Interviewing with Purpose: How to Increase Quality Candidates

Written by Stephanie Burford, PHR, HR Manager at Advisor HR

Interviewing candidates is an important part of business for employers. If the process is overlooked, it can create headaches down the road that will require more work than taking the time to find a quality candidate in the first place. I’ve heard the saying “we just need bodies” or “someone is better than no one at this point” many times throughout my career, but does that really help solve the long-term problem? While every once in a while, you may get lucky, the majority of the time you end up with short term results that have you back to the drawing board.

Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Breaking the cycle and redefining the process is the first step to finding quality, long term candidates. In today’s society, competition is higher than ever. By establishing process and capitalizing on what makes your business different can help attract the right people who believe in the same mission, vision, and values as your organization.

To achieve this outcome, it’s important to establish a process that is efficient, fair, and focuses on high quality hires.

Pre-Interview:

1.          Before a role has been posted externally, develop a job description that accurately reflects the requirements and preferred qualifications of the position.

2.          Establish a hiring team

3.          Identify how interviews will be conducted and the order in which they will be conducted. Example: phone interview done by HR then group interview Line Manager and Hiring Manager. 

4.          Establish a rating scale such as: Below (1), Meets (2), or Exceeds Expectations (3)

5.          Prepare a structured set of questions that align with the role’s requirements.

6.          Review the employee’s resume to ensure their background and experience aligns with the requirements of the position.

Tip: Don’t settle on just posting on Indeed, LinkedIn, or other generic sites. Think outside the box- look at posting on university career pages, go to a career fair, get involved with your local Community Colleges, and ask employees for referrals.

Interview:

1.          Create a welcoming environment:

·       Provide a brief introduction of yourself, the company, and overview of the role.

2.          Allow the employee to provide a rundown of their background, experience, and interest in the opportunity.

·       Ask open-ended questions that allows the employee to elaborate on their experience and skills

·       Ask behavioral and situational based questions that would provide a good example of how they would handle a situation that came up if they had the position.

·       Tailor your questions to match the candidates fit with the company culture and team dynamics.

3.          Employer’s Responsibility:

·       Listen closely – take notes, do not interrupt, and dive deeper into areas you have follow up questions about. Listen to how they communicate, their adaptability, and if their work style would align with what you are looking for in a candidate.

·       Maintain Professionalism – treat every candidate the same, regardless of their background and ensure all questions are relevant to the job.

4.          Close the Interview

·       Thank them for their time and ask if they have any other questions.

·       Be transparent about the next steps and timeline

Post Interview

1.          Follow up with your hiring team immediately and rate the candidate based on the rating scale.

2.          Decide as a team if you will be moving forward

3.          Follow up with the candidate regardless of the outcome.

Interviewing is a two-way street. As much as you are interviewing the candidate, they are also interviewing you. As the employer, it’s your responsibility to create an efficient and fair process that makes the candidate feel comfortable and excited to work with you. If you continue finding yourself interviewing candidates who don’t meet the requirements, it’s a good opportunity to revisit the process and try something different.

Interested in streamlining your recruitment process? Advisor HR offers an Applicant Tracking Software that allows you to post jobs to multiple sites and compile the resumes all in one place. If you are interested in learning more, book a demo today!