Interviewing Skills Course for Council Panel Members
Techniques to conduct fair and objective interviews
In today’s competitive job market, with increasing service expectations from the community, councils can’t afford to make mistakes in hiring. A well-prepared interview panel ensures a fair, transparent and bias-free process so you select candidates on their merits.
If you are part of a council interview panel, this course provides the tools and techniques to conduct structured and fair behavioural interviews. You’ll learn to gather evidence effectively and help the hiring manager make informed, equitable and unbiased hiring decisions.
Target audience
This Interview Mastery for Council Panel Members course is designed for groups of employees in your council, whether recruiting internal or external candidates. It suits hiring managers, team leaders and other colleagues involved in the recruitment process who want to enhance their interviewing skills and take a fair and structured approach to candidate selection.
Learning outcomes
In this Interview Mastery for Panel Members course, participants will learn how to:
- Apply recruitment best practices to enhance candidate experience
- Structure interviews to ensure success and fairness
- Identify and assess cultural competencies and alignment with council values
- Ensure the panel adheres to policies for diversity and inclusion
- Conduct interviews that are merit-based, free from bias and compliant with the law
- Apply behavioural interviewing techniques to gather evidence, including questioning, probing, and note-taking
- Score and evaluate candidate responses objectively.
Ideal duration
1/2 day or 1 day
This course is offered as both a tailored in-house half-day and full-day workshop.
The half-day workshop is designed for organisations with established competency and behavioural questions and robust HR support for the panel. It focuses on understanding key concepts and legislative requirements and practising interview demeanour and questions.
The full-day workshop is a comprehensive program that includes establishing or refining role requirements and selection criteria, creating behavioural interview questions, and containing more in-depth exercises and extended interviewing skills practice.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is behavioural interviewing, and why is it effective?
Behavioural interviewing is a method that asks the candidate to talk about specific past experiences. By asking candidates about real-life examples (and not hypothetical situations), it indicates more tangible evidence of behaviours, allowing for a more thorough evaluation of their skills. Research shows that behavioural questions are better predictors of future performance than hypothetical questions. This approach helps reduce bias and forms merit-based decisions.
How can we ensure our interviews are bias-free?
Structured interviews with standardised questions and scoring criteria help reduce unconscious bias. A panel provides a further step towards reducing bias. When multiple panel members focus on evidence rather than assumptions, it ensures a fairer process and strengthens interview practices. Using a uniform way of scoring responses and comparing notes between panel participants is another key way to eliminate biases.
What role does cultural alignment play in hiring?
Cultural alignment occurs when a candidate’s values and behaviours are compatible with the council and the dynamics of the team they would be joining. It fosters better teamwork, engagement, and long-term retention. It’s important to balance cultural fit with diversity and inclusion in hiring decisions; otherwise, teams lack variety in thinking.
How do you design effective behavioural interview questions?
Effective behavioural questions focus on specific scenarios that are relevant to the role. A great method is to frame questions using the STAR technique, requesting that candidates describe the Situation, Task, Action, and Result of a past experience. This structure helps obtain detailed, meaningful responses of demonstrated experience and capability.
What are common pitfalls in interviews, and how can we avoid them?
Things like relying on gut instinct, asking leading or irrelevant questions, and failing to probe for details and facts are common pitfalls in interviews. These can be avoided by preparing thoroughly, sticking to a structured format, and using probing questioning techniques to clarify responses. Panels need to be consistent to treat all candidates equitably.
How can we create a positive candidate experience during interviews?
A positive candidate experience begins with clear communication, a welcoming environment, and respectful interaction. Providing timely feedback and transparency about the process also leaves a lasting impression. When candidates feel valued and respected, they are more likely to see the council in a positive light, even if they are not selected.
Why is note-taking important during interviews?
Note-taking is essential to ensure assessments are based on accurate information rather than a potentially unreliable memory. Then, there is a clear record for panel discussions, which leads to consistency in evaluating candidates. Detailed notes also demonstrate fairness and accountability to the candidate.
How can we evaluate and score responses consistently?
Consistent scoring requires a predefined framework with specific criteria for evaluating responses. Assigning weight to specific skills or attributes can also help prioritise what matters most for the role. Regular checking in with other panel members ensures consistency and fairness throughout the process.
What should we do if the interview process identifies potential biases?
Addressing biases promptly involves discussing observations between panel members and referring back to the predefined scoring criteria. Merit-based hiring relies on transparency and accountability during the decision-making process. Regularly reviewing and updating interview practices fosters continual improvement.
Live virtual workshop testimonials
Suzanne was fantastic, lovely, very entertaining and extremely knowledgeable. I found the program very beneficial. Will help me become more confident when presenting at workshops and addressing landholders, peers and industry bodies. Fantastic couple of days. Very constructive. Would highly recommend to others wishing to build on or improve their written and communication skills
Matthew was a fantastic presenter, it was a great workshop. The training was most enjoyable. It was delivered in a professional but relaxed manner.
Ian's ability to bring our diverse group of people along with mindful consideration of our individual aims for our experience of the day was exceptional. He is an outstanding facilitator.
Georgia presented in a natural and engaging way, she was fantastic and imparted valuable knowledge on the team.
Paddy was very knowledgeable, experienced and practical. Very engaging, helpful, experienced, practical, funny and informative. Paddy was creative and used different training techniques (eg.whiteboard, butchers paper, TED video example, role playing). He was fantastic and I would recommend this course.
The course was really good. Mark was well experienced and happy to provide as much information as he could. I was happy with the content of the course.
The program was extremely well tailored to my needs and David explained it in a way which was easy to comprehend. I am feeling a lot more confident in my ability.
Ian was very engaging.
Really enjoyed how interactive the day was. It was very engaging and made me think more about the way I communicate. Mark was really engaging and fun. He looked to use for answers; wasn’t a lecture. Really showed how ice breakers work.
Very engaging and made the content very easy to follow and presenting comfortable.
Definitely feel more confident and I’m able to add content to my presentation. Graham adapts to all learning styles quite well.
David really helped me achieve more direction and motivation about my role. The program added value to my role as a trainer and challenged existing perspectives on training. I found everything useful particularly engagement over content.
After course I feel more confident and able to put together an engaging presentation. Paddy is an excellent, engaging, professional teacher – informative, fun, able to comprehensively answer any questions posed.
Very informative session that will definitely support me in giving more engaging presentations. Mark has lots of knowledge, tips and energy.
Andrea was very engaging and approachable. Her workbook was excellent and she helped me to remind me of the importance to plan and keep the presentation concise and exciting.
I have had presentation training a few times, and this is by far the best training I’ve ever had! I have learnt so many tips and tricks from this training that I’ve never heard of before, and Simon was engaging and was motivated to help us achieve our goals.
Exactly what we were after. Thank you so much Sarah and team!
The course really took it to another level and has 100% addressed what I wanted to get out of this course. The facilitator was excellent and really worked to build a friendly, encouraging and constructive environment.
The Presenting with Impact Course far exceeded my expectations and I now feel more confident when presenting and have developed many helpful tools to create a punchy presentation.
Exceptionally engaging and challenging course that encourages all to have a go and improve. Simon is a full professional with obvious experience. Very engaging.
The course and facilitator were great, would recommend to everyone within BMW. I have gained confidence in knowing what to do, makes a difference.
Brenda was fantastic and really helped me simplify my presentation to get the message across.
I have already filled out the feedback you sent us but I wanted to provide a little more in terms of the impact it has had. The week after the workshop I gave a couple of presentations at the Grad induction. So much of what Simon went through with us was relevant. In particular the way to craft a presentation quickly (the stem plan), his advice on slides and the discussion around impact statements and presence. I tried out all of the above and am pleased to say it worked incredibly well! I’m conscious that positive feedback is not always highlighted and so I wanted to see if you could pass this on to Simon. He definitely had an impact on all of us and we have discussed things we’ve learned since the workshop several times with everyone agreeing it was one of the most impactful and useful workshops we’ve done at Specsavers.
Simon was an engaging facilitator and would evolve the topics and questions as we asked. He was personable to each of us and help us all along on our individual journeys no matter how anxious or professional we appeared. Really enjoyed the session!
Ian was very engaging and was an enjoyable facilitator. I was surprised and impressed by tips I got out of the workshop.
Simon is so inspiring. Very engaging and memorable workshop from beginning to end. I’m certainly going away with a lot more confidence and the tools I need to improve.
It was a fantastic session, walked away with so much knowledge about presenting. I enjoyed how comfortable Mark made us feel, it was a safe space to learn, small group was a great idea, and everything Mark said from start, even the way he introduced himself was all part of the learning which was fantastic.
Simon created an engaging, safe, constructive and enjoyable learning environment. Great course - well run and a strong mix of theory and practice.
Dana is a very engaging presenter. Lots of great tips and role modelling of good presentation skills.
Graham knows what he’s on about. Gave me confidence in speaking.
Lynne’s workshops are always fantastic – was so pleased to see her at the front of the room when I walked in! Walked out of the session feeling like I had learnt a lot and had fun doing it. Lynne is so friendly, positive and engaging. Lynne really wants us to learn and succeed.
Justine is clearly passionate about Presenting – this combined with her knowledge made the course infectious.
The course was very informative and interesting. I have taken lots of new tips and skills that I will use moving forward. I learnt how to engage the group more and tips to improve my delivery.
This was the most practical training I have received. This session has taught me things I will take away and utilise for a long time. Mark was extremely engaging.
I’ve done several presentation courses but this one was the best! Very knowledgeable and effective trainer, great takeaway practical take away points.
Outstandingly good training session, definitely worth the time investment. I not only benefited for my own application of presentation methods, I also think it was a great organisation capacity building experience demonstrating values of 'One Mitchell' and 'Continuous Improvement'.
This session was highly informative and made a big difference when giving our final presentation. Simon was both a great teacher and an excellent example of what great presenting should be.
Knowledgeable and personable, Sarah's a very confident presenter so I felt in very capable hands.
This is not your average communication training session. If you want some real skills that will help you personally and professionally this is it! Suzanne was brilliant. Highly engaging and brought light to some very interesting thoughts and methods. I thought I had some skills in this are but I’ve been turned on my head. Mindblowing information and learnings. I would have liked another day (I would never normally say this).
Simon was great in motivating us to be more confident when we speak. He was full of great little tips to stop the bad habits some of us had while presenting. There were so many great little presenting tips that I feel will help me out in the future and be more confident while presenting.
Justine is great, she is positive & engaging and she has provided us with valuable tips and taught us a lot about presenting with impact. I would recommend this course to my colleagues, this is a great course. Thanks very much, for fantastic course, Justine.
Paddy is a great facilitator with a fantastic learning style. I have completed the course with newly developed skills. Paddy is fun, entertaining, approachable, knowledgeable and always professional. I learnt a lot from him over the two days. This course was a great intro into developing the skills to Present with Confidence. Paddy was a fantastic facilitator. Would highly recommend! I appreciated that we were asked what we wanted out of the course prior to commencing (survey). I felt like everything I mentioned in survey was addressed.
Hands on confidence builder before a presentation at a conference. Lynne was clear, with excellent timing and top tips. Lynne brought the learning to life. Thank you!
I really enjoyed this workshop and liked the element of everyone presenting on a topic of their choice. Hugely worthwhile and would recommend to others.
Paddy is a great guy. Knowledgeable and professional. The course has me feeling a lot more confident about my upcoming presentation.
Mark is an excellent facilitator and his courses are always practical and enjoyable. It was great to practice, receive feedback and learn effective ways to structure and deliver a presentation. Mark was engaging, kept it moving and creates a safe learning environment.
Mark has a great presentation style. Very engaging and great use of stories and games to keep you engaged. The workshop did deliver great skills and points that I will use for my next presentation.
Great workshop; well-paced with clear and concise information. Lynne’s engaging personality meant that the workshop was lively and interactive. The workshop provides practical skills that will improve my presentation skills and confidence.
Mark was able to handle a large group (10) and keep all engaged and participating. He really showed the value of planning and storytelling for business audiences.
Thanks. I really appreciated the training and happy to see the team interacting during the breakout sessions. Sarah’s content and delivery is well planned considering also the total training time of 3.5hrs.
Simon really listened and paid attention to each of our individual strengths and areas we needed to work on and gave us all helpful constructive feedback. I look forward to implementing new ways to connect with my partners. Interactive - works well in an online format split into 2 sessions. Thank you so much for your mentorship over the last 2 sessions - found the content super helpful and the tools that we can further develop to our presenting skills.
Lynne delivered an excellent 2 day session. It was informative and very worthwhile. Her technique and knowledge are outstanding. The session was very enjoyable and I would recommend this to anyone. Thanks.
Thank you, Mark! Great day and very useful. Heaps of relevant and useful tips and formulas. Mark is a great facilitator – interactive, engaging and knowledgeable.
Great program and facilitator. David was entertaining, engaging and challenging – learned a huge amount from David over the last two days.
My knowledge was sound but practical experience/techniques needed. Paddy presented, created rapport and made the whole thing much more ‘connectable’. I found the course very beneficial. This is one of the best PDs I have attended.
Fantastic program - very rarely do we host training that participants want to extend or wish lasted longer, but that's the response this writing, presenting and communicating with influence course received.
I got so much out of today. I was extremely nervous coming in on the first day. Justine was so welcoming personable and knowledgeable. I really did push myself out of my comfort zone and got a lot in return. Would recommend to everyone.
Not only was it a fun 2 days, but I learnt some powerful tools that I will certainly use in the future to enable me to me a more "focussed & fun" trainer. I would also highly recommend this course to anyone planning to "tread the carpet" in front of audiences, or to further their "quiver of tools" moving forward. Thanks to Lynne - the two days were one of the best "work days" that I have had, thank you.
Quite an informative session. Joanne was excellent. I enjoyed the session immensely.
Andrea worked well with the team. I needed a formula for preparing presentations and now I have one! The content we gained was invaluable, especially the websites and the authors to look up later.
Matt was engaging and created a safe space for learning. Great day. Good to do as a team to work together and increase confidence. The content of the day was excellent and a good opportunity for reflection and practice. Matt was a great presenter and engaged the audience.
Excellent, very engaging and well presented. One of the better training days I've had! Excellent.
Extremely valuable.
Thank you Gary I learnt a lot.
Amazing presenter! I think every person in the class learnt a lot and were significantly more confident at public speaking by the end of the session. Tricks Simon taught us were definitely useful while presenting the case study.
Matt was a very engaging presenter who imparted a huge amount of practical information & tips to take away and implement immediately in our presentations.
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