How to Streamline the Interview Process
Did you know that the typical interview is between 30 and 90 minutes long? If you are looking to fill a new spot at your company then we are here to share the top tips to streamline the interview process. During job interviews you are not only looking for the right candidate to fit into your company, you are also looking to make a good impression with a potential hire.
Read on to learn our top tips to level up your interview process.
Be Honest About What You Want
You need to set up clear expectations on whom you are looking for. The best way to do this is by writing out a specific job description with all the skills you require. The more descriptive your description is, the more you will attract qualified candidates.
This will help you decrease the time you spend screening the pool of candidates that apply. When you are writing up the description make sure that it has realistic skills and expectations mentioned in it.
We also recommend making the description unique and informative by adding a company introduction. Here you want to mention how the culture is within the company along with the mission statement that the company follows along with the values. This small introduction will also help you attract candidates that are aligned with your mission and values.
Once you have a clear idea of what you want and the type of person that will best fill the position, make sure you post the job in places where people will find it. You are not only limited to your company website to add the position but also use job boards, social media, and the internet to reach more qualified candidates.
Choose the Right Interviewers
If you won’t be performing the interview then you have to figure out who the best people are to interview the candidates you choose. You want to take into consideration the personality of the interviewer because you want someone that can ask the right questions without making the candidate feel overwhelmed.
It is a good idea to include the future supervisor for the position and a future co-worker at some point in the interview. If you plan on having a panel then in order to not overwhelm the potential employee you want to limit the panel to 5 people but 3 is even better.
Decide How Long the Interview Will Be
Something else that you want to decide ahead of time is how long the interview should be. Usually, non-managerial roles should be around 30 minutes long and manager positions can be up to 90 minutes long.
While you are deciding how long the interview should be, you should also think about where to conduct the interview to best fit this time frame. Think about the most suitable place to get the most honest answers from the potential candidate.
Would the interview be best in a quiet café or in a conference room in your office? Another option is to bring the candidate to a project site and interview them there.
Some companies prefer to first conduct a screening interview over the phone before setting up a time for the candidate to come in person. Doing this first, can save a lot of time and eliminate candidates that are not as qualified for the position.
A pre-screening call should only be around 15 minutes long. The goal is to ask just enough to get an idea about the candidate but not asking questions that are more appropriate in person or during the regular interview.
Interview Questions
Make a list of the skills that are needed for the position. It is best to involve the supervisor for that position and the team to ensure you have a thorough list of skills.
This list of skills along with the job description are perfect to draft up interview questions for the position. Also, use the candidate’s resume to ask more personal questions about past jobs, skills, etc.
Other questions to include during the interview are:
- Why do you think this is a great job for you?
- What do you know about our company?
- Why did you enter this field?
These questions are great to get a better insight into what the candidate is thinking. The key is to go deep in your questions. When an interviewee gives you a short and generic answer, follow up their answer with more questions until you have all the information you need to make an informed decision.
Once the interview is over make sure to let each candidate know that you will be in touch. When you touch base, it will help those potential candidates stay engaged. This helps interviewers keep tabs on which candidates are still interested in the position.
This small action will avoid interviewers from wasting their time chasing people that are no longer interested or that found another position with a different company.
Assess Candidates
You want to make sure that the interview process is as efficient as possible and this is possible by assessing each candidate as effectively as you can. Make sure that everyone on the hiring panel and manager for the position is in agreement on the requirements and qualities that you are looking for in a candidate.
At the beginning of the recruiting process set up crystal clear expectations to avoid any debates when it comes to selecting the best candidate for the position.
One way to make the hiring process as efficient as possible is to sort all the resumes you receive into three different piles. One pile for maybes, one pile for no’s, and one pile for the top resumes.
Once the interviews are complete have the interviewer give a numerical rating to each potential candidate. Ask them to give their input before they speak to a colleague or anyone else to reduce the chances of having their opinion influenced by others.
Do Not Forget Logistics
Make sure you get all the small details in order like blocking the interview space and getting in touch with your candidates to set up interview times. When you are blocking the room for interviews, add an extra 30 minutes just in case the interview goes longer than expected.
When you speak to each candidate give them all the information they need, such as where the interview will be and the length of the interview. Also, give them the name of the interviewer or interviewers and whom to ask for when they arrive. In case they have any sort of emergency, give them a phone number to call and cancel on the day of the interview.
Recruitment Software
If you have ever tried communicating and maintaining hundreds of candidates information, you can agree that this is time-consuming and the chances of making an error are pretty high. This is why we highly recommend using a software that will organize your candidate pool with less effort.
These software programs will typically also come with some type of remote I-9 verification software as well to streamline the paperwork once a candidate is hired. This is one of the best ways to ensure that all your communications with a candidate are tracked in one place to make follow-ups 100 times easier.
Think Beyond the Position
During the interview process you also want to think about the value that the candidate will bring to your organization and company. Not only do you want to make sure they have the technical and necessary skills to fill the position, you need to ensure that their personality and mindset will also fit in.
Taking personality and mindset into consideration will more than likely get you an employee that also contributes to the growth of your company in the future. Always think long term to avoid quick turnover and to hire someone that is compatible with the culture you have created within your company.
Give Constructive Feedback
Every candidate that comes in for an interview should feel like their time was respected even if they don’t get the position. Instead of disappearing and ghosting a candidate, reach out to them and provide them with constructive feedback on why they didn’t land the job.
When you tell them what didn’t work out, give them pointers and tips on what they can do to improve their chances of being hired next time. This small act will give a positive impression about your company and will also encourage them to apply again in the future if they choose.
It is also a great idea to create a survey for candidates to fill out after the interview. This will allow you to improve the entire process for future interviews.
Remove Obstacles
Instead of trying to collect as much data as possible from a potential candidate, make it as easy as possible to apply by removing extra obstacles. When a potential candidate sees a lengthy form just to apply for the position, it can turn them away from filling out the application, no matter how qualified they might be.
Take the platform you are using into consideration. Is it easily accessible and user-friendly? Is the information on the application truly necessary when you are screening a candidate?
Answering these questions honestly will make the entire process a lot smoother and it will also help you attract the best candidates for the job. The key is to ask relevant questions that are not already answered on their resume and that are relevant to the position that is being filled.
You can also use tools where the candidate schedules the interview themselves if they pass the preliminary questions or a quiz. These tools will save you time because you won’t have to call each potential candidate one by one to set up an interview time.
Avoid Common Interview Mistakes
You also want to make sure you avoid common mistakes while you are conducting interviews. One of these is knowing the topics that are off limits by law. For example, you never want to ask a question that will bring up a candidate’s marital status, race, religion, etc.
Also, in some states you are not allowed to ask their salary history by law. Make sure you know what questions to avoid ahead of time to stay out of any legal trouble in the future.
Whenever you find it necessary, go beyond the script you have. This allows you to ask the right follow-up questions to figure out an interviewees experience.
There are a few red flags to look out for as well. An example, is if the candidate doesn’t seem prepared or is only asking about the benefits and salary, then this might be a red flag that they are not the best candidate to fill the position. Other red flags to look out for include: overly confident, bad-mouthing a previous employer, negative attitude, or overly nervous.
Ready to Streamline the Interview Process?
Now that you have our top tips to streamline the interview process for your company, it is time to take action and start lining up potential candidates. Remember to not rush the process to ensure you hire the best person for the open position.
Don’t forget that hiring is not a chore, it is a process that is going to highly impact the success of your company and add to your culture.
Did this blog post come in handy? Please continue browsing the rest of this section for our latest business tips.
