Job interviews are nerve wracking for most of us. Personally, I talk faster, get sweaty, and often forget the right anecdote to tell. (And I’ve had A LOT of job interviews).
As much as it’s on me to get mentally prepared for the interview process, I wanted to share my thoughts on how recruiters and hiring managers could make it better for the candidate and put them at ease.
If a candidate is less stressed, you’ll have the opportunity to get to know the real person, not the tightly wound interview version of themselves. Additionally, by creating a welcoming environment you’ll probably have a better shot and getting them to accept an offer down the line.
1. Email the candidate the names of everyone they will be meeting and a tentative* schedule of the order of those meeting.
*Things change, we all know this, manage expectations about that but provide your best guess and that will allow the interviewee to anticipate the flow of the day.
2. Provide everyone who is interviewing with goals for what they are supposed to evaluate and the candidate’s resume if they want to review it.
Greenhouse makes sure the resume is in their system so that people focus on the scorecard when asking questions and can hide biasing information. A simple checklist for each interview is also good.
3. Give the front desk a list of people coming in to interview that day with their job and who will be their first contact.
Have a standard greeting for when they arrive such as “Welcome to ACME Company, I see you’re here to interview for Director of Happiness. Jenny will be out in just a few minutes. Can I get you a glass of water?”
4. Plan to allow for water and bathroom breaks between interview sessions.
Modern interviews often mean that someone will have 3–4 hour visit at a company. Build in time every hour or so to offer them a bio break or a refill on their water or coffee.
5. Have a schedule for the internal team that lists who is talking to the person, where each meeting will be, and who will be walking them from room to room.
This schedule includes who will be walking them out. Some companies have a recruiter or other person assigned to do this the whole time; this is nice but not required.
6. Make sure the interviewers have business cards for the candidate, or have the recruiter send out a list of emails for the people the candidate has met.
It’s still up to the job seeker to send thank you notes, but give them a leg up.