The Importance of The Client Interview Process
There is no denying we are currently in a hugely competitive candidate driven market with the number of jobs outnumbering the right candidate by quite some margin. This is not to say there are not many applicants but finding the Holy Grail of candidate for the role you are hiring for is not always easy.
Gone are the days in which employers can almost bully the market by offering inflated pay packets or use their established and household brand status. The best passive talent are now choosing the job that best matches their ambitions, where they can add the most value, gain the most experience and make the most impact.
It is rare for people to leave a job to move into a similar role and it is the responsibility of the client to make the overall hiring and interview process as engaging and exciting as possible to help turn passive candidates heads in their direction
What are the most important factors to consider when trying to attract top talent?
Agility
There is nothing more frustrating for a candidate than a client engaging with them but taking weeks or sometimes months to progress them to the next stage of the process. As humans, it is in our nature to want to feel valued. If the hiring manager is traveling or going on vacation then this should have been factored into the hiring timeline prior to the search commencing. If the hiring manager cannot make time to see the person for 6 weeks or takes a while to get feedback, how much do you think the candidate will feel valued and want to join the company?
Transparency
We often here from candidates, surprisingly even at the very highest level that the message and job conveyed from the interview panel can often be very different. It is critical that all internal stakeholders align on what is expected in the role and what skills are needed before approaching external talent. We recently were retained for an SVP level role in which the interview panel consisted of 2 board members however the 2 board members had very different opinions on the skills required which meant the candidate was not only confused but also a little embarrassed. Clearly it is difficult in large and matrix driven organisations to all align and of course it is healthy for the interview panel to share different views but the overall output and end goal has to be aligned.
People
When an external candidate is presented for a role, the first round interview is just as important as the last round. It is common that candidates will have formed opinions of a client's perception and sentiment in the general market from speaking to peers or other people in their network. If the first round interview is not engaging and does not excite them then it is common for them not to want to move forward in the process. The people you put forward internally to conduct the interviews have a huge and direct correlation to the perception of the global brand in the market and the candidates mind. It is worth taking some time to understand why you should require each individual to be part of the interview process. What will each individual add to the process and how will they help further engage and excite candidate to want to join the company?
All the above points are quite obvious but it is sometimes the simple things that we neglect. The best hiring process is one that takes the candidate on a journey and tells a story. It makes them want to go back over and over again to learn more about this fascinating company and the exciting things that they are looking to achieve whilst all the time being able to see how their own expertise and experience can add significant value. Not only does this help the client beat the competition to top talent but it also will create instant brand engagement and loyalty. This hopefully will also help to levels of attrition moving forward.
It is vital to remember that the client interview process is as much a window for the candidate to learn about the company and how it would feel to work there as it is for the client to make sure that the candidate is the best fit for the role. As clients you may see 6-10+ people for the same role but it is by maintaining the same level of enthusiasm and energy with each and every single one to make them feel unique that will help improve your conversion rates of securing the best candidates in the market and making sure your company is seen in a positive light in the market.
Walter James put the clients engagement into the hiring process as a high priority and often see that the clients we work with that believe in this outperform the ones that rank it with a lower importance.
To discuss any of the topics in this post with us please get in touch.
info@walter-james.com
+44 (0) 203 805 3320
