Recruitment interview tips
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The nature of recruitment continues evolving, with many organisations operating remotely or within a hybrid combination following adjustments throughout the Coronavirus pandemic and finding new interview recruitment opportunities. Firms face new challenges of managing remote workforces and not dealing with people face-to-face, and recruitment processes have significantly evolved to cope with these new ways of working.
Organisations that are critical to dealing with the pandemic, such as the NHS, supermarkets and delivery services, have had to adapt their recruitment processes to bring employees and, in some cases, volunteers on board quickly to meet demands in service. Other organisations have also had to modify their processes, moving the entire process online, from the initial to the final interview, which means that most hiring managers will not have an opportunity to meet their recruits and vice versa physically.
Recruiting Virtually
Definite benefits to online recruitment include:
- Access to a broader pool of candidates.
- Effective use of time.
- Cost savings and reduction in unconscious bias.
Recruiters and hiring managers have to be more objective and make decisions on candidates’ suitability based on the actual interview, not just whether the face fits or not.
“Virtual recruitment is a go-to method to keep hiring processes moving while protecting recruiters and candidates”. (Riia O’Donnell, Online HR Market).
Onboarding and integrating employees have had a significant makeover, migrating online to cope with remote working and the introduction of social distancing. Videos and online streaming services play an essential role in onboarding and integrating new employees and mentoring buddy ups for recruits.
Considerations
- The safety of job seekers and employees has become more vital than ever
- It is critical to design a recruitment plan that balances safety and effectiveness
- New restrictions can be used as a platform for innovation; you might develop a recruitment plan that works better than ever before
- Make use of new technologies and apps; don’t fear change
How to successfully interview for recruitment
Recruiting the right person for your business is a crucial decision that can have far-reaching consequences – especially if you get it wrong. It’s essential to find people with the right skills and abilities and the right attitude.
Job Description
Recognising your team’s goals and intentions is an excellent way to ascertain a relevant job description to source the right candidate. Consider the job role, scope and definition and how each candidate you interview could complete the role successfully. Please think carefully about what your recruitment interview questions need to cover; they should at least cover the skills, experience and knowledge required in the job.
Tasks and Functions
Determining the tasks and functions of the role at hand is vital – it’s helpful to note what the overall team is working towards and consider previous projects they have completed. It would help to reflect on prior team successes and defeats, highlighting core strengths and development areas; this will allow you to focus your efforts on sourcing talent that bolsters your team’s development areas. Ensure your interview plan delves into these tasks and functions, discussing the experiences candidates have within them.
Responsibilities
Within the necessary tasks and processes, it should be clear whether there are any responsibilities essential for the latest team member, whether they will make up part of the primary team or whether there are more leading responsibilities necessary to complete the role successfully. It is crucial to implement these areas of focus within your interview plan, particularly for leading individuals. Situation based questioning is excellent to draw out inherent qualities.
Competencies
It is crucial to consider both hard and soft skills necessary for your new team member. Each team member has a different role to play and will offer diverse skills; reflect on the values that your new hire could add to reinforce the team.
Experience and values
Experience and education will hold differing levels of relevance and compatibility with each role. Analyse the essential education and experience required for the position at hand and consider the desired skills. It has become hard to ignore that a vast portion of failure in new hires is related to substandard, misaligned attitudes.
In modern business, a personal growth culture is high on the priority list for potential candidates. Finding people with the values that best reflect those of your organisation makes a real difference.
Metrics and KPI’s
Key performance indicators should match and promote your businesses strategic goals to drive success. After a candidate becomes part of the team, their job description will map the employee’s work against their job obligations. By discussing the team metrics at the interview stage, you can give a clear overview of the role at hand and learn if the candidate is confident with the responsibility.
Other considerations for recruitment interviews
- Please think carefully about what your recruitment interview questions need to cover; they should at least cover the skills, experience and knowledge required in the job
- Learn how they would cope if their integrity is challenged, how important is it that they deal confidently and ethically with the situation and your organisation
- Craft your questions so candidates can’t just answer yes or no; you’ll begin to see the fundamental qualities in the person
- Ask the critical questions and don’t ignore the red flags – trust your gut