Discover โ5 crucial tips for employers, hiring managers, and HR professionals for a comprehensive supply chain hiring process.
The interview process, including initial phone screenings, psychometric testing, face-to-face interviews with the hiring manager, and onsite tours, can often be lengthy and demanding.
Therefore, it is crucial to keep the interview process streamlined and engaging to prevent talent from dropping out and to represent your organization and yourself in the best light. Here are five essential tips for employers to follow when interviewing top talent.
1. Be present
Expressing enthusiasm to prospective candidates offers them insights into your team's culture and mindset. Asking about their interests, lives, and careers, rather than solely focusing on technical questions to assess their hard skills, helps establish a meaningful human connection.
Another way to build a connection is by sharing real-life examples of daily tasks, positive experiences within the role and team, and details about project work. These are important talking points that candidates appreciate. While they expect the interview to be technically rigorous, it's equally important to maintain a conversational and human approach.
Staying engaged may seem straightforward, but with much of the interview process now conducted over Zoom, video calls, or phone, it's easy to become distracted by emails or other windows on your computer. Remaining attentive and interested enhances the interview process and creates a positive experience for the candidate. Additionally, it's important to be interesting yourself.
2. Stay in sell mode
Many of the points mentioned are indirect ways of promoting your team and role. However, candidates are always thinking about exciting current opportunities and future career growth. Knowing there's more to look forward to than just the immediate hands-on skills or initial job description makes them more inclined to embrace the role and organization.
To sell the role effectively, share why you chose your position and what you liked about the company and team. Relate to their circumstances and explain why joining your team and company is the best move they can make.
Additionally, highlight the company culture. Beyond daily tasks and responsibilities, mention aspects such as company sports teams, lunch clubs, charitable groups, or environmental initiatives. Emphasize these enjoyable elements to excite candidates about the role, team, and company as a whole. In today's competitive landscape for top talent, these cultural differences can set you apart.
3. Always stay positive
Many of the above points apply here as well, but above all, being cordial, professional, and providing timely feedback all contribute to a positive candidate experience. Even if a candidate isn't the right cultural fit or suited for your position, it's important to treat them with professionalism and positivity during the interview. They may know colleagues or other experts who could be a better fit for your role or team. A positive experience encourages referrals and helps maintain both your company's and your own reputation in the market.
Additionally, remember that candidates often have other opportunities they are considering. If you give them any reason to doubt their experience with you, they may be more likely to pursue other options.
4. Be flexible
If a professional isnโt a perfect fit, consider whether there is still a place for them within the team or organization, especially if they bring unique qualities to the company. Keep an open mind when recruiting talent and consider future needs. You might even create a new role for an exceptional candidate to avoid losing them to a competitor.
Focus on the positives in a candidateโs skillset and find reasons to say yes, particularly in the current market. In addition to being flexible with the job description, consider flexibility in the offer as well. Providing nuanced benefits, flexible working arrangements, and customized offers to suit the individual can make the difference between a candidate rejecting or accepting your offer.
5. Remain decisive
The current market remains highly competitive, emphasizing the importance for hiring managers to recognize the urgency of an expedited interview process. Keeping a candidate engaged is crucial; however, failing to commit in a timely manner risks losing them to other opportunities.
Therefore there is a need to provide prompt feedback, especially when it's positive, to maintain momentum. If a candidate is a top priority for you, ensure you remain top-of-mind for them.
Efforts to expedite approvals are often bureaucratic, but exert influence where possible to speed up the interview and hiring process, avoiding unnecessary delays.
Lastly, maintain competitiveness. Avoid prolonged negotiations that could slow down the process or give competing opportunities time to catch up. Present your best and most compelling offer upfront to immediately capture their interest.
Need hiring assistance?
To find the right professionals for your open roles, reach out to DSJ Global now. As an expert talent partner specializing in the entire supply chain process, we connect you with top-tier talent globally.
Find the talent you need by submitting your vacancy, or request a call back to elevate your hiring process with the right talent partner today.