Talent Acquisition & The Candidate Experience
You’ve joined a talent acquisition team, the first stop in your journey of a rewarding human resources career. In this position you will be sourcing and screening candidates and conducting initial interviews for hiring managers.
The candidate experience. As you embark on this role, remember that an interview is the first interaction that candidates will have with your organization. What kind of impression do you want to make? An interview is a two-way street. You'll be getting information, answering questions and sharing information with the candidate about the organization. Before you begin, research and learn as much as you can about the organization—its origins, its values, and its culture.
Candidate treatment through the entire application process is critical. Consider every candidate as a VIP during the interview. If you hire that person, you have changed their life. Even if you don’t, the experience can have real and lasting impact on them and the organization.
Screening process. Before you review resumes, first discuss with the hiring manager: the position’s qualifications, the department and its role in the organization, and most importantly, the manager’s expectations of a new hire and what a successful candidate brings. This will help you decide on the best available talent to bring into your organization,
Interviewing Guidelines. Carefully consider the following:
1. Preparation. Before meeting with the candidate, take time to review the job requirements and the resume. Using information from the resume, prepare the questions you plan to ask, recognizing you may need to modify them during the interview.
If you are conducting a virtual interview, test the equipment and the platform beforehand, and install any required software updates. Be sure the lighting is good, and the setting professional. Look at the camera and not the monitor to give the candidate the sense that you're looking at them.
2. Warm greeting. Whether meeting in person or virtually, be warm and welcoming as you greet the candidate. Many people find small talk to be unproductive and jump right into asking questions. However, having a couple of topics ready to open your conversation can help the candidate relax and be more comfortable. If you’re meeting in person, traffic is always an easy ice breaker. The weather works in any situation to get a conversation started.
3. Open-ended questions. Start with open-ended questions that encourage the candidate to share their strengths and interests. Asking a question such as what interested you about this position that made you want to apply is an effective way to begin.
4. Behavioral interview questions. Well-crafted behavioral interview questions followed up by probes allow you to learn more and decide whether to refer the candidate to the hiring manager. Ask for information that tells you more about the candidate than you knew from a resume. Consider asking questions like:
Give me an example of a time when you…
Describe a situation when you…
ell me about a problem you were faced with…
5. Follow-up questions. Responses to these questions give you a better picture of the candidates and how they will contribute to your organization. Follow up probes help to solicit as much information as possible. Use probes such as:
How so?
Tell me more about…
How did you do that?
Describe a time when you…
Presenting candidates. Consider all you’ve learned about the candidate and the manager’s expectations as you decide whether to present the candidate to the hiring manager. All are important considerations.
Finding the right people and hiring the best talent is critical to the organization’s success and success of your career. It is so gratifying to look back on all the great talent you helped discover—knowing you touched and made a difference in people’s lives.