A recent BLR® webcast, sponsored by Citrix, explored the interview process from the perspective of the candidate. Today we’ll see what Kim Seeling Smith, the founder and CEO of Ignite Global, had to say in the webcast HR in the Candidate’s Shoes: Improve the Interview Process Through Awareness of the Interviewee’s Experience.
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How many interviews have you conducted? Have you ever taken a hard look at how the candidate experiences those interviews? Most interviews focus on finding a good fit for the company; that naturally creates a company-oriented interview process. Smith shows how to look at the interview process from the perspective of the interviewee.
The Problem
Smith puts forth a shocking projection—85 million jobs will be unfilled by the year 2020. Some refer to this as the “workforce crisis of the future,” and recent trends seem to support this concept. Smith paraphrases expert Rainer Strack as saying that every single country will have a skills deficit by the year 2030.
Smith notes that in the relative heydays of the ’80s and ’90s, there were always more qualified candidates than there were jobs. As a result, candidates would do anything to get a job—and this greatly benefited companies. Smith also notes that things are different now, and the situation isn’t likely to change any time soon.
Two-Way Interview Process
Smith says that contemporary interviews need to be a two-way process. She states that “not only do we need to screen the bad, but we actually need to … woo the good.” And this, according to Smith, is where things get tricky because Millennials are the primary source of talent, and they represent a new type of hire. In fact, they represent a new type of worker as well. According to research, they have different expectations about how the interview process should be conducted (as well as how work itself should be conducted). This makes interviewing Millennials a new challenge for HR and for hiring managers.
Smith notes that we have not updated the practices we use to hire staff in a long time. A lot of those practices are reminiscent of an old way of hiring, back when there were more qualified candidates than there were jobs.
Smith, with the perspective of thousands of interviews says we need to disrupt traditional interview methods.
Why Consider Interviewees’ Perspective?
Smith notes that there is a short, but very important, list of problems that interviewees regularly encounter. These problems occur when the interviewee:
- Could not find much information about the company.
- Found the application process too confusing.
- Encountered an interviewer who was unprofessional or unprepared.
- Received little or no feedback.
- Was lied to.
Smith says these are the reasons why you have to put yourself in your candidates’ shoes. She says employers may approach this change of perspective by:
- Looking at your online process, and seeing why that is important.
- Taking a look at the application process in general.
- Learning how to present a seamless, professional interview.
- Understanding why and how to do your research on the candidate and what that tells him or her about you as a prospective employer.
- Deciding what and when to tell the candidate about the role and the company.
- Understanding that it is as important to tell the candidate “no” as quickly and professionally as you would tell the candidate “yes.”
- Making sure you take care of the candidate throughout the process.
Here are common answers Smith hears when she asks “Why do you think that it’s so important that we look at the interview process from the candidate’s perspective?”:
- It says a lot about the company.
- The candidate is also interviewing the company.
- To understand what the candidate is looking for with regards to employment.
- So we can provide what is relevant to the candidate.
- We want to give the candidate a good impression of the company.
Smith says that while all of these are great answers, she has one word that trumps them all—GlassDoor®—what she calls “the Yelp of employers.” The company GlassDoor provides candidates with an outlet to anonymously complain about the interview process, which can warn other candidates to stay away. Employees can complain about companies as well, which can have the same effect.
Glassdoor is why you really need to put your best foot forward in the interview process, says Smith.
Tomorrow, we’ll hear more from Smith about the interviewee perspective.