When was the last time you assessed your interview process?

Every company has their own way of doing things, and that’s a good thing, you need to be unique! but have you taken the time to analyse your interview process and make sure you’re not actually putting people off joining?

When looking at business process you must take an objective look at your current practices and be willing to spot bad habits or problems that may have arisen over time.

Here are some common problems I usually find….

  1. General Inconsistency

Are different hiring managers going about the process in their own way? Its ok for everyone to show their style however its actually very easy to allow interview inconsistency to shape your decisions.  We are only human and the smallest of changes can affect how the interview will go.

Solutions;

  • Schedule interviews closely together. That way you are in the same frame of mind when reviewing all candidates.
  • Make sure there is one person consistently through each round of interview.
  • Implement a scoring system so that everyone is assessed fairly.
  • Take a break between interviews
  1. Interview Fatigue

As per point 1, you should try to shortlist candidates to a manageable level so you don’t have to interview all day, and hit interview fatigue!

Imagine you set aside a whole day for interviews; can you confidently say the last candidates interview will get the same experience as the first one of the day?

This could genuinely cause you to dismiss suitable, even stand out candidates.

Solutions:

  • Take time shortlisting your candidates.
  • Limit interviews to 3-4 candidates.
  • Panel interviews may help for a clearer reflection on scoring.
  • Use a Scoring system and ask the same questions of each candidate.

 

  1. Poor Questioning Techniques

That’s right, the questions you are asking may just not be relevant! If you are not asking the right questions, then your interviews are a complete waste of time and it leads to poor decision making.

Worst yet you are maybe not even asking questions…… I have seen a lot of interviews where the interviewer just talks and talks rather than asks the candidate for information.

Solutions;

  • Make a list of appropriate questions, and listen to your candidates’ answers, scoring them according to your matrix.
  • Do NOT attempt to discuss any of the following: age, race, sexual orientation, marital status, disabilities or criminal convictions.
  • Don’t ask overly difficult or trick questions, keep them relevant.
  • Listen more than you talk.
  1. Bad Interviewers

That’s an awkward thing to accept but please remember for most people interviewing is not their job, so why take for granted that a hiring manager will be good at it?

Truth is your company is being interviewed just as much as the candidate, so you have to make a good impression. Your hiring manager could be letting you down.

Solutions;

  • Invest in training.
  • Sit in interviews with Hiring Managers new to the process.
  • Stick to the interview plan.
  1. Snap Decisions

Ok, we all do this. Within seconds of meeting someone, we form an opinion on them, from the way they look to how they speak which impacts our decision-making process.

 

As an interviewer, you must push biases or initial impressions to the back of your mind otherwise you will spend the interview looking for negatives rather than positives.

 

Solutions;

  • Put yourself in your candidate’s shoes. Imagine you were sitting being judged how would it feel? Give them a chance!
  • Stick to your process. If a candidate makes a bad first impression, don’t rush through the interview, be fair, be consistent.
  • Panel interview. When you interview alone your unconscious biases could be causing you to make a snap decsion.

 

  1. Lack of follow up.

This happens time and time again. Regardless of how an interview goes you should always follow up with a candidate in a timeous manner.

Often Hiring Managers find the perfect candidate, but they fail to follow-up promptly enough. The candidate doesn’t know the company think they are brilliant so assumes they are not of interest and moves on. Why should they wait around for you?

 

Solutions;

  • Let unsuccessful candidates know asap and give them some honest feedback as to why.
  • Keep successful candidates in the loop about how the process is progressing, what the next stages will include and be clear and honest about time-scales.
  • Advise your chosen recruit asap that you want to hire them and get an offer out in a timeous manner.

 

Want more advice?

James Gray Consulting offer training courses for businesses in how to successfully develop and implement a hiring process. We can help revolutionise your process in as little as one day saving you time and money in the future, not to mention helping you attract and successfully hire the right talent for your business.