4 Tell-Tale Signs that Your Interview Process is Flawed

Interviewing candidates is an important final step in the hiring process. Consider these four tips to improve how you interact with prospective employees:

1. The interview is your only hiring tool

Interviews are an extremely valuable piece of the recruiting puzzle. They should not be the sole basis of a hiring decision though. An interview shows managers how candidates behave in a professional setting, but they provide little evidence of what each individual brings to the table. This is especially true for highly skilled positions.

Once you’ve narrowed down your candidate selection to a handful of qualified individuals, you need to find multiple ways to assess their skills and experience. For example, if you were hiring a writer, you would be doing yourself and the candidates a disservice by judging them purely on their conversational skills. Examining each candidates portfolio of work would be a much better use of your time.

2. Only HR personnel conduct interviews

The hiring managers who sit in on interviews should possess a thorough understanding of the position’s requirements. Though HR staff can certainly develop a picture of the job from reading descriptions, they won’t know as much as someone who has done the job themselves.

If only HR personnel conduct interviews, it increases the likelihood that new hires won’t be fully qualified for the position. John Sullivan, an HR expert who spoke with the Harvard Business Review, recommends that three company stakeholders attend each interview: the position’s direct manager, the manager’s boss and an HR person.

3. Interviewees don’t have time to ask questions

Interviews are a two-way conversation. Hiring managers want to make sure the candidate is a good fit for the position, and candidates want to determine if they’d enjoy working for the organization. If Interviewees don’t have time to ask questions, they won’t be able to generate an informed opinion on the the company.

Candidates should feel comfortable asking questions throughout the interview, not only as it is wrapping up. By dominating 90 percent of the conversation, hiring managers may intimidate candidates. Remember, There doesn’t have to be a strict one-to-one ratio of questions from both parties. It may help to pause mid-way through the interview and let the candidate steer the conversation.

4. Your interviews are too quick

A short interview – of 15 minutes or less – is not only insufficient to learn all of the necessary information about a candidate, it’s also disrespectful. candidates spend weeks researching organizations, filling out applications and taking phone calls. To arrive at an interview only to walk out of the door less than half an hour later is anticlimactic at best.

Try not to rush things. Give candidates time to consider each question, formulate their answer and provide examples. Ask follow-up questions. You’ll learn more about the candidate shows that you are paying attention and that you respect their effort.

If your interviews check these boxes, you’re in good shape:

• They’re just one piece of a broader hiring process with other criteria for understanding your candidates.
• Folks from across your business conduct interviews – not just HR.
• Your interviewees have time to ask questions and are part of an active, two-way conversation.
• You take your time with the interview – and respect the time your candidates have carved out during their application process, instead of rushing things along.

Establishing and tracking internal recruiting metrics guides your organization toward better interviewing and hiring practices. To learn more about how to leverage recruiting software to its fullest potential, schedule a free demo of JazzHR today.