I was nervous in interviews until I had a job that involved interviewing candidates. Sitting on the other side of the desk really helped me to understand that my nerves were not necessary and were not helping anyone.
Here is an exercise that you might try:
1. Ask a friend to help
2. Your friend will play HR. He should find 16-20 resumes online and email them to you one at a time over the next couple of days. Each one should be accompanied with a one-line note, "I like this one", "Wow, cool font", "Will she be a good fit for the team?" etc
3. Your friend will choose a random time over the next few days to email you one of the CVs with a note "You are interviewing this guy in 20 minutes, don't be late". You have 20 minutes to finish whatever you are doing, read through the CV and formulate some questions.
4. Your friend now pretends to be the candidate. You are the interviewer. Try to put the candidate at ease, ask pertinent questions, avoid questions about remuneration, etc. This interview has to last about 40 minutes. Shake hands, your friend leaves.
The four steps above are chaotic and a dumb way of hiring anyone, yet this is exactly how many businesses conduct interviews. Having been through the process on the other side of the desk, how could the candidate make life easy for the interviewer and ensure that he leaves a memorable and favourable impression?
Here is an exercise that you might try:
1. Ask a friend to help
2. Your friend will play HR. He should find 16-20 resumes online and email them to you one at a time over the next couple of days. Each one should be accompanied with a one-line note, "I like this one", "Wow, cool font", "Will she be a good fit for the team?" etc
3. Your friend will choose a random time over the next few days to email you one of the CVs with a note "You are interviewing this guy in 20 minutes, don't be late". You have 20 minutes to finish whatever you are doing, read through the CV and formulate some questions.
4. Your friend now pretends to be the candidate. You are the interviewer. Try to put the candidate at ease, ask pertinent questions, avoid questions about remuneration, etc. This interview has to last about 40 minutes. Shake hands, your friend leaves.
The four steps above are chaotic and a dumb way of hiring anyone, yet this is exactly how many businesses conduct interviews. Having been through the process on the other side of the desk, how could the candidate make life easy for the interviewer and ensure that he leaves a memorable and favourable impression?