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The Importance of the Interview Process in Today’s Market

Interview Process

Interview Process in Today’s Market

In today’s market, it is important to act fast throughout the interview process. I have seen a lot of companies miss out on a perfect candidate because they took to long contemplating and not acting on hiring that person.

Figure out the “HOW” and forget about standard interview process.

Review your internal interview process and determine how to shorten the time. Gain buy in from your Hiring Managers and manage their expectations and commitment prior to interviewing. Agree to commit to a certain timeframe for availability (in-person, over the phone, video, etc.) so you stay on track and refrain from prolonging the process which increases the chance of disengagement.

Increase your level of candidate engagement. 

What do you currently do with the time between a phone interview, in-person interview, offer letter, etc.? If you have 3 days between interviews, you’re allowing your competition 3 days to take that candidate from you. Think about dating… would you let your potential new significant other go hang out with another potential suitor? No. You’re wining & dining, engaging in memorable experiences and consistently calling or connecting with that person. Do the same with candidates!

Before the phone screen, send the candidate your company page, the “about us” page, differentiators AND don’t forget the LinkedIn profile or Bio of the person they’ll be speaking with. If all goes well and you decide to move that candidate to an in-person, do so immediately with little time between the days they’re interviewing. If there is a day or two in between the phone screen and the in-person, send them the company’s Facebook page, Instagram, Twitter, press releases, news or something to help keep you on the forefront of their mind. If you schedule a final interview and you have a couple days between the 1st and final interview, send them the benefits package, perks, total employee offering sheet or anything to help keep them engaged. While your competition is allowing candidates to go days between interviews without hearing anything from the company, you’re consistently marketing your company and opportunity to them.

Competing with companies that offer more than you do.

I’ve seen companies that offer a much more rewarding total employee valuation lose out to competitors that don’t offer as much because they didn’t have an opportunity to share that information with the candidate. The company with a lower value offering won over the candidate through their process in 72 hours with consistent engagement. The company that offered better benefits, more pay and incentives never had the opportunity since they were still waiting for the in-person with the Hiring Manager after a phone screen with HR.

Create fan bases to increase exposure to passive candidates:

Hire the talent you want faster and create this amazing candidate experience that creates fan clubs for your company. If you hire 1, you want the other candidates in consideration to have a great experience, so you can benchmark them for a future opportunity or have them retain the positive image of your company. They’ll be more receptive to a company that they had a great experience with versus one that took a month to get them through the process and ended up showcasing a mediocre experience.

People Talk……Friends, coworkers, family and their network!

Candidates may one day be a customer, an employee, a provider or an influencer.

Recent Example:

  • Person A is interviewing at your company.
  • Person A shares with Person B about their upcoming interview.
  • Person B interviewed with your company 2 years ago for a different position.

Think about Person B’s experience and what you want Person B to say to Person A. They may be able to influence Person A’s interest before the actual interview. The goal is to have Person B rave about your company and what a great experience they had even though they were not selected for the position. Person A will already be more excited about the opportunity without you having to do anything.

Hire the talent you want better, faster and create lasting relationships through a positive candidate experience.

What can you do to your hiring process? Click on the link to see more tips on how to make the hiring process faster.

Kyle

Kyle Anderson, Talent Acquisition Partnerships

Instructor of Talent Acquisition & Retention at CSUSM

1O years in Talent Acquisition and staffing industry with an emphasis on business development