Interview Process - Best Practice
When inviting a candidate to interview, you must remember that they are also interviewing you. You are responsible for selling your organisation, the team and the role. We are noticing through various conversations with candidates that an interview experience can either make or break their decision in wanting to take a role or not.
Below are some top tips on interview best practices:
Before the Interview
You should ensure you are providing candidates with all the details of the interview beforehand. This includes who will be on the interview panel (names and job titles), the duration of the interview, the format (Q&A, competency questions, task), the format of the interview (in person or virtual).
To further better the experience for candidates, I would advise sharing some interview questions (2-3 questions) or question themes ahead of the interview to all candidates. This supports neurodiversity and makes you stand out further against any other organisations that aren’t being as inclusive.
During the Interview
As you are leading and running the interview, it is important that you set the correct tone from the very beginning. You must show that you are welcoming, engaged, and prepared. After each panel member has introduced themselves and their role, you should outline the format of the interview so that candidates are aware from the very start. For example, the first 45 minutes will be Q&A, leaving 15 minutes in the end for the candidate to ask any questions. Make sure you actually do give the candidates time to ask their questions. If the interview is in person, offer refreshments and a quick tour of the office to make the candidate feel a part of the organisation, this can help them relax and eliminate nerves!
After the Interview
It is very common for us to hear that, candidates have not heard back from interviews they have interviewed for, or that the feedback has been generic and not specific to them. The sector is very small, and word gets around very quickly, so you want to make sure you are leaving candidates with a positive experience regardless of whether or not they got the job. A quick email thanking candidates right after the interview and letting them know when you will be in touch goes a long way. We as a sector are very quick to steward our donors in the best possible way but you must also put that same effort into your prospective employees to ensure retention is high.
If you would like to review a further detailed document on recruitment best practices, you can download this by clicking here.
