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If you’re involved in hiring people for your business you’ll appreciate the importance of the interview process. Whilst the latest AI may help in some stages of the recruitment process, the interview is still an integral tool to identify the right people for your business. So how do you ensure that your interview process is effective, fair and produces the required outcomes?
I’ve been providing recruitment services to automotive industry employers for over 24 years. I work closely with my clients advising them on all aspects of the hiring process – including interviews. In this article I will share my best practice advice for employers on how to run a great interview process.
The benefits of a great interview process
Having a robust and fair interview process is essential for all businesses. Not only will it ensure you hire the right people but will also help to avoid discrimination and provide all candidates with a positive experience – even if they are not successful. In today’s world of online reviews the importance of this should not be underestimated.
The stages of an interview process
Here’s my 10 step guide to running a great interview process:
1. Review applications regularly
Whether you’re using a specialist industry recruiter, such as Copeland Automotive Recruitment or advertising directly for your job vacancy, my first recommendation is that you review new applications quickly. This will not only ensure you don’t miss great applicants but also provide all candidates with a positive experience from the get go. ,,,
2. Arrange first interviews quickly
Contact your selected candidates as soon as possible – ideally within a week of their application. This will get them quickly engaged. If you delay candidates may assume you’re not interested in them and you could risk loosing them to other employers..
3. Explain the interview process
Inform your candidates of the stages of the interview process. Let them know what the format, timings and interview panel will be for each stage. Inform them as to whether they’ll be expected to prepare anything specific, for example a presentation. .
4. Select the right interview panel
Deciding who should (and should not) be part of your interview panel is very important. It can affect the outcome of an interview process. Including too many people can cause delays. It may also be intimidating for some candidates. I’d recommend up 2 key stakeholders (HR and line manager) for first interviews and up to 4 for the second stage. A good practice is to include a colleague or peer (not a manager) in interviews. A word of warning – if you have a senior manager who will have the final say in selecting candidates I’d recommend bringing them into the process asap. I have seen interview processes fail at the final hurdle when the chosen candidate is not to the MD’s liking.
5. Use video for first interviews
The majority of my automotive industry clients now hold first interviews over video. Video interviews give you much more flexibility. You can quickly meet your selected candidates and move forward with your interview process.…
6. Use well structured interview questions
I recommend using structured competency based interview questions based on your candidate requirements. Use an interview scorecard to mark each candidate against the required competencies and attributes. Read our advice on recruiting for Sales Jobs and Marketing Jobs.
7. Always include tests or tasks
For the second stage interview, I recommend including some form of test or task for candidates. This will verify what they claim they are able to do. Tasks will vary depending on the type of role you are hiring for. They could include: a presentation, technical skills tests or psychometric/personality tests. When setting your interview task, consider what key skills and attributes the job requires and try to include as many as possible into the task. Tasks can either be pre-set (make sure you give candidates adequate time to prepare) or on-the-day tasks. Some employers will also use online tests or psychometric testing.
Here at Copeland Automotive Recruitment, part of my service is to advise my clients on interview tasks. Here’s some further advice to help you: How to use Behavioral Testing and Set a Great Interview Task.
8. Don’t have too many stages
Most automotive industry businesses I work with use a 2 or 3 stage interview process. This might typically be:
- Stage 1: 1 hour video interview
- Stage 2: Face to face interview including a task/presentation
- Stage 3: Final stage to meet other key stakeholders/senior managers.
The more senior the role, the more stages there might be. I recommend keeping the gaps between the stages to a minimum. This will ensure continued engagement from candidates and reduce the risk of loosing great people to other employers who have progressed more quickly. If the availability of key stakeholders to meet face to face is potentially going to delay things, consider using a video interview at stage 2.
9. Sell your organisation and the job opportunity
Don’t forget that an interview is very much a 2-way process. It’s vital that you ‘sell’ your organisation and job opportunity to your interviewees. If you are using a recruitment agency they will play a key role in helping sell your vacancy to candidates. That said, how you – the employer – come across and what you tell them will be pivotal in your candidates’ opinion of your business and the job opportunity. If you are to secure the best candidates, I cannot stress how important this is. Some of my clients use pre-prepared presentation about their business, it’s culture, benefits and onward career opportunities. This is a great way of engaging candidates. At the very least I recommend you fully explain the following to all candidates:
- What your business is about – its history, products and successes
- Future business plans / growth
- Your culture
- The job and why it’s vacant and how it fits into the wider organisation
- How success will be measured in the job
- Onward career progression opportunities
10. Provide feedback
If you follow the stages set out above you will hopefully find and secure your ideal candidate and be ready to move to a job offer. But don’t neglect the unsuccessful candidates. They may have invested considerable time and energy into the interview process and ideally should be provided with some constructive feedback. This could be an email or quick phone call explaining why they have been unsuccessful. Failing to do this can leave a sour taste with rejected candidate and reflect poorly on your business. If you have used a scorecard system during your interviews it will be much easier to give good feedback.
By following these 10 simple steps you should greatly increase the chance of quickly and successfully filling your vacancies. If you are an employer in the automotive sector and need help with any vacancies in Sales, Marketing or Operations, I can help. Get in touch for an initial chat: [email protected] / 07973 286342.
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Further Reading:
How to Interview for Marketing Jobs
How to Interview for Sales Jobs
Create A Great Candidate Experience
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Copeland help automotive businesses get the recruitment process right. We use a structured process – based on over 24 years’ experience – to source, qualify and select the right candidates within our clients’ timescales.
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