The interview is essential to the hiring process. You can write the best job description, post on the most popular job boards and offer competitive wages but if you can’t bring it all home with the interview process, all that effort is wasted.
When the interview process is done effectively, it allows you the precisely determine the applicant’s skills, experience, personality and if they can meet the job’s requirements. And, hiring the right candidates decreases the need to rehire, reducing turnover. Take our quiz to see how your interview process stacks up.
1. How much time and effort goes into your screening process?
A. We just bring everyone in
B. We do a quick call with applicants to weed out any unqualified candidates
C. Our ATS automatically filters out resumes that don’t meet the position qualifications. We also send a skills test to the candidate that we can go over beforehand.
Why It Matters: Recruitment is time-consuming, and expensive, process. Not screening your candidates before bringing them in for an interview just wastes their time and yours. Ideally, screening should be done automatically through your applicant tracking system or at the very least a phone call beforehand.
2. How easy is it to set up an interview time?
A. Interview time? We just call the candidate when it’s convenient for us.
B. We go back and forth quite a bit to find a time that fits.
C. We use an automatic system that reaches out to the candidate and schedules the interviews for us based on our calendars.
Why It Matters: If you can’t get scheduling the interview right, the candidate might think that inefficiency seeps over to your other processes, putting them off accepting the job.
3. How welcoming is your interview set up?
A. We give candidates a date and time and let them figure out the rest.
B. We try to set up a phone call, but technical issues frequently pop up.
C. We send candidates reminders about the meeting along with other tidbits like our dress code, who will be there and what we’ll talk about.
Why It Matters: Candidates don’t need to fight for every job. According to the latest job statistics, they currently have the upper hand because there are more jobs available than applicants. Making it comfortable and easy for them to interview at your company will set you apart.
4. Who do you have present at the actual interview?
A. An assistant. We don’t have time to have key people there since we don’t know if this candidate will work out or not.
B. We have an HR person lead the interview. They don’t know about the position, but they can share the details about the company as a whole.
C. We have an HR person, direct manager and potential co-workers. We try to give potential candidates a clear picture of our company.
Why It Matters: Company culture is very important to employees. One in five employees has left a job due to workplace culture. Having a nice (but still small) representation of your company at the interview helps candidates get an idea of what it will be like to work there.
5. How much time do you take to prepare?
A. Prepare?
B. A bit, but we could do better.
C. We make sure to prepare the interview agenda, develop questions that will help us uncover our ideal candidate qualities and prepare for questions from the candidate.
Why It Matters: Your interview process will go much smoother, and be more productive, if you have a plan in place to vet your candidate. Plus it will show your candidate that you’re already investing in them, which helps them become engaged from the start.
6. How much do you focus on listening at an interview?
A. I’m here to do the talking.
B. I ask the candidate some questions.
C. We like to add follow-up questions based on what the candidate is saying. It gives us a better sense of what the candidate values in the workplace.
Why It Matters: Employees want to feel heard and when they are, they’re 4.6 times more likely to feel empowered and perform better. (Inc.) if you’re not listening to your employees during the interview process, you’re probably not doing it once they’re hired.
7. What do you do to seal the deal?
A. Nothing. If they want the job, they’ll let us know.
B. We ask if they have any questions and thank them for coming in.
C. We thank them, remark how we think they’d be a good fit (if applicable) and remind them about our company culture.
Why It Matters: If you get a good feeling about the candidate from the interview, take immediate steps to follow up and reinforce your company’s good qualities. Remember, it’s a candidate’s market and that great candidates likely have other companies wooing them.
Scoring: How Good Is Your Interview Process?
Mostly A’s: There goes another one.
Just as your candidate leaves the interview, whoosh, they’re probably onto the next job. Your company might be great, but based on your interview process, the applicant certainly doesn’t think so.
You likely need to build an interview process from the ground up. Start by making sure scheduling is easy and by preparing ahead of time to meet the candidate. Giving a little extra attention to the candidate will pay off big time as that candidate will remember how they were treated, setting your company apart from the competition.
Recommended Reading: Developing an Interview Process for Your Business
Mostly B’s: You’re on your way.
You’re doing an ok job of interviewing candidates but there are some places you can tweak. Scheduling is one of the most time-consuming parts of the process, but one of the most essential. There are tools available, like recruiting AI and texting, that can automate the process by interacting with your candidate and checking the schedules of everyone involved to easily come up with the best time to meet. Also, an ATS can help pull a lot of useful information from candidates so you not only are seeing the best options, but you have some background to craft compelling questions.
Recommended Reading: Everything You Need to Know About AI for Recruitment
Mostly C’s: You’re a superstar!
You’re doing so much right, we’d be shocked if you let a lot of candidates slip through your fingers. Keep company culture at the forefront of this process and make sure to show applicants how they’ll fit in. While culture is important, so is compensation (your candidate ultimately has bills to pay). Be open and honest about compensation from the jump, especially how the candidate can grow professionally and monetarily at your company.
Recommended Reading: How to Talk About Pay with Your Employees
