It will only take a couple of interviews to become confident and competent with this process. You will then be able to ascertain whether the person in front of you is the right person for the post, and you will have eliminated the “he looked and sounded the part and we got on well” approach to interviewing which can and has resulted in so many recruiting calamities.
So, What Now?
Once you have the required information you're in a position to close the interview with a high level of certainty as to whether the candidate is the right person for you or not.
My recommendation is that you do not make an offer at this stage and instead give yourself some time afterwards, just to run through the answers that were given, to ensure that you have not missed anything. I would particularly advocate this if this is one of your first interviews. (The only exception would be if you are hiring a temp or a contractor and they have to start the next day.) However, taking this approach doesn't mean that you can’t close the interview so that the candidate is left feeling very keen on working for you, over and above any other opportunities they may have.
When I have the detailed answers I require from my questions I move the interview towards the close with a statement along the lines of:
“Well thanks for answering the questions in such good detail for me. It provides a really good insight into how you can contribute to our business. Before we conclude, I will talk you through the opportunity with us and discuss the company background and where we are going. Then I will answer any questions you have, although I may cover some of them in the next few minutes anyway. Once we have covered your questions then I will quickly run through what happens next. Is that okay? Do you have any questions before I start?”Then I talk about the opportunity and the company. I will take longer and go into greater detail with the good candidates than with the candidates I am sure that I will not be progressing with.
Sell The Opportunity And Your Company:
'Selling' the job you're offering and your company is very important, but by waiting and only doing this at the end of the interview, then
- You'll know what the candidate wants from their next career move and you can now focus on these needs as you 'sell' the position to them. It is very difficult to sell at the beginning of the interview when you don’t know what the candidate wants or expects.
- You'll be able to lessen the focus on the specific opportunity if you know you're not going to hire the candidate. You should still aim to sell your company overall, so that it is spoken of positively and further - as we discussed in earlier editions - by doing so there's always the chance that the candidate will refer someone they know who is a better fit for the specific post.
When presenting the opportunity and your company remember to talk about where the role will take the candidate in the longer term, so that they have some objectives beyond completing the role you have today. This is very important in securing the very best people. (Always remember, the top candidates will almost certainly have other options as you will not be the only person to spot a highly motivated, talented individual.)
Be honest and talk about any aspirations that have been expressed by the candidate that may not be met within the role or within their expected timeframe. Talk about why they won’t and discuss alternatives, with the aim of making those alternatives just as attractive. The candidate is sat with you, so this is the best time to have this conversation. If you make an offer and they accept you want them to settle in well and if they discover that important information was not forthcoming from you, their motivation will plummet. (A new recruit is at the greatest risk of leaving in the first few months of employment, so it's always worth doing as much as you can to stop this happening.)
Make sure you cover the financial package, any other benefits and holiday entitlement well. Candidates always want to know this but many are reluctant to ask as it may convey the wrong message about their motivation. By presenting and discussing what is and isn’t available the candidate will gain a clear understanding and will either a) leave the interview happy with what's on the table or b) leave you knowing there is an aspect to what you're offering that you may have to think further about if you choose to make an offer to this particular candidate.
The detailed, probing and well-informed questions asked by you during the interview will have demonstrated to the top candidates that you know what you want and that things are happening at your company. This, combined with the discussion about the opportunity at the end, will hopefully create a stronger desire for the post you're offering vis-à-vis any alternatives.
Answer The Candidate’s Questions:
Candidates are advised to have some questions to ask at the end of an interview so you can be sure that a well prepared candidate will have some. Now is the time to take them.
If you sell the company and opportunity well, many of the questions will have been covered but take as long as needed to answer the questions of the good candidate so that they have all the information they require. Remember, recruitment is a two way process so both parties have to be sure that this is a good idea for them. (For a candidate I am not so interested in, I will answer the questions satisfactorily but I won't spend the same amount of time on them.)
Bear in mind that questions arise through interest. You can sensibly conclude that there is interest by the candidate in the job you're offering on the basis of good questions being asked of you about the role and future developments. Answering these questions well means that you are still selling the opportunity and your company.
Next Time:
Establishing whether the candidate has other options, and what happens next.
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