I tell executive job candidates all the time that the interview process is as much about them learning about an organization as it is about the organization learning about them. It is a part of the process that many candidates — and hiring organizations — fail to realize.

If a candidate encounters a smooth interviewing process with informed, welcoming team members, they walk away with a positive impression of the opportunity. If they are bounced around in a disorganized fashion and there are multiple delays with different team members communicating different messages, they walk away confused or even no longer interested.

As the demand for skilled talent increases, candidate experience is going to be a big factor in an organization’s success or failure to bring in top talent. That is why your interviewing process needs to be one that convinces candidates to join your firm.

Here are the ways you can protect your talent brand and hold on to top candidates as they interview.

Make sure everyone is on the same page.

Once you have identified who is going to be involved in the interview process, make sure everyone has a clearly defined idea of the job description and the qualifications you are seeking. It is important that the candidates get a clear picture from an organization of not only the responsibilities but the expectations of the role.

I have seen top candidates walk away from a role because they saw this type of confusion in the interview process. I have a client who does a great job with this by holding a meeting at the beginning of the search and discussing the details thoroughly with everyone on the search committee.

Make the interview schedule work.

Once you have candidates in the pipeline, you will want to move quickly to get them into the interview process. Make sure that all parties involved in the interview process are willing to make room in their schedule on designated interview days.

I have witnessed a search in which a candidate dropped out because the onsite interviews were scheduled, cancelled, rescheduled, and cancelled again. If individuals on your team cannot make time, schedule them for finalist interviews only. Or think about splitting the process into two on-site visits if it does not inconvenience the candidate too much.

Instill a sense of urgency in your interview team.

Life changes for people in a heartbeat. You can talk to a candidate one week who isn’t really looking and the next they have accepted another offer. While you are waiting two weeks for feedback from your entire team, your top candidate can be accepting another offer because they thought you weren’t interested.

If candidates don’t hear from you shortly after their interview, they will assume that you are not moving forward with them. Each day that passes after their interview reduces your chance of securing that candidate. It’s so important to get your interview team to commit to providing feedback on a candidate within a short window of time.

Make it easy for them to rate and rank their experience with the candidate. Give them a short form that they can complete quickly and easily.

Define what you want the interviewers to explore with a candidate.

If you don’t provide guidance an interviewer may not get the most from a candidate or explore things that they should have discussed. Providing a list of ideal questions is one solution.

However, you may want to mix it up and give different questions to different people. I once had a client that distributed a set of questions to the interview team and every interviewer asked the same questions. The candidate feedback I got was, “They should have had everyone in one room and had me answer the set of questions once. It would have saved a whole lot of time.”

Make sure a candidate feels welcome.

Have someone meet him or her in lobby when they arrive. Arrange a tour of the building. If they are going to be on site for an entire day, make sure they have breaks for comfort needs and refreshments. Don’t leave them sitting in a hallway or waiting area unattended for long periods of time. It gives the candidate the impression that you don’t feel their time is valuable.

Be careful about having candidates meet with potential colleagues.

It is a good idea that can go wrong. If you are going to have a potential leader meet the team they would be leading, the team should be given guidance on what questions to ask and how to act appropriately.

They need to understand that they are not interviewing the candidate, and there are some things — for example, issues about salaries or personal lives — that the team should not be asking their possible future boss.

When you are ready to make the offer, don’t delay.

I have seen employers drag the process out for two weeks or more, risking losing the top candidate. It is important to get the specifics of an offer right but to do it quickly.

If you plan ahead and take just a few precautions, you will increase your chances of getting the candidate you want for a role. If not, that candidate may be inclined to go elsewhere.

Instant Insights /

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