Improve your candidate interview experience
To create a great recruitment process and to start securing more of the people you want, it's so important to consider, what I like to call your "candidate process experience".
To set yourself apart from other companies, it's not that difficult and can be done with some time investment but at zero cost to the business. I'm going to share a few top tips you can implement today which will enable you to do so. With these top tips ideally every candidate that goes through your process if selected, accepts the job or if they are not selected, have had such a great impression they start recommending their friends or colleagues to your business.
- Finding a new job is not always the easiest of tasks to do and can be quite daunting, especially if people are a bit introverted. What's important to remember is your candidate will only ever have one job and it's emotionally important to them, so creating a process that is stress-free & informed will help candidates to feel psychologically secure when entering a process with your company, this will also help them perform better, open up easier and be more authentic - giving you the best possible reflection on them as a person. The best way to do this is to give an overview of the interview process from start to finish in detail and send it to the candidate before the process has started. How many interviews they will have? How long they will approximately last? Who they are likely to meet in what rounds and if a technical task is to be done an overview of what it is and give them the resources they might need to prepare. If you have a product, give them access to play around with it before the interview - also a great way to see how motivated they are by questioning them about it during the interview.
A short video explaining this process can be incredibly useful and unlike a written process will also keep the candidate more engaged.
- Remember the interview is a two-way street and the candidates will also be evaluating you just as much as we evaluate them. Don't fall into the trap of just bombarding the candidate with your questions. Remember what it feels like to be in their position as you will most likely have been a candidate yourself. Engage them in conversation and encourage them to ask questions as it's important for them to also understand if they feel they are a good match for you in terms of working culture, values, responsibilities and growth options. How to do it - Ask your candidate to come to the interview prepared with a minimum of 5-10 questions of what they would like to know about you, the company and the job. After initial introductions get them to ask their questions first. Even think about telling the candidate you are going to reverse the start of this interview so they have the chance to interview you. If they know more about you and what the plans are for the business the more likely they can decide whether they are aligned & want to join you on your journey.
- Invite them to lunch with possible colleagues of the team. This gives the candidate the chance to observe how the team interacts with each other and gives them a real feeling for the culture and environment which carries far more weight than what you can say in a discussion.
- At the end of each interview round, offer a short check-out. Ask if they have any more questions or if anything is unclear to them. Make sure they have all the information they need to decide on moving forward to the next stage or even accepting the job.
- Always give feedback should you hire them or not. Remember a candidate has invested their time into your process. It's the very least you could do and I believe it's the right thing to do. Not getting any feedback at all will most likely leave a bad taste in people's mouths and despite how good your process was will leave your employer brand in danger of bad reviews which can spread so easily. If you are rejecting a candidate help soften the blow by offering a small gift for the time they have invested. Maybe a voucher or if your business has a product they can use give it to them for free or at a discount.
Help create a memorable and pleasant experience for your candidates and you will be able to close more the people you want and also get more referrals & applications form the A-players you need.
By Paul Turner - Director / Co-Founder - DigiTech Search
Comments
Be The First To Post