Once you have a pool of applicants, the next step in the hiring process is the interview. Let each applicant know when and where to show up for the interview, and also be clear about any supplemental information that you want them to bring. If you didn't get names and contact information of references before, now is a good time to ask for them. You can check references either before or after the interview. Do whichever works best for you.
Have a plan for the interview. Be organized. Ask every applicant the same questions in roughly the same order so that the flow will be similar for all applicants.
Have a separate sheet for each applicant, and take careful notes during the interview. Based on the skills and requirements of the position, rank each applicant using some pre-determined criteria. For example, if you are looking for an employee who will have contact with customers, you might want to include some criteria such as "ability to communicate orally" and then rank each applicant on a scale of 1 to 4. Another criterion might be prior customer service experience.
During the interview, try to ask a lot of "what if…" questions. This gives you a sense of how the applicant interacts with others and how well he or she interprets questions. This kind of question gives you a lot more information to make a good hiring decision.
You might want to set up a "test" situation in which you actually role-play a situation that might come up or have the applicant perform some task (i.e., making change, greeting a customer, etc.).
Before the interview is over, provide time for applicants to ask questions. This provides a good opportunity to learn what concerns they have and what their priorities are. Close the interview by letting applicants know when/how they can expect to hear from you.
Whenever possible, have a second person participate in the interview to help observe and listen. A lot of nonverbal cues occur during an interview, and it will be hard for one person to listen, take notes, observe the applicant, and keep track of the time.
