Your Interview Process and The Candidate Experience

How to Build an Interview Process With Candidate Experience in Mind

Although most interviews have now gone digital, building an interview process with the candidate experience in mind is more important than ever. 

As a recruiting partner, we are exposed to many different interview processes. Some are short and simple and others require multiple steps. There is no right or wrong process, per se, but there must be attention paid to how your process impacts the candidate’s experience. An interview process can include phone interviews, in-person interviews, predictive assessments, technical exercises, and many other ways that will allow your company and candidate to decide if the fit is right. The main thing is, build a process that meets your needs for vetting candidates while respecting the needs of the candidate as well. Some things to consider are:

Know Your Process

Know your process before engaging with talent and/or recruiting partners and make sure everyone understands what that process entails. As long as the process is clearly communicated and adhered to along the way, candidates can plan for and decide if that is a process they wish to enter into.

Stick to Your Process

Stick to your process. Surprise steps that pop up once a candidate is well into the interview stage are not well received. The ability to meet expectations throughout the interview process reflect well on a company and differentiate a Company from their competition.

Have Company and Candidate in Mind

Ensure that every step in your process provides value to the Candidate and Company. Make sure that everybody the candidate is talking to is necessary for the decision-making process and is representing the company in a positive light.

Stick to the Scheduled Timeline

Be prepared to stick to the scheduled timeline. Provide feedback in a timely manner to maintain a level of engagement so the candidate does not lose interest in your company or begin assuming your silence reflects a lack of interest. Remember, kills all deals!

Condense Your Steps

Condense multiple steps where you can. Understand that the candidate you are interviewing is most likely employed elsewhere and taking time off from work to talk with you. Respect their time and make the process as conducive to their needs as you can.

Allow the Candidate to Ask Questions

Make sure your interview provides a candidate the opportunity to ask questions and gather all of the information they will need to make a decision on whether the role and company are right for them. Most great candidates have multiple opportunities and you need to be prepared to show them why your company is where they want to apply their unique skills and talents.

Conclusion

Even in today’s unique environment, the competition for talent is still a major challenge for employers, so differentiating your organization is a must to attract the type of talent you want and need to grow your company. If Who Staffing can help you in any way with building a process that allows you to win the war on talent, please feel free to reach out to start a conversation or go here for more information about us.