell you a lot, too!  How long do they stay in their jobs?  What kind of responsibilities have they been given? Is there evidence that they have been trusted with more responsibilities and been promoted?  These are all things you want to look for and ask about during the interview.

Answer 2

I ask "Tell me the job".

Frequently it's unanswered..