When I first joined the IT recruitment scene I got quite the culture shock, coming from a background of working in Human Resources. By contrast, the IT world is much more fast-paced and competitive, with several companies vying for candidates from a limited pool of top programmers.

So what do you do when you're not trained in recruitment and conducting interviews? Here are 5 tips that might help you with the technical interview process!

1. The candidate coming in is probably nervous and possibly intimidated. Put yourselves in their position, try to remember the last time you went for an interview. How would you have wanted to be treated? As a number or a human being? That was a rhetorical question.

Treat the candidate as you would want to have been treated at an interview. Introduce yourself first, talk about the company and the team to make the person comfortable before diving into more technical questions.

What not to do: Go to the candidate and plop them in front of the computer with instructions for an exam and disappear.

What to do: Make eye contact. Make an effort to be friendly, but still professional. Yes, this is not in your job description, but you may be working with this person down the line and first impressions count. Or, on the contrary, the candidate may be put-off by an impersonal approach and decline the offer (or worse yet, not show up on their first day).

It’s okay to make some small talk. This only has to last 2 or 3 minutes. And hey, you get to practice your social skills. First impressions count, in both directions. They have to impress us, but we equally have to impress them.

2. Assume that the candidate will be getting pressure from their current employer to stay (and possibly be offered a raise). As an interviewer, you may very well be the tipping point that will decide which way forward the candidate decides to go. What you say and how you behave with them will have a lasting impact on their final decision.

3. Prepare the interview ahead of time by reviewing their CV. You should have all access to the CVs. If you don’t, contact HR for a soft or hard copy. Again, this is about teamwork and collaboration. A few minutes of preparation and mindfulness can have far-reaching effects.

4. Of course, the final outcome is out of our hands. They may fail the exam. They make stay with their current employer. They may come to work for a few days and then stop. But we can do our little part a little better and take baby steps towards a truly impressive interview process, keeping in mind the company values that we represent and also want to convey to our candidates. We are looking for high-quality talent, so we deliver high-quality interviews.

Contact HR if you want some coaching on your interview questions or anything else.

5. Finally, have a chat with HR should there be questions regarding a candidate. Sometimes words exchanged face to face have greater value than those online. Also, it will let you stretch your legs.

So, do you feel more ready to face and interview candidates now? If not, then do as the experts say, "Practice, practice, practice."