Hiring the best people available is vital to the success of any business. However, interviewing job candidates is one process that many owners and managers feel uncomfortable with, at best. All candidates are moving fast, including the star candidates. Place an emphasis on how quickly the candidates are moving and how important it is to get candidates through quickly, efficiently and thoroughly. You should also consider the following tips for streamlining your hiring process.
- Create a clear job description. A detailed job description with specific duties and tasks can lead to fewer interviews with underqualified candidates, thereby speeding up the entire hiring process. Haven’t tweaked your job descriptions lately? Maybe it’s time to dust them off and bring them up to date. Tell the applicant why he or she should work for your firm – beyond the standard Paid Time Off, competitive salary and benefits package. This is prime time to sell your company to top talent.
- Consider posting a job’s salary range. More and more employers are doing this to attract good candidates in a tight labor market. Applying for a job takes time. Advertising a salary range helps to weed out those who feel they can get a bigger paycheck somewhere else.
- Be consistent in interviews. Plan the questions you will ask prospective employees, and ask each candidate the same ones. By creating consistency, choices become easier. Effective pre-screening will weed out unqualified candidates. And train your interviewers to perform interviews. It’s a skill that not everyone has.
- Get to know the candidates. You’re not hiring someone just to fulfill certain tasks. Your new employee will also play an important role in office culture. Going beyond work-related questions allows you to determine if the person will be a good “fit.” Assess candidates that you have on file that you liked, but maybe didn’t have a position for at the time you had interviewed them.
- Keep candidates informed. Job candidates fear silence. They may begin to think you’ve ruled them out and start to look elsewhere. Be transparent about how long you expect the process to take, and keep applicants informed along the way. This also helps build trust with your future hires.
- Use a respected job placement firm. Expert recruiters can speed the hiring process by weeding out less-experienced and less-desirable job seekers, giving you more time to interview truly qualified candidates.
- The best candidate might be a great culture fit but might not have the specific experience and skills listed in the job description. So, pay attention to what these candidates have that you can’t teach. You can always identify responsibilities that can be desired, but you can’t teach characteristics to make an employee a good culture fit.
One final thing to remember: Consider focusing on the candidate’s experience. Even if the interview doesn’t result in extending an offer, your job candidates will remember the experience and process they went through with your company.
You may never feel completely comfortable interviewing job candidates. But, follow these well-researched tips and you’re certain to save time – time that you can then devote to aspects of running your business you do enjoy.