The interview process can often be misunderstood, so here are some tips on getting it right.
Interviewing is a two-way street. Yes, it is your opportunity to find out more about the candidate sat in front of you however it is also their chance to understand more about your company and for them to decide if they want to work for you.
Recruitment done poorly is costly both financially and potentially to your reputation. If a bad decision is made it could also result in a loss of productivity and a negative effect on the team.
If the experience isn’t great; we are all guilty of oversharing a bad experience and this will impact your reputation so getting it right is importance. According to StandOutCV – 50% of candidates will not purchase goods or services from a company after a bad job application experience. And they are likely to tell their friends and family.
Have you gone through the interview process via your candidates’ eyes? Is it clear what your company values are? Are you being clear about your culture? Remember what it is like to be the other side of the table!
Here are our top 3 tips to make the whole experience a better one for the candidate and enhance your company reputation:
- Get the Team Involved
Nothing shows off your company culture more than the team. Let your candidate meet not only their manager but some other key people such as team members they could be working with. You could arrange a coffee or a lunch with the final shortlist and see how they gel with the existing team, and it gives the candidate an opportunity to meet more people and see how they feel they would fit in.
Also value your team’s opinion, ask them what they thought of the candidates.
- Keep the Line of Communication Open
Make sure the candidate is kept in the loop throughout the process. Keeping the candidate engaged not only shows you are interested but also how you operate as a company. If they must chase you for feedback its not leaving a good impression or making them feel important or wanted.
A candidate could be interviewing for multiple roles, and you don’t want to get left behind because you didn’t keep in touch. If there is a delay to the process let them know, it is likely a candidate will assume that no news means they are no longer being considered and will pursue other options.
Extend this past the offer stage, if your chosen candidate has a notice period to work before they join you, what can you do to keep in touch? Depending on the role their notice period could be up to 3 months. Keep them engaged by inviting them to any social events you might do or keeping them in the loop of any significant business news.
- Feedback
Make sure you always feedback to a candidate. Good or bad they can learn from this. If you are rejecting them but the experience has been a positive one to that point, the candidate may keep invested and only share positive words about the experience, if not, they could be telling your future candidate pool to stay away, and this reputation can spread and damage future recruitment efforts.
If the interview process is filling you with dread, or you want to make sure it can be a positive experience for you and the candidate then please get in touch and SliceRecruit can support you through the process.