Tell me something about yourself. What are your strengths and weaknesses? What is your greatest accomplishment? These are just some of the questions that we hear interviewers ask applicants. The real question is, are these good interview questions? The skills of an interviewer are developed during training and of course, experience. An interviewer training must be able to provide the interviewers a solution on how to make right hiring decisions.

Why is there a need for interviewer training? It may not seem like it, but it’s a difficult task to be able to find the right person for a specific job. Applicants may have the same credentials but they have different personalities, different work backgrounds and all other factors significant in the selection and hiring process. This training is designed to aid interviewers on how they should construct questions, how to act or talk during interviews, how to properly interpret answers, and most importantly, how to probe for answers that are not spoken.

Usually, interviewer training includes the following:
Understanding the essence and importance of effective interviewing
Learning the art of active listening
Building rapport with job candidates
Creating interview questions and a comfortable environment
Reading non-verbal cues
Identifying a person’s personality sometimes as opposed to the answers he provides
Spotting possible problems should the person be hired
Responding to an applicant’s questions
Ending the interview
Profiling and selecting the right person for the right job.

Interviewer training is recommended for recruiters, managers or anyone that is involved in the selection process of a company.

There are a number of reasons why interviewer training is important to be part of a recruiter’s development.
It helps the recruiters become more aware of the do’s and don’ts during an interview.
Learn how to distinguish the common interview mistakes
Develop the ability to identify the “masked” applicant. The one that gives answers that the interviewer wants to hear.
Discover strategies on how to interview with the right skills, probe answers by understanding body language and be able to use these to choose candidates effectively.
Discover ways on how to formulate effective interview questions that generate truthful and substantial answers. Be able to deviate from predictable questions that result to predictable and rehearsed responses.

Training interviewers is not an expense; it is an investment that companies should highly consider. When a recruiter learns the right skills and techniques he/she can help the company grow by finding the best person for the job. Interviewer training can cost the company money but the long-term benefit would include avoiding poor hiring decisions that can cost the company more money because of the time, recruiting and training costs for new employees, poor productivity and in some cases bring about negative effects for the good performers. Interviewers also become more engaged with their job by understanding their role and their importance in the selection and hiring process of the company they are in, thus producing committed employees.

Author's Bio: 

Sheila Mulrennan is a business author and journalist who regularly contributes articles on Management, Personal Development and Interviewer Training to leading business publications.