Are you, as the employer, rolling out the carpet during the interview??

Unemployment in the US is reaching historic lows. Some states — like Colorado — are even at what economists consider “full employment,” where most people who want a full-time job already have one. So, what does this mean for you as the hiring person or employer? It means that today, more than ever before, you need to come prepared and do your homework before the interview even begins. Many clients come to us with little awareness that interviewing is becoming a carefully-honed skill on both sides of the desk.

We have prepared six employer-based interview tips to help you conduct an interview that will separate your company from the competition and help you hire those "hard to land" candidates (aka. top talent — the candidates who can pick and choose). By incorporating some of these strategies into your current interview process, you’ll allow the right candidate to rise to the top. And, most importantly, you’ll be able to make a case for why those "hard to land" candidates should choose your company.

1. Make the candidate(s) feel important. With the US economy continuing to grow, companies need to approach an interview with the mindset that you are in the sales role, convincing top talent to come work for your company. Start by creating a welcoming environment: have a bottle of water, pen, and paper out on the table where you’re going to conduct the interview. Schedule a little downtime between interview sessions. Tell the candidate what you enjoy about the company, what makes your company unique, how you found the company (friend, online, word of mouth, or through a recruiter). Talk about why you stay and where you see the company going. Give the candidate a personal tour of the office (or campus), and make it a point of introducing them to potential peers and colleagues along the way. Go out of your way to help the candidate(s) feel comfortable and welcome. Help the candidate envision themselves working for you (and the company) and feeling happy about joining the team.
2. Ask real-world questions. Theoretical, open-ended questions — present a problem that your department, team, or company is trying to solve, and ask the candidate for ideas. “How would you create a feeling of cohesion in an office where most people work remotely?” “What communication tools would you use when a team is spread across multiple time zones and countries?” Questions like these will show you how the candidate would perform in a real-world situation within your company.
3. Focus on the future, not tomorrow. Many of our clients are hiring for positions that needed to be filled yesterday. But unless you enjoy spending your time recruiting and hiring, you hope that this new employee will stay with you for many years to come. Think about that when you’re interviewing. Ask every candidate, “What do you see as the key challenges our industry is facing right now, and where do you see the industry headed?” Ask “If you stayed with our company for three to five years, what kinds of challenges would you like to take on?” This will not only create some great conversation, it will help through the process to understand the candidate’s depth of knowledge, and separate the top talent from the rest.
4. Don’t make a unilateral decision, but don’t crowdsource it. We see many companies that are under-thinking or over-thinking their hiring decisions. A hire should never be made based on only one person’s input; however, allowing an entire department to vote on who should be hired isn’t a good idea either. Many experts recommend asking for input from a few leaders who will work closely with the new hire, the new hire’s immediate supervisor, and a member of your HR staff or a third-party recruiter. This can give you a balance between instinct (will your team enjoy working with this person?) and objective assessment (does this person fit the hiring criteria that you prepared when you listed the job?).
5. Create a must-have and nice-to-have list before you start interviewing. As discussed in tip 4, you need to ride the line between head and heart when you’re hiring. Without a list of requirements that your candidates must meet, it’s too easy to simply hire the most likable person, even if they’re not objectively the best fit for the job. So, start with this: make a list of attributes that this new hire must have, and do not look at candidates who don’t fit the bill. If you’re convinced that only a candidate with a particular certification, degree, or level of experience will do, don’t compromise. Same with gaps in your current team: if you’re heavy on the analytical side and know you need someone more creative, stick to that requirement. Then make a list of nice-to-have criteria. A good option is to look at your highest-performing employees and their skills, characteristics, and backgrounds. Use those as a template for your new hires.
6. Tell your candidates exactly what to expect. Many candidates are stressed not by the job interview itself, but by the unknowns: What questions will they be asked? Will they show up in a suit, only to be greeted by a hiring manager in surf shorts? How long will the interview take? You want to get a picture of how your candidate functions in an optimal environment. Contact your candidates ahead of time and give them an outline of the process: “We’d like you to plan on staying for X amount of time. Our office dress code is X. We’ll be giving you some real-world scenarios from our company and asking you to give your input.” The point of an interview isn’t to play “gotcha” with your candidate, it’s to give them the opportunity to give you a true picture of who they are as a person and as a candidate, so don’t be afraid to lay the groundwork ahead of time.

Today's market has certainly created a gap between companies who are landing top talent and companies who are watching them walk out the door. Looking at your interviewing process through a different lens and making a few small improvements might make all the difference in landing your next top employee.

At Integrity Search, LLC, we partner with you and your organization every step of the way to ensure that you hire the best. From attracting top talent, to interview preparation, to landing and hiring the right one... we are there right alongside you and your team.

To learn more about Integrity Search, LLC, contact us today at (720) 996-0965.