Creating a 5-Star Candidate Experience

This article will guide you through a step-by-step guide on how to work on building the company brand through a positive candidate interview experience.

You will discover the following:

• Creating a 5-star experience

Think about the "best experiences" and worst"experience killers" interview experiences during your career and write down your thoughts. Use these to create your list to create an exceptional candidate experience. Make a list of "things to do" before, during, and after the interview. As a team (interviewers and recruitment team) commit to actions that everyone does consistently during the interview process.

Always empathize with interviewees as you prepare for the interview.

Respect the candidate's time, clearly explain the position, build a rapport, and provide every information that is needed by the candidate to make an informed decision.

• Build your Company's Employer Value Proposition (EVP)

Sell the candidate on what they will get from the role, team, and organization i.e building your EVP. EVP should be consistent at all points of contact i.e website, recruitment team, and interviewing team.

Convey an attitude which speaks candidates success and not failure.

Articulate your organization's EVP such as mission, vision, company culture, wellness programs, types of problems being solved and benefits and not to forget "convey EVP with enthusiasm".

• Avoid Unconscious Biases

Unconscious biases are stereotypes ingrained in us universally which influences behavior.

Don'ts -

1. Hiring people from a similar group
2. One positive/negative trait overshadows the whole behavior
3. Judgment based on stereotypes without any factual evidence
4. Making quick judgment early-on and then looking for pieces of evidence to confirm the same.

• Technical, cultural, behavioral and onsite interview

Read candidate resumes to generate questions for the interview. Look for pieces that can help you build rapport. Read resume bottom-up and try to look for education, roles after college. How they made the transition to their current field? How did their career progress? Review dates for short stints. Take time to review and analyze resumes so that you have a productive conversation with your candidate.

Have a pre-brief meeting before calling a candidate for a day plan. Align on a plan.

1. Review the job description, skills, and competencies for the role and define each interviewer's role in assessing each part. This will minimize redundancies in the interview. The ultimate goal will be to make everyone prepared of the interview and give clarity on their role in the process.

Technical questions are aimed to get a full understanding of the candidate's skill level.

Cultural FIT and ADD questions assess values, beliefs, and behaviors

Cultural-fit questions - Determines if the person's values system aligns with that of the companies. Look if their principles and behaviors fit with others in the team and company.

Cultural Add questions - If a candidate can contribute something new in the organization's culture. Candidates' unique traits, experiences, and perspectives will ensure a much more diverse workplace. This can helps the team able to challenge the status quo and think of innovative ways of solving a problem.

Behavioral questions - Exhibit how the candidate has exhibited certain characteristics/competencies. The interviewer should be able to structure the problem well and guide the candidate through this part with the STAR method in order to accurately gather information. STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result.

i.e. The candidate should be able to explain the context/problem which is the "situation".What they were asked to do, which is the "Task".Her/His role in the same which is the "action" and the outcome will be the "Result".

• Debrief Meeting and Final feedback/result

The recruiter should conduct a debrief meeting with the team of interviewers. Interviewers should share their perspectives with the rest of the team and speak on each skill/competency which they were assigned. Focus on evidence and don't assume.

Do share feedback with the candidate on the result of the interview. In case the candidate is not found suitable to the current role do share "areas of improvement" with them.

• Candidate reviews your interview process

Create a form that can be shared with the candidate to record her/his experience during the interview process and ask for feedback. Keep measuring the feedback with scores and keep improving.

Final tips:

1. Be ready 5 mins before the interview

2. Ask if the candidate needs a snack, drink or a bio break

3. Turn off cellphone/laptop during the interview

4. Use paper to take notes and introduce yourself and your role

5. Keep an eye on the time and answer questions honestly

6. Do not decline interview on day of the interview

7. Give timely feedback to the candidate and close the process.

8. Do share feedback form with all the interviewed candidates.