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How to Create a Great Candidate Experience During Interviews

Businessman in Waiting Room

You’re gearing up for interviews – and focused on what you need in a new employee. However, are you also thinking about providing a great candidate experience during the process?

As recruiters in Phoenix, PrideStaff knows an excellent experience can be the difference between hiring top candidates and mediocre ones. On the flip side, a negative experience can tarnish your company’s reputation and employer brand for years to come.

So, whether you hire someone or not, here’s how to provide a positive experience to every single candidate throughout the interview process:

Prepare candidates.

How do they get to your location? Where do they park? Will they have to pay for parking? Where should they go once they arrive? What do they need to bring with them? What should they expect from the interview?

These are all important questions to answer before an interview. If a candidate doesn’t know what they’re doing, where they’re going, or what to expect it’s only going to lead to a frustrating experience overall.

Be welcoming.

Don’t make a candidate sit in the lobby for 30 minutes while you finish up a phone call. It sends the wrong message – one that says you don’t care.

Instead, throughout the process, be friendly to them and respectful of their time. Don’t answer your phone or check emails while you’re interviewing. Give candidates your full attention throughout.

Also, take all their questions seriously and try to answer them to your best ability. Don’t ever brush them off.

Give them a tour.

Doing so provides an opportunity for each candidate to get a sense of your culture. This is important for a few reasons. First, if it doesn’t feel right, they can self-select out of the hiring process. For you, you can read their body language during a tour and also evaluate how they interact with potential co-workers. This will provide you with valuable insight into cultural fit for each candidate.

Be prepared and ask meaningful questions.

If you’re ill-prepared for an interview, the candidate will know it. Instead, make sure you know the objectives for the role so you can ask questions that help you properly assess each candidate. Don’t simply wing it.

Also, do some research on each candidate ahead of time, so you can ask questions specific to their background and experience. Review their resume, look them up on LinkedIn, and check out their online portfolio.

Stay in close contact.

Once the interview is over, be clear about next steps during the hiring process. Explain when you plan to follow up with the candidate – and then follow through.

If you don’t plan to hire a certain candidate, don’t send them a form letter via email. Instead, pick up the phone and give them a call. They’ll appreciate the personal touch.

When it comes to interviewing candidates, simply being courteous goes a long way. Even if you don’t choose to hire a candidate for a certain role, they could be the perfect fit for a future one. That’s just another reason it’s so important to cultivate a positive experience for candidates.

Need more help hiring great candidates for your team?

Give PrideStaff a call. As experienced recruiters in Phoenix, we can assist you with every aspect of hiring – so you find exceptional people who can deliver the results you’re after. Contact PrideStaff today to learn more about how we can help you.

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