Following on from my article on how to adapt your hiring process to maximise your chance of securing the perfect permanent candidate, here are some tips to help get the interview approach right.
After all, once you’ve identified and invited your preferred candidate for an interview, you’re still one of several companies vying for their attention. Here are some tricks to help you stand out:
1. Know Your Position
Gone are the days that a candidate will join a business simply because of the strength of the brand itself. Think about what motivates practitioners on a day to day basis when conducting an interview; it’s likely to be the design or project challenges rather than the strength of the brand that they’re looking for.
It is key to make a real case for this person to join the business, rather than making the assumption that you’re the destination of choice.
2. Understand your candidates
While an interview process should be thorough, it is impossible to cover off absolutely everything about a company and a role in just a few hours.
It’s important to ask the right questions and really understand your candidates quickly, both in terms of whether they’re suitable for the position, and in order to establish their key motivators and drivers.
Provide assurances about the areas of the role specifically that will be most important to them, and in turn, their decision making process.
3. Show them who you are
Everyone wants to work with people they like. While some level of formality is inevitable within an interview, it’s important to let the candidate get to know you too. As the hiring manager, you’ll have a real impact on this person both in terms of their progression, and their enjoyment of the role.
It’s important that there’s a strong fit here, so show them that you’re someone that they can learn from and get along with.
Involving the team that your new hire will be working alongside in the interview process is another way to give them an idea of what it would be like to work with you. Cultural fit is absolutely crucial to candidates and allowing them to really ascertain how well they will fit in with their peers is important
4. Paint a picture of their future with you
Leaving your job and taking a step into the unknown is quite a big step for most, and it’s often uncertainty regarding what a position will really be like that leads to hesitation.
Take a candidate on a tour of the office; tell them about the Christmas party, and perhaps most importantly, give a clear overview of what they can expect to be doing within their first weeks and months in the job. In many cases it’s much easier to get excited by this, than the unknown.
5. Act quickly
When the time comes to make an offer, don’t sit on it for too long, lest the candidate get impatient. Getting clear feedback back to the candidate within 24-48 hours is best, especially with a multi-interview process.
Let them know what you’re prepared to offer and outline your reasons briefly so they understand why it’s being offered. Indicate whether there is room for bonuses, benefits, training budget, etc. – all are factors when deciding between multiple offers (as many experienced candidates will be).
Ultimately, there is no perfect formula to securing the perfect candidate, but taking the time to understand your candidate and show them what it would be like to work with you can make all the difference come decision time.