Even though there have been layoffs in the news, there are still many more open IT positions than candidates looking for jobs, maintaining a very competitive hiring market in the tech space. The number of open tech positions still outpaces the number of people looking for work.

CompTIA’s analysis of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) “Employment Situation” report reveals Tech sector companies added 25,500 net new workers in August, with growth in five major occupation categories. Tech industry employment has increased by 175,700 jobs in 2022 and is tracking 46% ahead of last year and 92% ahead of 2019.

Because today’s top candidates can quickly receive multiple offers, hiring managers are under pressure to make accelerated hiring decisions. Katie Bethel, senior account executive at Queen Consulting Group, says, “People are moving really fast. Some companies are doing just one interview round and then they’ll hire the next day.”

In this overheated job market, it’s essential that hiring managers quickly and accurately identify the right candidate for a position. And that makes conducting an effective and revealing interview more crucial than ever.

Understanding the Candidate

Katie explains that the first priority in an interview is to understand the candidate so that you can determine if the person will be a good fit in terms of attitude and work ethic. You are trying to discover if the candidate is:

• Able to do the job
• Motivated to do the job
• Eager to learn new skills
• Coachable
• A good fit for your team culture

To determine fit, you might ask about the candidate’s hobbies, interests and passions when they are not working. To evaluate attitude and work ethic, ask how a candidate has handled heavy workloads and shifting priorities in the past. To get a picture of what motivates a candidate, ask where the candidate sees him or herself in five years—this classic question can indicate whether the jobseeker is motivated by career growth, job title or income.

Behavioral questions—the ones that begin with “Tell me about a time when you ...”—are ideal for prompting the candidate to reflect on their experiences. Even better, the candidate’s responses provide a natural opportunity for you to follow up with questions that will surface more detail for a fuller picture of how the candidate approaches work challenges. Specifically, responses to behavioral questions will let you:

• Hear how the candidate articulates answers
• Gauge how prepared the candidate is for the interview
• View the candidate’s body language

Reading That Body Language

“A good candidate will display excitement and enthusiasm,” says Katie. You can get a feel for this by observing things like eye contact, facial expressions, tone of voice, posture and hand gestures.

Currently, Queen estimates that more than 90% of job interviews for technical candidates are conducted remotely, reflecting overall employment trends in the field. Interpreting body language via a computer screen may be a bit challenging, but it will give you a sense of how the candidate will communicate while working remotely.

The Candidate’s Questions

Finding out what the candidate knows—and wants to know—about your company can tell you a lot about the candidate. You can ask, for instance, what the candidate has learned about your company, revealing if the candidate has prepared for the interview by looking at the organization’s website, social media and recent news. This is an indication of how the person would approach work assignments.

The questions that the candidate asks about the company and position also reveal important information. Are the questions detailed, demonstrating that the candidate has researched the company? Are the questions insightful and do they show enthusiasm for joining the company? Does the candidate articulate the questions clearly? The questions and how they are conveyed can give you a feel for how the candidate will interact with coworkers and clients.

Solving a Problem

Katie recommends giving the candidate a job-related problem to solve, if possible. “This can demonstrate how well the candidate thinks on their own. Especially in a remote job, those skills and capabilities are critical,” she explains. “Look for someone to take initiative and be proactive when working on the assignment.”

Getting the Gang Together

“Another way to gain insight into your candidates is to involve your team,” says Katie. A group interview, does a couple of things: it provides you with multiple, varied perspectives on the candidate and it gives your team—who will potentially be working with the candidate—a chance to weigh in.

Katie recommends that the hiring manager coach the team members ahead of time so that the interview is well organized and to make sure team members have prepared questions. Ideally, conduct one or two rounds of group interviews at most.

How Queen Supports You

Queen Consulting understands the critical role the candidate interview plays in the hiring process, so we act as your partner to be sure your interviews are as effective as possible. We do that in two ways: selecting and preparing the candidates and then supporting your interview strategies.

Based on our understanding of your company’s culture and hiring needs, we screen our candidates for your desired traits and skills and send the top ones on to you. Then, if desired, we can work with you and your hiring staff to firm up interview skills—such as reading body language or asking behavioral questions.

And, as always, we coordinate closely with you throughout the interview process, keeping you fully informed and helping you make the best decisions to hire the right candidates!