Attracting your top candidate may depend on them having a positive interview experience with your company. Here are some steps your company can take to secure your candidate of choice and make sure you leave them with a positive impression.
Iron-out the details
Making sure key stake-holders have input into position requirements and funding has been approved ahead of time will alleviate costly changes in direction. A well-defined job description will help your recruiter attract the right talent for the position. It is always preferable for your company’s human resource department to allow your recruiter access to the hiring manager to discuss skill sets, credentials and personality type that best fit the organization. If this is a back-fill position, they will need to understand why the position was vacated and what challenges and opportunities the former employee had. A well-informed recruiter attracts the best talent and leaves potential employees with a positive first impression of your organization.
Establish your interview process
Candidates always appreciate an established interview process; informing them ahead of time what to expect, maintaining all scheduled interviews and giving an approximate time from first interview to offer stage. Your interview process should give ample time for both the employer and candidate to get to know each other so a well-informed decision can be made. Determining ahead of time which employees the candidate needs to meet with and scheduling interviews in a consolidated time-frame results in a smoother interview process and more expedient decision. Keeping the time between interview and offer short will give less opportunity for your choice candidate to receive and accept a competitive offer. Candidates may begin to question your level of interest and ability to make an offer if there is a large delay during this time.
Inform your hiring managers
Making sure your hiring managers conduct themselves professionally in an interview is critical to making good hires. They should be aware of illegal interview questions. Hiring managers who bring past negative experiences or personal prejudices to an interview can reflect poorly on your entire organization. Communication is key Open lines of communication are essential. Any changes to the position scope and feedback from candidate interviews should be communicated to your recruiter. They may need to revise the search and will need to notify any candidates who are now eliminated that they are no longer under consideration. Your recruiter will continually gauge candidate interest and communicate this to human resources. This will eliminate the cost and time associated with interviewing a candidate who is not likely to accept an offer.
Offer competitive salary and benefits
Your Apple & Associates’ recruiter has worked in this industry for many years and can help you to determine if the salary and benefits you are offering are consistent with the market. They will ask the candidate their current salary and salary expectations. Before engaging a candidate in the interview process you will need to determine if your company is able to make them an attractive offer based on their expectations. If your company is not able to make an offer consistent with the market, perhaps you can consider offering comprehensive benefits or perks that will attract your choice candidate. Discussing expectations of both parties ahead of time will alleviate unpleasant surprises that will discourage candidates and may cause them to question the financial stability of your organization.
Establish your on-boarding process
You want to project the best image of your company throughout the entire process. This includes on-boarding, when the new hire is in a critical transition period. They should feel welcomed and have someone appointed to help ease their transition. The on-boarding process includes relocation assistance and having a plan for new hire training. Even in this economy, top candidates are selective of the companies they choose to work for. An established and well-executed interview and on-boarding process will give your company a reputation of being one of the best!