If you’re recruiting in today’s candidate-driven job market, your employer branding can make all the difference in attracting the right calibre and ultimately securing your chosen candidate.
Although the candidate experience is one of the most effective ways of positioning yourself as a top-choice employer it remains one of the most neglected areas of recruitment.
Interviews can be a particularly delicate stage of a candidate’s journey with you. For them, it’s often their first real impression of your organisation, which in the end will have an influence over their decision at offer stage.
As an employer, how can you provide the best interview experience? As recruitment specialists, we can help you ensure you bring out the best in you and your candidates.
The do’s and don’ts of interviewing
Beyond assessing experience and skill fit, a good interview should also allow you – and them – to get a sense of more intangible aspects of employment including company culture fit.
Your interview process should keep the candidate experience at its heart. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
Set the right tone from the start.
We can’t emphasis it enough: maintaining clear and open communication from the very first phone call through to the last interview round is primordial. Besides time and date, it could be a good idea to share:
- How many interviewers will be there, and who they are. Avoid crowded panels as they can make your interview feel like an interrogation and it is more likely for the conversation to derail: so, make sure you are all on the same page!
- Where will the interview take place? If it’s virtual, what platform will you be using? Make sure to send the link ahead of time and if possible, let them pick their preferred method – do they prefer online or face to face? As we transition to a post-covid world, people will be adjusting at different paces so it’s important to respect everyone’s preferences.
- Be clear about workplace etiquette. For instance, your office dress code or company’s policy about handshakes.
- The duration and format of the interview. Should they prepare a presentation? Are there specific questioning styles you will be using? If you can, share resources that will help them to perform well.
- Other details like how to enter the office building as a visitor, documents they must bring, parking and public transport routes are always appreciated.
- Last but not least, your reachable hours and preferred method of contact.
Keep it natural
If you’re meeting in person, give some thought to the setting of the waiting and interview areas. A comfortable chair, access to Wi-Fi and refreshments are easy ways to make people feel welcome and help them visualise themselves working there. Let them know where the bathroom is so they don’t have to ask. It’s quite often the small things that can make a big difference.
If you’re meeting virtually, log on five minutes early to ensure sound, image and the internet are working. As tempting as they are, we don’t recommend virtual backgrounds as they often feel unnatural and artificial. If you’d rather use them, make sure to use them effectively.
Finally, remember to keep the conversation natural. While you’ll need prepared questions to determine candidate fit, it’s important to make them feel at ease and remain open to questions in the end.
Feedback is key
Post-interview communication is a great way of highlighting how much you care for your candidates (and by extension your employees). Remain reachable and open to more questions and provide a clear timeline on what they can expect next.
Providing constructive criticism and feedback will be invaluable for candidates regardless to the outcome of the interview. Our rule of thumb? Make sure it’s:
- Kind
- Helpful
- Specific
Should they receive an offer, this will make them more inclined to accept it. And should they be rejected; this will help prevent burnt bridges and encourage positive word of mouth and reviews for you. Remember: fixing a damaged reputation is much more difficult than providing a positive experience.
At Sitka, our 40 years of combined experience in recruitment has made us true specialists at ensuring an outstanding hiring process for both employers and candidates. If you’d like to have a chat about your recruitment needs, you can always contact us at info@sitka.wales or call us on 029 2048 4520.
To find out how we can work with you, please drop us a line
Karen was committed throughout my interview process as well as afterwards. You can see that she strives for excellence and has the utmost integrity.
Thanks very much for making a potentially stressful activity completely non-stressful!
In all honesty I don’t think there was anything Sitka could have done differently. It was a time when we were struggling to get any applicants for various reasons. To find someone as good as we did is testament to the hard work Karen put in. We would never have found that candidate if we hadn’t used an agency like Sitka and Karen.
In a difficult market, Sitka were able to introduce us to several candidates who were suitable for our vacancies. Karen was so passionate about making sure both Drive and their prospective candidates got a great service and I knew she’d do an excellent job when future roles came up.
Sometimes in recruitment it is a case of being able to look behind the written CV and Karen was able to pull out experience that I had overlooked so that we were able to recruit the right person for us.
Having now worked with Sitka for a number of years, they have a real understanding of the type of people we employ and that the ‘fit’ is as important as having the right skills for the role. Sitka provide an excellent service and make you feel you are their only customer. They are quite unique and such a pleasure to work with.
I have always dealt with Karen and have found the recruitment process generally excellent. The calibre of candidates has always been strong and the candidates also show enthusiasm towards the job and company they are interviewing for. I am very happy with the service we receive from Sitka and we have always appointed from the first round of interviews.