Recruiting as an Interviewer: 3 Goals to Set for an Effective Interview

Crawford Thomas Recruiting Blog

The recruiting process can be more complex than many people may realize. Throughout the recruitment process, there are different stages that provide you with the opportunity to uncover the different attributes of a candidate. The interview phase is often the final and conclusive phase of recruitment, so it is important to get it right.

The Cost of Getting the Interview Wrong When Recruiting

Darryl Moore of Recruiting Blogs found reports that 46% of new hires fail within 18 months.

That causes a significant cost to businesses when you consider the financial cost of recruiting and training new candidates. Monique Lees of Startup Institute Boston reports that a recent survey, which was conducted by Harris Interactive, found that 41% of employers questioned said that the cost of a recruit failing is more than $25,000 to their business.

So there are significant financial motives alone for businesses to get recruiting right first time.

3 Goals That We Recommend You Set for Effective Recruiting at Interview Stage

Interviewers usually only get one window of opportunity to get to know the client at interview, so it makes sense to get it right first time. Setting clear goals and outcomes for an interview can ensure that you get the most out of the process. Here are 3 goals we recommend you keep in mind.

  1. Get an Overall Feel for the Candidate

Dr Catherine Armstrong writes for Jobs.ac.uk that it’s important to get a good overall idea about who the candidate is and their all-round attributes. Rather than focusing too heavily on a list of skills and qualifications to tick off, it’s worth getting to know the whole person.

This can help you to make sure that they will be a good fit within the company and that they have the key soft skills required to work with the team.

  1. Understand Their Motives for Employment

Human Resources Expert Susan M. Heathfield writes for About.com, that a lack of meaningfulness in the workplace can be a main cause for employees to be motivated to resign. In order to improve your talent retention, it is worth gauging the motives of candidates for their employment, which should be in line with the motives of the organization.

  1. Identify Whether They Are a Good Cultural Fit

Job descriptions are flexible and teams can be changed around. However, what isn’t flexible is your company culture. Strong and positive company cultures develop naturally and, if harnessed effectively, are geared towards the overall goals of the business. Therefore it is crucial, during the interview, to ascertain whether the candidate is likely to fit well within the existing company culture.

Don’t Waste the Key Recruiting Opportunity to Gather Crucial Information

It is much easier to identify skills, experience and qualifications of a candidate on their CV. However, other subtle signs that of a good candidate, such as their approach to work, interpersonal skills and motivations, can only be picked up upon in person, during the interview. These 3 goals will help ensure that you make the right decisions when recruiting during the interview.

Find out more about A Crawford Thomas’ recruiting services.

Crawford Thomas RecruitingRecruiting as an Interviewer: 3 Goals to Set for an Effective Interview