3 things which we started doing during Interviewing candidates !
Most of our interviewers on most times take interviews only. Well that was what was expected of them. We realized that we were missing few critical elements of interview process. Interview process contains aspects beyond conducting simple interview — some hidden aspects which many interviewers miss while taking interviews. We started asking our interviewers to do following 3 things while conducting interviews:
SELL, SELL, SELL
Let’s start with interview objective itself. Sounds simple. You are there to evaluate if the candidate is ‘the’ right fit for the position or not. However there is another objective — Selling. Yes, you got it right. Interviewer needs to sell the role & the organization to the candidate. Current generation workforce don’t treat interview as simply another job opportunity. They consider this as a window to evaluate the opportunity and how this will fit into their larger life / career plan. And if you belong to one of those organizations which compete for top 5% of the workforce pool, you need to do a proper sales pitch. Like a sales team, be ready to sell the position and the organization. Explain about the role impact, the learning opportunities, the career growth plan of the role, organization’s contribution to the industry and career benefits which the role can provide to the incumbent. But be true and honest. Never ever oversell.
HELP CANDIDATE IN EVALUATING THE ROLE & THE ORGANIZATION
The way you are observing & assessing the candidate, similarly the candidate is also observing & assessing every interaction with organization to find out whether he/she should work at this place. Interviewers should leverage this opportunity to act as a mentor during the interview. Ask them questions like what kicks them, what is their passion, what are they looking for in the job? Tell them what the role will provide. Explain them how the organization and role will help them in their career growth. Ask them on their understanding of the organization & their expectations and clarify them on those points.Tell them on face if something doesn’t fits properly. Be true to them while projecting role, culture and value systems. Yes, that’s tight. Don’t put rosy picture or make false promises. Simply tell them the truth. Equip the candidate to evaluate if the role and organization is right fit for him/her. Work with them to help them in evaluating the role & the organization. Make them feel that you are helping them in judging if the position and organization will be a right choice for them. Candidates will appreciate your genuine interest. If the organization is not right fit for them or does not match to their expectations, clearly tell them.
CREATE A BRAND AMBASSADOR
Give the candidate a stellar recruitment experience. Even if a candidate is not hired, he/she should talk to the whole world about the organization. Make the candidate the brand ambassador of your organization. Talk to any of the candidates who have been interviewed at companies like Microsoft, Apple, Google, Facebook & Linkedin. Most of the times, they will say “That’s the company you should work for”. These companies create great interviewing experiences for the candidates. It can be the seamless recruitment process or unique interview questions or even the warm hospitality provided. The entire experience should make candidate feel that this company is the right place to work. We are not asking to throw a red carpet welcome or shower the candidate with gifts (though some organizations even do that also). Focus on candidate’s experience within organizational limits and you will find out multiple ways to create a ‘wow’ experience for the candidate. Great organizations follow structured & scheduled recruitment process, provide a feel of the work place & take care of the candidates. Take inputs from hospitality industry on customer engagement and one will get whole lot of ideas on creating experience for candidates.
