Perfecting Your Interview Process

So you’ve posted your job adverts, spoken with recruiters and now have a shortlist of 5-10 top tier candidates for the role.

Job done? Not even close…

The process of taking these applicants from start to finish is a challenging and often frustrating process which requires the right structures, processes and often flexibility on the hiring teams schedules. One of the main ways we assist clients, is by streamlining this process. They reach out to us initially as they have had a few applications but cannot seem to seal the deal with the talent in their pipeline.

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The first step to this is to ensure your interview process is as short as possible, whilst also allowing the hiring team to gather all the information they need to make the right decision.

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The number one reason that clients miss out on talent, is time... It’s a cliche in recruitment but it is still true – Time Kills Deals. – If you wait too long, or if the feedback loop is not tight enough, someone else will steal your candidate before you even get the chance.

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The flip side to all of this is that the candidate needs time to make an informed decision on you, as there is nothing worse than having someone join your company and end up leaving down the line due to the company being different than expected.

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So what is the best interview process to ensure you secure that A* candidate, whilst keeping both sides happy?

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We have analysed all of the data we have from the last 7 years of recruiting in the tech space… including the amount of time to fill roles, number of interviews, time for receiving feedback, placement ratios, and the style of interviews for placements we have made in each respective market.

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The following process is the most efficient, and reliable way of securing the best talent for your business:

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Stage 1: Intro Call – You should already have worked along side recruiters or your own internal team to screen all CV’s and have an initial chat over the phone with each candidate, once this has been completed you can move onto the first interview.

This should be an initial half hour call with the hiring manager for the role.It should be a chance for the candidate to get a better feel for the company and role, and also the HM to find out in depth information about the candidate and their experience.

This needs to be organised within 48 hours of the initial screening call by your recruiter so the role is fresh in mind for the candidate. Talk about the company, job description and their CV in more detail, ask them to provide examples of projects they have covered.

If you are both happy at this point, book them in for stage 2!

Stage 2: Full Technical Interview – Hosted by the direct line manager on the team.

This should be booked in within 3 working days of the original phone call, and conducted over video conference to allow the most flexibility for the candidate and yourself to speak quickly.

During this interview you should do a deep dive into the candidates experience, talk about similar projects they have covered in the past and get them to provide examples of results in the STAR METHOD (link to info on star method on site.)

You should include questions which test their knowledge of the technology you work with, and also test their working methodologies to ensure a good culture fit.

You should also give a full indication here of the tech stack you work with, the plan for the next 6 months and year in the team, day to day responsibilities and the expectations of them throughout their first year at the company.

Give feedback same day to the recruiters working on the role. They can pass this on to the candidates and get their availability immediately to move on to the next stage. (Or if negative, they can find more candidates for you quickly).

Stage 3: Final Interview with Senior Management and also one other member of the team (separate 20 minute sessions with each). This gives leadership a chance to find out more about the person who will be working for them, and following that it allows the candidate to ask non biased questions to a member of the team. This can alleviate any red flags they may have or questions they don’t have answers too yet.

This final stage should allow all parties to finish the call with a good indication of whether the role is a good fit.

Stage 4: Offer - If you decide to move to offer, refer back to the original salary expectations discussed with the recruiter and reconfirm this with them (Things can, and do change).

All offers should be made within 48 hours of final interviews, to ensure the candidate doesn’t dwell for too long.

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Stick to this guide for your technical hires, your chances of making the hire will grow exponentially.

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If you are struggling to hire the right people quickly enough, get in touch with one of our team today.