There’s nothing more tedious for both hiring managers and candidates to go back and forth scheduling interviews. Follow these tips for scheduling interviews with candidates to make life easier for you, your hiring managers and your talent pool.
In today’s competitive market, candidates are savvy, resourceful and in high demand. The best way to ensure you secure top talent, as Checkster recommends, is by scheduling interviews in an easy, efficient manner. In prioritising the candidate experience, this goes a long way in earning their respect. Smooth interview experiences and good communication are great ways to set their expectations for what it’s like working in your organisation.
“Many a candidate has been lost due to gaps in scheduling or miscommunications.The faster and more structured your interview process, the better your odds of landing that perfect new hire.”
Here are the best tips for scheduling interviews with candidates.
Use technology to your advantage
Candidate Management Systems, scheduling tools and other technology make it easy for you to build branded email templates from your hiring manager or shortlister, inviting candidates to an interview and book online. Block out time blocks in your schedule to reserve for interviews, and give present these as options to candidates.
This makes things really easy for candidates to self-select a time that suits them, as well as some choice and flexibility…without the hassle of back-and-forth phone calls.
(Tip: millennials comprise the majority of the workforce, so they may form the bulk of your candidate pool. As a number of insights suggest, millennials dislike phone calls. So consider tailoring your communication strategy with this in mind.)
Use batching and scheduling
“After you’ve assessed their resume and cover letter, or after the initial phone screening, it’s imperative that you schedule the candidate’s next interview immediately. Candidates are likely interviewing with multiple companies at the same time. Ask during your initial conversation whether this is the case and how far along in the interview process they are with other organisations. This will allow you to determine your competition and the candidate’s potential timeline for receiving offers from other employers.”
If you feel positively after your first interaction, schedule a follow up conversation (or the next phase in your recruitment process) as soon as possible. Keep the momentum going by securing time in their schedule. For top candidates, time is important.
“This is a common tactic of successful salespeople. There is a saying in sales, “time kills all deals.” Don’t let time be the reason you lose your next “A” player.”
Establish good communication and be responsive
Communication is the crux of candidate care. Keep candidates informed about how long the process is going to take.
Again, technology can be a major time-saver, allowing you to bulk-send personalised, branded emails to groups of candidates in your pool. It can also enable you to create triggers and automated messages, for example, when candidates submit applications or choose an interview time. (Are your automated recruitment messages up to scratch? Personalise where you can and bring out your brand personality.)
“When scheduling interviews, it’s common for candidates to have questions or even reschedule several times. Being flexible and responding immediately is essential in securing their time and creating a great experience for them.”
Establish a process for collecting interviewer feedback
“After each interview, make sure to compile the interviewers’ feedback on each candidate quickly so as not to lose any extra time in the hiring process. It can be challenging to chase down interviewers and find time to somehow consolidate their various comments and notes. How do you keep it consistent and organised?”
You can even use technology and automations for gathering feedback, for example, sending an email to relevant stakeholders when a candidate profile has been update, or their interview has been marked as complete.
Using these tips for scheduling interviews with candidates will make life easier for you, your hiring managers and your candidates. Secure them quickly, and impress them with great communication and easy processes to set the pace for what they can expect working in your organisation.
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Tips for scheduling interviews with candidates
Checkster
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