Optimising the interviewer and candidate process
When going through the interviewer process there are a few things you need to remember to make sure your candidates feel comfortable.
Before the candidate steps through the door you need to arrange enough time for you to prepare beforehand. This means conducting an evaluation of each candidate and having enough adequate preparation so that you can follow a structure that allows you to assess the candidate.
It’s up to you to create a relaxed atmosphere before they even step into the interview, this will allow you to create the most natural setting and interact with the candidate without them being tense.
Providing candidates with interview guidelines will also help make them more comfortable as they come into the interview feeling more prepared.
Look over the candidate’s resume beforehand, familiarise yourself with their history, background, and personal qualities. This will allow for unstructured questions and more informal conversation without having to constantly read the resume.
This will also allow you to go in-depth to areas that seem unclear or vague, and behaviors that will or won’t fit into the job role.
Prepare role-specific questions, this will allow you to compare answers between candidates, however personalised role-specific questions will mean you can pinpoint attitudes and attributes each candidate has.
Create a stress-free interview process
- Introduce yourself and set the scene, by greeting candidates in a polite manner you will help ease tension they may be feeling, this informal tone will break the ice.
- Explain your interview process and set clear objectives.
- Sell the company and position, take some time to explain a good description of the business, company culture and role.
- Begin with more general questions, this could be surrounding the candidates interest in the position, for example you could vary between situational and behavioural questions.
- Listen attentively and ask them to elaborate on any questions where needed.
- Welcome questions from the candidate, this will mean the candidate has the chance to ask anything that will be helpful in the future and potentially show their own investment and research into the company.
- Indicate how long it will take to get back to them and what the upcoming steps are if they progress to the next stage.
- Conclude the interview, show appreciation for the candidate coming in and leave on a positive note, by being polite this makes a good long-lasting impression on your company.
Whatever candidate you send the offer to, always optimize the candidate experience for each applicant, this will also provide insight whether in the future you need to recruit internally or promote externally in the future.
