It's been proven that interviewing a candidate via a webcam saves companies time and money. But there are more ways to streamline hiring and improve your interviewing and employee selection process. Hiring staff members who don't have the ability or training to be successful in your company is a waste of your time and forces the interview process to unnecessarily begin again. How can you avoid this? Systemize your interview by creating a standard series of questions based on the behaviors of your best employees. Then ask those questions and demand concrete, behavior-based answers:

For example, Why did you leave or are you leaving your previous place of employment?

Why are there gaps in your employment history? How much experience do you have with the computer systems we use? Direct, fact-based questions and answers keep the interview moving quickly while supplying a vast amount of information.

Behavior-based questions also demand concrete answers: Specifically describe your current job description. At what aspects of the job are you best? Have you worked on team projects that were successful? Describe the projects and your specific roles. Behavior-based questions are task-specific and demonstrate a prospect's ability to concentrate and complete job and project responsibilities. Questions that precise demand focus and detail-orientation.

Hypotheticals and imaginative questions may be interesting to ask, but unless you are seeking candidates for predominantly creative or artistic jobs, concrete, behavior-based interview questions will get you the most useful information in the least amount of time... the most bang for your buck. It's still about the bottom line!

By: Michael Policano, http://blog.livehire.com

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching entry-level jobs and other career opportunities.