Tell the candidate a little about the job: While you don't want to dominate the interview time, you should start with a brief summary of the position, including the prime responsibilities, reporting structure, key challenges, and performance criteria. This will help the candidate provide relevant examples and responses. Don't be afraid to improvise: Plan your questions, but don't feel you must ask only those you've chosen in advance. "Be responsive to what the candidate tells you, and build new questions off their answers," says Shelly Goldman, executive recruiter with The Goldman Group Advantage, an executive recruiting firm in Reston, Virginia. Listen: If you are doing most of the talking during theinterview process, you will not be able to obtain enough information to distinguish between candidates or to determine a candidate's true competencies. A general guideline is to spend 80 percent of your time listening and only 20 percent talking. Take notes: While you won't want to transcribe everything the candidate says, do write down important points, key accomplishments, good examples, and other information that will help you remember and fairly evaluate each candidate. An interview guide, prepared in advance, will make note-taking easier and give you a structure for capturing key information. Invite candidates to ask questions during the interview process: This can be the most valuable part of the interview. Why do they want to be here-- is it the challenge of the job, advances in the industry, or something specific about your company? Or is the candidate fixated on salary, benefits, and time off? If the candidate has no questions this should be a red flag, especially for senior-level employees. Make a note of what the candidate asks, and be sure to follow up if you can't provide the answer immediately. Follow legal interviewing guidelines: It is critically important that every interviewer at your company, from HR clerks to top executives, understand and follow legal hiring guidelines. The easiest way to keep your interviews fully compliant is to ask only questions that relate to the job, eliminating the potential for bias by not introducing questions or scenarios that will elicit irrelevant information.