How to improve your interview process

A strong interview process helps you efficiently select the right candidate in a fair environment. With a good interview process, both companies and candidates have the chance to find the best fit for them. 

Even if you have mastered the best practices for conducting an effective interview, you might be looking for ways to improve your interview process. Luckily, this article is for you, as Remote shares how you can strengthen your interviews to hire top talent.

Stages of an interview 

Each company has a different interview process, unique to its needs. To improve your interview process, you can start by segmenting it into stages. 

Preparation is when both the employer and candidate review job requirements and resumes. This is followed by the introduction stage, where rapport is built, and the interview structure is outlined.

Next is the questioning phase, where employers ask about the candidate’s skills, experiences, and behavioral traits, often using structured or situational questions. During the candidate’s questions stage, both parties can make sure that they are a good fit for each other.

Finally, the closing stage involves summarizing the next steps and any follow-up actions. Effective interviews also include post-interview feedback from both parties​.

Common interview improvement areas 

It’s easy to simplify interviews as asking questions to a candidate and overlook other stages of the process. Here’s a list of common points that employers overlook, so you can improve your interview set up.

• Cultural fit: Employers can neglect whether the candidate aligns with the company’s culture and values when focusing on technical skills and qualifications.

• Soft skills: While hard skills are essential, soft skills like communication, teamwork, and emotional intelligence are often undervalued, even though they are critical for collaboration and leadership​.

• Biases: Unconscious bias in evaluating candidates based on appearance, background, or demographic factors can lead to missed opportunities for diverse and qualified hires​.

• Active listening: Employers sometimes fail to thoroughly listen to the candidate’s questions and concerns, which can reveal valuable insights about their priorities and expectations​.

• Role expectations: Not clearly explaining the role’s challenges, team dynamics, and performance expectations can lead to misunderstandings after hiring a new team member.

Addressing overlooked factors can improve your interview process, the quality of hiring decisions, and increase employee retention.

How to improve your interview process

1. Think long-term 

It’s easy to get anxious and try to find a new hire as soon as possible. While you want to be efficient with your hiring process, you also want to think long-term and hire people who fit your company culture.

Before stepping into an interview, clearly define your company’s values, mission, and work environment, and then integrate these factor into your interview questions. It’s helpful to publicly share company values so that candidates can self-assess whether they are compatible with the company before the interview.

Ask candidates about their preferred work styles, values, and how they handle collaboration and conflict. You can also involve team members in the interview process to get different perspectives on whether the candidate fits the organizational culture.

2. Don’t underestimate potential and growth 

You want to find someone with the right skills. To improve your interview process, don’t forget to assess soft skills of the candidate. 

You can ask specific behavioral and situational questions that focus on communication, teamwork, adaptability, and conflict resolution. You can also set hypothetical situations to observe how interviewees respond in real time. 

The goal is to make sure your interview process values people’s potential for growth and their soft skills. Soft skills are just as important as hard skills – it can be easier to train a person for a specific role, but it's hard to teach good communication skills, willingness to learn, and a sense of ownership.

3. Recognize your biases 

As humans, we’re all subject to unconscious biases. To improve your interview process to avoid biases, build a template to keep your interviewer fair and objective.

Keep a format where all candidates are asked the same set of standardized questions, focusing on role-specific competencies. Use predefined criteria and scoring rubrics to evaluate responses objectively, minimizing subjective impressions. 

Blind recruitment practices, where identifiable information like names or demographics are hidden during the early stages, can help reduce unconscious bias. Train your interviewers on mitigating personal biases, use diverse interview panels, and regularly review your hiring data to check for bias patterns.

4. Make the interview a conversation

An interview is a two-way street, not a platform to ask one-sided questions. Make sure you’re actively listening to the candidate, and offer ample time for feedback and comments from their end. 

It’s important to create an environment where the candidate feels comfortable and encouraged to express themselves fully. Practice active listening techniques, like maintaining eye contact, nodding, and asking clarifying follow-up questions to ensure you fully understand their responses. Avoid interrupting or rushing through their answers, and give candidates the space to elaborate on their thoughts. 

Listening to candidates is beneficial for both the interviewer and potential new hire — it makes sure that both parties are on the same page and are headed toward a common goal.

5. Be clear on your expectations 

For a better interview process, it’s important to be clear on what you’re seeking ‌in a candidate. Start by clearly outlining responsibilities, challenges, and performance metrics as detailed as possible before speaking with candidates. 

When speaking to potential new hires, make sure that the candidates fully understand what success looks like in the position, the team dynamics, and any key goals or projects they will be expected to contribute to. Discuss not just the day-to-day tasks but also long-term growth opportunities within the role.

Improve your interview process to hire top talent 

Companies with well-designed interview processes can attract top talent. Candidates feel that a company is organized, professional, and values their time from a positive and fair interview process. With a good interview process, both companies and candidates have the chance to find the best fit for them.

To attract top global talent for interviews, consider working with a global HR partner like Remote. Remote Talent makes it easier for employers to attract the best remote talent worldwide, so you have only high-quality candidates from the start. 

To interview the world’s best remote workers and hire them with ease, sign up for our free trial today.

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