The Interview Day: Top 3 Mistakes to Avoid as Team, beyond March Madness

As we continue our interview experience series we wanted to touch on the day of the interview. There is so much prep work going into the before the interview, and then the post-interview work continues once the unicorn candidate has been chosen. The ultimate goal of the candidate, and of your team is to find the perfect person, but know this could all be lost by making a simple mistake the day of the interview. So much time is put into prepping candidates on how to “nail” the interview - whether it's from coaching, mentors, recruiters or the new flux of influencers. Not much emphasis has gone into coaching the existing team - and ensuring that the day of the interview is looked at as the ultimate game day, and the first, and last chance to wow the candidate.

After interviewing dozens of hiring managers, recruiters, advisors and even candidates - although there are way more to be considered - here are the highlighted top 3 mistakes for your team to avoid on the day of the interview. Let me know what you think - and what other suggestions/horror stories you’ve heard or experienced when it comes to game time. During this March Madness season we will see teams win and lose, and our brackets fall apart - but the teams to make the final four and ultimately the championship have been working together to be successful long before game day. Let’s discuss how we can highlight your team’s ability and enlighten your next recruit on why they want to become a part of this.?

Mistake #1 : Don’t be late

As a former basketball player I had to start with my coach's words emphasizing “Don’t be late” to this day that still rings in my ears. Never be late to practice, never be late to the bus, and definitely never be late to the game. It sounds SO simple - but in all honesty I’ve heard horror stories of candidates who were forced to wait 30 minutes or worse an hour to meet with the next person on the interview list. Again, sounds simple - but if this is a candidate you want to work for you and with your team - advise your team that they need to be made a priority.?

My mother used to always say people decide in the first 3 minutes of meeting with you if they want to work with you or not. I’m taking it a step further and saying they decide whether or not they want to work for you - and if you aren’t there for those first three minutes the decision could easily be made in their mind for you. Prior to the interview, whether it’s HR, the hiring manager or someone from the administrative side - assign a person to be the “timekeeper”. I know this gets hard- I’ve been in whiteboard sessions with a candidate and wanted to keep the conversation going forever, but know that the candidate’s time, and the interview team’s time, should both be valued. The candidates are looking at this as a glimpse of what it’s like to work with you, so be mindful of the agenda created and the time slots you allot, (which should be done ahead of time and emailed to them to show the organization and expectations on your end).?

As discussed in our previous article here, the team needs to be well versed and prepped ahead of the interview - and to really put their best foot forward. Yes of course, you are interviewing the candidate to come work for you - but at the end of the interview journey the candidate is ultimately the decider on whether or not they sign on the dotted line. In a candidate mindset - it’s not always what can you do for this company - it’s more like what can this company do for you. Show them your interview team is prepped, ready and of course on time. The more organized and excited ready to hire the team comes across to the candidate - the greater the chances the candidate will catch this energy and want to come on board and be a part of it.

Mistake #2: The team does not understand the role

This is again an easy one - but happens more often than we’d like to admit. Everyone on the basketball court understands the role of each of the teammates - whether you are a center, a point guard or a forward there is a specific role and understanding how they all work together is essential to the success of the team. A basketball team also understands if they are lacking one of these roles why it is essential to recruit someone new to fulfill it.?

Within a company there is a team, board or group of executives that decides, “Oh we need this XYZ type of engineer to join the team. Approved!”. The job gets posted - and when it comes time to the interview, this is often the first time anyone on the hiring team has interacted or hired this specific type of role. And that’s okay - but coming in without an overall understanding of what this person will actually be doing is setting you up for failure. Everyone on the interview and hiring team needs to understand the overall functions and importance of this new role.?

The first way to avoid this is to have a deep understanding of why this role was identified as a “must have” in the first place. Understand the past, present and future needs of the business and why this role was brought to surface as a priority. You won’t have to understand every language or detail of what this person is doing - but more so working with your team to understand “the why” they are being hired is key to having a successful interview experience for this new role and the group of candidates coming into fill it.

Also coaching your team to know that it’s okay they don’t understand fully what XYX type of engineer will actually be doing - but to more so understand how their given role would help and work with this new role is key to both parties having successful conversation on interview day.?

The other key player in this conundrum is your HR team and your recruiter. Often a HR Generalist or recruiter who has never heard of or recruited for this type of role will take the JD and run with it. That sometimes is okay - but this is where it is highly recommended to work with them, or honestly an outsourced expert, to fully understand the scope of the hire and the project. This isn’t a shameless plug, but the reality is that sometimes this niche (and urgent) hires will be posted internally for months with no real traction - and this isn’t anyone’s fault, rather a misunderstanding of the urgency and qualifications that it takes to fill this role outside of the bullet pointed job post. Educating anyone and everyone who is touching the interview, the hiring and the recruitment of this role is essential when it comes to filling the requisition.?

Mistake #3: Not discussing or disclosing the future of the company, the team, and the role.?

When a basketball recruit visits a college they are led on a tour of the campus, the dorms and of course of the gymnasium where the court is. And on that court are multiple banners, trophies and memories - often shared with you during the tour. It’s very easy to describe to a recruit the history and the past - but what about the team direction and future fortune? The same goes for the company. We’ve all heard “oh and we received ‘Top Company to Work For in 2022’.” Okay, that’s great, but now what?

When your candidate lines up all the job descriptions and eventually their offers - the role and the money is going to align (most likely). What they are really going to want to explore is the future and the additional perks and possibilities of the team and of the company. I’m not just talking about offering unlimited vacation days and pet insurance (although that would be great) - I’m talking about where is it that your company is going? What is the future look like for this role - and for the overall industry.?

This is tough to disclose all the information all the time - but coaching your team in the future of the business outside of the “All Hands” and company newsletter really allows them to understand the significance and impact that this role will have not only on the team, but on the overall future of the company. Even if this role is a junior one, knowing that the insertjobtitlehere will be contributing is important for everyone to know. The team will be asked questions outside of their wheelhouse, since the candidate is in the final analysis of whether or not they want to work here.?

In the prep meeting before the interview day - review the company goals, financials, and future of the team so that everyone is on the same page and well versed on the initiatives. It also serves as a good reminder outside of the daily grind that this job does matter - and adding a teammate to the crew does too.?

So these are our top 3 - there are probably dozens out there that were runners up, but with March Madness on the brain and as a former college athlete I wanted to have a quick huddle with you and review the plays to avoid since there is always a mistake to be avoiding when it comes to the big dance. What mistakes would you also add should be avoided? We’d love your input.?

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