No matter how much experience you’ve got behind you as a recruiter, arranging an interview can be a frustrating task if you don’t handle it in the right way. Both parties may end up tip-toeing around the matter at hand, not wanting to risk scaring the other off.
However, can you really afford to have these kinds of delays to your interview process? In the current candidate-driven job market, competition for top talent is fierce. An inefficient interview process can leave candidates feeling undervalued and disengaged with what your business is offering them – sending them into the arms of your competitors.
To help you arrange a hassle-free interview process, we’ve devised a guide of key points to remember.
Choose A Suitable Time
As much as the candidate’s needs are important, they should be willing to accommodate your schedule if they’re really invested in the job. You should think about choosing a day where you won’t be swamped with demands, so you can focus your attention on the task at hand.
It’s advisable to choose a mid-morning slot. You won’t still be half-asleep like most of us tend to be around 8am, but your mind will be more focused than it might be in the afternoon. This is essential for delivering presentations, asking questions and recording answers.
You’ll also be more alert and able both to spot winning characteristics and to look out for warning signs that suggest a candidate won’t be a good fit for your company.
Communicate With Your Candidate
While it’s important that the candidate shows they’re willing to adapt to your schedule, you don’t want to send the message that you think your time is more valuable than theirs. Moreover, if you choose to schedule individual interviews rather than group assessments, it’s easier to be flexible.
As mentioned above, think about options for interview slots that would fit into your weekly schedule. Once you’ve chosen a few that you’d be happy with, communicate these to the candidate as soon as possible.
This shows that you appreciate they have their own busy schedule and hopefully they’ll be able to make one of these dates. If not, ask them when they’re available and see if this fits into your plans.
Use Email, Not Telephone
You might have spoken to a candidate on the phone before inviting them to a face-to-face interview, which is great. But when it comes to sorting the logistics of an interview, the telephone is not your friend.
This is because you are both less likely to remember what’s been decided. A candidate might be worrying so much about making a good impression that they panic and forget to write the information down.
The advantage of inviting a candidate to an interview by email is that it allows to you to go into detail about the process. This is a resource which both you and the candidate can draw upon if uncertain about any details. Hopefully this means you won’t be bombarded with questions from them, too!
We suggest including:
- The date and time of the interview
- Who to report to on the day
- The structure of the interview and how long it should last
- Any documents they need to bring
- The dress code of the office
- Your office location.
If you do choose to arrange an interview by phone, always follow up with an email confirming the key points.
Plan Your Conversation
This goes without saying, but when you arrange an interview, you’ll need to plan interview questions to ask your candidates. You’ll be gathering a lot of information in a short space of time. Planning in advance will ensure that you ask the most relevant questions and are able to form an accurate idea of the candidate’s skills and experience.
Bearing in mind you’ll have a lot of information to record to help you make your decision, it’s worth asking a couple of colleagues if they’d be available to assist you during the interview. Usually, this will be a manager or a senior member of HR.
Before you go into the interview, you can also brief them on the questions you’re planning to ask and get some feedback. It never hurts to ask for a second opinion!
Make Your Team Aware
Once you’ve fine-tuned the interview details in terms of candidates, you should make people in the office aware that you’ll be holding interviews. Of course, staff should be behaving appropriately no matter what. However, it’s good to have them on board with what you’re trying to achieve as this will help to provide a positive interview experience.
Arrange to show candidates around certain areas of the office that you think they’d be interested in as part of the interview. Perhaps ask a few members of staff from these selected areas if they’d be happy to do a small Q&A for candidates. This will add a personal touch to your interview process, and help you identify if the candidate will get along with your team.
Summary
Arranging an interview should be a straightforward process, providing you get organised. A streamlined interview process will reflect well on your company and reduce levels of stress for the candidate. Alongside this, it will increase the chances of you hiring a fantastic employee, so make sure you know how to arrange an interview!