The pandemic has transformed recruitment as we know it. Due to social distancing measures, interviewing candidates in person is no longer feasible. That doesn’t mean that hiring should be put on hold – businesses simply need to adapt to new remote ways of doing things. I’ve been interviewing candidates virtually for more than six months and have three pieces of advice for anyone taking their first tentative virtual hiring steps:
1. Decide on the process
Start by deciding on the hiring process you’ll be using. Consider the kind of interviews you’ll do, how many stages candidates will go through and who will be conducting the interviews. This should be shared with everyone involved in the process, both within your business and the candidates themselves, so that everyone knows what to expect.
This situation is likely to be new for most parties, so planning and preparation is key. For example, if you’re using a free version of Zoom, the call will be limited to 40 minutes, so it’s important to factor that in.
If you’re working with a recruitment consultancy, build in time for scheduled follow up calls to debrief them after each interview. This will help to keep things moving quickly!
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2. Send candidates an information pack in advance
Create a positive candidate experience by sending prospective hires an information pack in advance. It’s a great way to allay their concerns over what may seem like a daunting process and allows them to prepare to the best of their ability. It’s also a powerful employer branding tool that you can use to highlight what sets your company apart.
The pack should include:
• Background information about your company and what it’s like to work there
• What candidates should expect from each stage of the interview process
• What you’re looking for in an ideal candidate
• The technology and log in details for each stage of the interview (for example: Zoom, Skype, Microsoft Teams etc.)
• Point of contact details throughout the interview process
3. Encourage interviewers to use a scorecard
Assessing candidates can be difficult at the best of times, and it’s even harder when you’re interviewing someone over video call. One way to make the decision-making process easier for interviewers is to produce a scorecard, unique to the position the candidates are interviewing for. By homing in on the top skills or qualities and giving them each a score out of 5, 10 or 20 (depending on the weighting of each), you can easily gauge candidates’ suitability. It can also help eliminate unconscious biases, as you can only score in relation to the skills the candidate has demonstrated.
Remote hiring is uncharted territory for many of us, but practice really does make perfect. It’s of case of careful planning and preparation, clear communications and having a system in place to support your decision-making. All you need now is the ideal candidate!
Written by Rebecca Siciliano, Managing Director, Tiger Recruitment
