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When you bring a candidate in to interview with your company you expect them to be prepared, right? They should have done some research on the company, open positions, and have questions ready to ask. They should arrive on time and give you their full attention.

While these are very valid expectations to have, long gone are the times when the only point of an interview is for the candidate to impress the hiring manager. In this candidate driven market, the best job seekers have their pick of opportunities. They are interviewing you and your company just as much as you are interviewing them. They often end up with multiple offers before making a decision.

Below are a few tips on how to give candidates the best interview process possible which will shed the best light on your company.

Set Expectations For The Hiring Process

The best talent does not stay on the job market for long. Your hiring process should ideally be as short as possible. If you meet a candidate you like for an open position, you must move before another company does. If your process requires multiple interviews, assessments, personality tests etc., at least make the job seeker aware, so they can stay engaged in the process. Every day that passes after an interview is another day for their excitement about your company to fade.

Be Prepared

Before walking into an interview, as the hiring manager, you should have already reviewed the candidate’s resume and have an idea of questions you would like to ask. Take some time to think about what kinds of questions will actually show you which candidate is the best match for your open job. Try to move beyond having the job seeker verbally recite their resume to you.

Give Them Your Full Attention

First impressions matter. Candidates often only have 15 minutes or so with you to articulate their abilities. Texting, sending emails, and interruptions will make them feel like you don’t really want them to be there. Alert your staff that you are going into an interview and to only interrupt if there is a true emergency.

Be Honest

If you know before the interview is even over that there is no way you are going to move forward with this person, don’t make comments to lead them to believe otherwise. Be intentional in your language so that you don’t leave them walking out the door expecting to be called back in next week for an interview with the President. Don’t tell them you will call on Friday with the decision if you know good and well that HR is going to send a generic “thanks but no thanks” email.

Also, it’s important to paint a realistic picture of what the job is like. If you fluff things up, you are setting yourself and company up for unnecessary turnover. New employees tend to leave jobs quickly when they realize the position is vastly different than what they’ve been led to expect.

Work With A Staffing Firm

Employ Partners and Employ NOW have teams of Atlanta hiring experts that would love to strategize on what hiring processes would be best suited for your company. Give us a call today!

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