Top 10 Interview Best Practices
Candidates often say yes when they are offered a position even if they are not planning on taking the job. It is up to the company and its recruiters to create a situation that will assure that when they provide an offer it is accepted and the candidate actually starts.
Here are the top 10 things that recruiters need to do when they are hiring.
- Make the right first impression -- Job candidates know to put their best foot forward, but companies in hiring mode can forget to do the same. That includes everything from seeing that the office receptionist greets the candidate and treats them with respect, to company employees smiling and saying hello as the candidate walks to and from the interview. Creating a recruitment-friendly atmosphere is the job of the whole company. You should never underestimate how important a compelling company culture is to the overall hiring process.
- Have complete and accurate job description - If the position is not clear to the hiring manager, they will not be able to explain it to the candidate. The description should have a good summary that is posted or placed in the ad in addition to the full one which would be understood before the interview starts.
- Have the candidate review the job description before the interview - if the candidate knows the roles and responsibilities of the position they will be much more likely to provide a better picture of how they could fill the role.
- Communicate to the candidate what the interview will entail - Let the candidate know that they will be spending x time in the interview. If there is any testing of any sort they should be aware of that especially if there is a personality or physiological testing process.
- Be prompt - if the interview is scheduled for 3:00, start it at that time. Have a replacement interviewer ready in case the scheduled recruiter is called away for any reason.
- Allow no interruptions - Focus on the candidate. Turn off your cell phone and email notifications. Put your office line on Do Not Disturb. Do not have anything between you and the candidate like a computer display.
- Prepare for the interview - Know who the candidate is and have a set of questions ready to be asked.
- Have materials to be provided to the candidate available - If the recruiter is going to provide any materials see that it is on hand. Put a post-it note on the materials with the candidate's name on the materials. That will show the candidate that they were important enough to cause the company to have materials per-prepared.
- Be enthusiastic make the job be the next best thing to sliced bread - The recruiter should be positive and enthusiastic not only about the job that is being filled but also about the individuals will work with and the company itself.
- Provide a set of next steps at the end of the interview - Tell the candidate what will happen next and when. Do not take too long to make a decision and or schedule a follow-up interview.
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