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The interview experience is more important than ever.
We’re providing 10 Tips for improving your interview process and perspective to consider when you interview people to join your team.
The current market is incredibly competitive. (Maybe you’ve heard?!)
What does this mean for employers?
You need to SELL your opportunity! (No, selling does NOT mean lying)
Highlight why someone should want to work with/for you.
Make a great impression!
Treat the interview process like a customer experience.
Good News…We’re Here to Help!
PERSPECTIVE
- Good candidates have options: Join your team, join another company or stay and wait on another opportunity.
- They take time off work to meet with you.
- They invest time preparing.
- Good candidates are evaluating you as much as you are them.
- There aren’t a lot great candidates available. When you meet one…be sure you’re putting your best foot forward!
10 TIPS
- Be Flexible: Be flexible with your schedule when possible. Simply having someone look at your calendar and seeing that it’s booked isn’t good enough. Can it be moved?
- Have a Good ‘Initial Contact’ Person: Who do candidates speak with first: Hiring manager? Internal recruiter? External recruiter? Human Resources? Make sure they’re good! First impressions are important…both ways!
- Be On Time & Present: Yes, you’re busy. Your time is precious. The people you’re interviewing are busy too. Remember, many of them take time off work to meet with you. Do NOT be on your computer or phone. Can’t believe we have to include that. But, we do.
- Sell Your Opportunity: This is really important. Why should they want to work for you? What does your company offer? What do your best employees love about the company?
- Allow Time for Candidates to Ask Questions: Don’t rush them out the door after you’re done with your questions.
- Create Deliberate & Efficient Interview Process: Plan out how many steps and who’s involved. 1 step can sound great but is often too fast for the candidate. 3 steps is too many for most positions. Higher level positions are an exception. Make sure each step is productive. Many initial phone interviews are not.
- Consistent ‘Message’: Who’s involved in the interview process? There should be conversations about the message you’re sharing with candidates.
- Provide Timely Feedback & Updates: Have you ruled someone out? Tell them. Are they still in the mix but you’re finishing interviews? Tell them. Keep them posted!
- Prioritize Requirements and Commit to the Process: It is rare to find 100% of what you’re looking for. Prioritize. Don’t expect to find 5 people you “could hire”. When you find someone who meets criteria and fits culture, make the hire.
- Make Competitive Offers!
You know what comes to mind when we think about the interview process?
The Golden Rule!
Treat candidates like you want to be treated when you’re a candidate.
Create an interview process you would be excited to experience.
At Platinum Recruiting we add value to the interview process in a variety of ways:
Market a client’s opportunity to build interest with passive candidates, open communication with candidates, keep them updated in timely fashion, set and manage expectations.
We work with and hear of companies that have great interview processes. And…some that do not.
We provide guidance and advice based on these experiences.
Our #1 goal is to find awesome people for our clients. Because we have years of experience we also add value in other ways such as feedback and advice on the interview processes.
Hope you found this helpful!
As always, we would love to hear your feedback and welcome any stories you think might be relevant.