- \n
- Space<\/strong>. Ensure you create space around the edges ie before, in between and after the interviews. You owe it to the people you are interviewing to be able to give them your focus and attention. I know that’s hard in amongst a pressurised diary, but this isn\u2019t just a nice to have, its essential to being a good interviewer. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n\n
Take a breath, ensure you are hydrated and comfortable and be present.<\/p>\n<\/div>
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/staffdevelopment\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/602\/2025\/04\/rumman-amin-9_Dollf_7aI-unsplash.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n- \n
- Questions<\/strong>. Ask good ones! You will have a fixed set of questions you will be asking each candidate, and they must relate to the requirements of the role. Follow up or probing questions will need to respond to the answers they have given. Not just what has piqued your personal interest, they must directly relate to the criteria or competence you are exploring. Think of these follow up questions as another opportunity for the candidate to give you a full answer and fill in any gaps that their first answer didn\u2019t quite reach. \u201cCan you tell me a little more about your direct involvement in that\u201d, \u201cWhat reflections do you have about how you might do it differently next time\u201d \u201cWhat specific methodology did you use in that situation\u201d. Keep them clear, succinct, open and interesting.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Connect<\/strong>. Remember the interview isn\u2019t there to trip them up, it\u2019s to give them every opportunity to be at their best. Your part in that is being clear and calm and putting them at ease. Give them space to pause and think, or the chance to come back to a question if they are really stuck. Be interested in what they are saying, keep the tone conversational and check your own body language. And don\u2019t forget to offer them time at the end to ask their questions and add anything further.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n
“The interview should give them every opportunity to be at their best”<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Bias<\/strong>. It\u2019s very easy for personal bias to creep into a selection process. And I don\u2019t just mean the obvious horror stories of discrimination like \u201cSo are you planning to have children soon?\u201d. Don\u2019t do that, obviously. But bias can be so much more subtle and often unintended. For example, when we are drawn to people \u201clike us\u201d \u2013 whether that\u2019s gender, race, background, profession, sports teams \u2013 we can inadvertently consider their answers more favourably or develop a more positive rapport. When we are interviewing internal candidates, this can be more prevalent and so is one to watch out for. Having a panel interview and consistent questions will reduce the impact of this, but you have a responsibility to check your own behaviour and decisions. Also consider that their interview performance and body language will be affected by nerves, confidence and other factors such as neurodiversity or cultural norms. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Enjoy yourself<\/strong>. Yes, really! Think of interviews as an opportunity to meet lots of fascinating people and hear about their lives, what a privilege that is. You will also be stretching your own skills and knowledge. If you are nervous, try reframing that as anticipation or curiosity. And remember the candidates will definitely be more nervous than you!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/staffdevelopment\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/602\/2025\/04\/erick-matahine-OTJPQQmdI0Y-unsplash-1.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nMake sure you have completed your Unconscious Bias training<\/strong><\/a> before you join any panel. This inclusive language and communication module<\/strong><\/a> is recommended too. And for an interesting take on good conversations generally, I love this TED talk from Celeste Headlee<\/strong><\/a>. Whilst not specifically about selection interviews it includes some relevant ideas. This article explores<\/strong><\/a> a wide range of different types of bias.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Juliet Flynn, Learning and Organisational Development Team<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Many of us have had experience in an interview setting \u2013 either as an interviewer or being interviewed. It can be an uncomfortable and nerve-wracking time, with potentially quite a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136217,"featured_media":7130,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1138,989,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-can-i","category-inclusion","category-leadership"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"authorName":"Juliet Flynn","featuredImage":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/staffdevelopment\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/602\/2025\/04\/vitaly-gariev-CGCXJJlkpOQ-unsplash.jpg","postExcerpt":"Many of us have had experience in an interview setting \u2013 either as an interviewer or being interviewed. It can be an uncomfortable and nerve-wracking time, with potentially quite a […]","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/staffdevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/staffdevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/staffdevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/staffdevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/136217"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/staffdevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7126"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/staffdevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7126\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7186,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/staffdevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7126\/revisions\/7186"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/staffdevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/staffdevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/staffdevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/staffdevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- Enjoy yourself<\/strong>. Yes, really! Think of interviews as an opportunity to meet lots of fascinating people and hear about their lives, what a privilege that is. You will also be stretching your own skills and knowledge. If you are nervous, try reframing that as anticipation or curiosity. And remember the candidates will definitely be more nervous than you!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n
- Bias<\/strong>. It\u2019s very easy for personal bias to creep into a selection process. And I don\u2019t just mean the obvious horror stories of discrimination like \u201cSo are you planning to have children soon?\u201d. Don\u2019t do that, obviously. But bias can be so much more subtle and often unintended. For example, when we are drawn to people \u201clike us\u201d \u2013 whether that\u2019s gender, race, background, profession, sports teams \u2013 we can inadvertently consider their answers more favourably or develop a more positive rapport. When we are interviewing internal candidates, this can be more prevalent and so is one to watch out for. Having a panel interview and consistent questions will reduce the impact of this, but you have a responsibility to check your own behaviour and decisions. Also consider that their interview performance and body language will be affected by nerves, confidence and other factors such as neurodiversity or cultural norms. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Connect<\/strong>. Remember the interview isn\u2019t there to trip them up, it\u2019s to give them every opportunity to be at their best. Your part in that is being clear and calm and putting them at ease. Give them space to pause and think, or the chance to come back to a question if they are really stuck. Be interested in what they are saying, keep the tone conversational and check your own body language. And don\u2019t forget to offer them time at the end to ask their questions and add anything further.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Questions<\/strong>. Ask good ones! You will have a fixed set of questions you will be asking each candidate, and they must relate to the requirements of the role. Follow up or probing questions will need to respond to the answers they have given. Not just what has piqued your personal interest, they must directly relate to the criteria or competence you are exploring. Think of these follow up questions as another opportunity for the candidate to give you a full answer and fill in any gaps that their first answer didn\u2019t quite reach. \u201cCan you tell me a little more about your direct involvement in that\u201d, \u201cWhat reflections do you have about how you might do it differently next time\u201d \u201cWhat specific methodology did you use in that situation\u201d. Keep them clear, succinct, open and interesting.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n