Don’t Be Scared of Interviewing - ApplicantStack
The article from ApplicantStack offers HR and recruiting professionals practical tips to make interviewing less intimidating by emphasizing thorough preparation, implementing structured and consistent interview processes, providing candidates with clear expectations about the interview content, and maintaining transparency throughout to improve candidate experience and hiring outcomes.
It’s spooky season…and for HR and recruiting professionals, that might come in different forms. Imagine a haunted house but it’s conducting interview after interview after interview. Sounds pretty scary, right? But for some, this concept is their everyday. Let’s talk about some tips that can make the interviewing process go more smoothly for everyone involved.
Be Prepared
Our first tip is to be prepared for every candidate who comes through the doors or pops up on your screen. Even a phone screening interview should get some preparation. Go through the candidate’s resume and identify any questions you might have for them or areas you want to discuss. Look over the requirements for the open role and look for questions that can help you identify whether they have strong skills in key areas.
A little preparation goes a long way in coming across as a confident interviewer. Plus, by asking the right questions, you can get information that helps you make a decision about the best candidate.
Improve the Structure
If your company typically wings it in the interviewing process, it’s not very beneficial to anyone involved. Focus on building structured and consistent interview practices to ensure a similar experience across the board. By taking this step, your company can also improve its brand image as an employer, which can impact whether people want to apply for roles.
Offer Insights into What Will Be Discussed
Interviews aren’t just scary for those asking the questions. The people on the other side tend to feel a lot of anxiety, especially if they don’t know what to expect. If possible, prepare candidates by offering insights into what you’re hoping to gain by conducting an interview. When you provide information ahead of time, you may also get better answers from candidates, who have time to think about and prepare relevant examples.
Ensure Transparency from Start to Finish
Our final tip to make interviewing less scary can help you avoid the ghosting that happens more and more on both sides of recruiting. No one wants to deal with ghosts, especially not around the spookiest time of the year, but keeping an open line of communication can prevent ghosting.
Talk to candidates regularly and let them know if they’re no longer in consideration for the open position. Use proven communication methods to increase the chances of them seeing the messages. (Fun fact: text messages have a 98 percent open rate vs. the average email open rate of 21.5 percent.) By staying in contact, you can reduce the chances of candidates disappearing on you. Plus, an open line of communication improves the candidate experience, something that can impact whether people apply for jobs with your company in the future.
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