Your interview process is the first impression candidates will get of your business and making a good impression is just as important for your business as it is for the candidate. Interviewing is a two-way process and a great first impression will mean you have a higher chance of attracting the best candidates.

Here’s our top tips to consider when you’re recruiting to make sure you leave a lasting impression:

1. Do your preparation before an interview.

Although you will have already reviewed a candidate’s CV before you invited them to interview, it’s always worth reviewing the candidate’s CV again before you meet them.

This final review ensures that you make the most of the time that you have with the candidate, you avoid asking questions that may already be answered in the CV and you can cover any specific concerns you might have.

We would always recommend creating an interview script. This ensures consistency for each candidate, means you can focus on the candidate’s answers rather than thinking of your next question and is great to refer back to when making your final decision.

2. Make sure your interview process reflects the culture of your business.

There is no point having a very formal interview process where you require candidates to dress in a suit and tie if you operate a relaxed working environment with a casual dress code. Remember that candidates are assessing you as much as you are assessing them at interview so make sure they are left with the right impression about your culture and how things work.

3. Never interview on your own.

Tackle unconscious bias by always having more than one person from your business in an interview. You should ideally have the recruiting manager and a team member where possible to negate the personal unconscious bias of any one individual.

Unconscious bias is the natural way in which people tend to favour others who have similar characteristics to their own such as background or education or even something as trivial as dress sense and you must actively seek to ensure it’s not present in your recruitment process. If this does creep in during your interview process it can be bad news for you and your business.

4. Listen to the candidate.

Actively listening and encouraging response through the use of good eye contact and positive body language is essential. It shows you are interested (even if you are not) and will get the best out of your candidates.

Often hiring managers are so focused on what they are going to say next that they miss a key comment by the candidate. You can tell a lot from candidate’s responses so make sure you are paying attention and don’t allow your mind to wonder.

If someone hasn’t given enough information, ask them more questions – why, when, where, how?

5. Confirm next steps.

At the end of the interview make sure you explain what the next steps of the process will be to each candidate, so they know what to expect. Thank the candidate for their time and make a commitment to responding by a specific date. Make sure you stick to this – getting back to candidates when you say you will reflects well on both you and your business.

6. Be consistent.

Whenever you are interviewing for a vacancy, consider implementing a points-based scoring system based on the practical skills required to perform the job.  You can also consider other written or practical tests that focus purely on the capability of a candidate to increase your chances of finding the right person for your business.  Being consistent and taking the same approach with all candidates means that your decision on who to hire will be objective and won’t leave you open to any opportunity for a candidate to claim that they have been treated less favourably.

7. Don’t discriminate.

Make sure you know which questions you can and cannot legally ask a candidate during an interview. Ensure your final decision is based on candidates’ skills and experience only.

At Clear Bridge HR we offer help and support with your recruitment processes including recruitment best practice training, interview script design, interview question banks, assistance with face to face interviews, psychometric testing and much much more.