The interview stages all have a part to play when you’re recruiting. Each level of assessment helps you identify more about the candidate’s skills and how they might fit into your company culture. The more information you can get, the better!

When seeking your next hire, it is vital to have a set process. The time it takes to screen, interview and select your new hire is costly enough as it is and without a set process, it will cost you and your company even more!

So, where do you start?

In this blog I will outline what it takes to find the perfect match for the role and the company and tell you why you need to take the hiring process seriously and avoid any red herrings.

 

Pre-screen Interview

The first step is a pre-screen interview.

The pre-screen is the initial contact you will have with a potential candidate. This interview stage assesses your candidate’s telephone manner and communication skills.

Have a standard set of questions which you ask every candidate. This greatly improves your ability to compare applicants and find your top performers.

A phone conversation alone will help you assess a candidate’s ability to speak on the phone, their confidence, their ability to cope under pressure and their ability to think on their feet.

The advantage of a pre-screen is that it is an easy way to get to know a candidate and assess essential skills.

Whilst a pre-screen is easy and convenient, you will need to have further more in depth interview stages to further evaluate your candidates.

Overall a pre-screen is a great way to filter candidates when you have an abundance of applications.

 

Telephone Interviews

The second stage would be a telephone interview.

Telephone interviews are similar to pre-screens but are far more structured. They can be used instead of or as well as a pre-screen depending on the level of experience your candidate will need.

In this interview stage a candidate will be asked more specific questions about the industry, the specific role and your company. This conversation will allow you to have a good idea of what the potential candidate knows, what research they’ve done and what experience they have.

As the interview is more structured, the conversations are easy to compare. This discussion is also a great way to introduce the company and the role to the candidate and answer any questions they may have. Much like the pre-screen, this interview stage is easy to arrange for both parties and is convenient.

A telephone interview, however, may feel less personal to the candidate which may prevent them from warming to the company and the role. This may have a detrimental effect to the candidate’s interest in the role and may deter your perfect hire.

 

Face to Face interview

 

A face to face interview is one of the most common interview stages a potential employee will experience. This interview stage is often the last stage before selecting your new hire.

The main benefit of this interview stage is that the candidates can see where they could be working. This makes the environment more familiar and helps them warm to the company which could attract your new hire to the position and simplify the offer stage.

These meetings require a meeting room or other venue and can take up a fair amount of time. If you have the space and time allocated, this is the best option to find your new addition.

 

Virtual Interviews

As we adjust to a “new normal”, virtual interviews are gaining popularity for screening and filtering candidates. A virtual interview is very similar to a face to face interview except it is done via a computer or mobile device.

The main advantage of this is that it is easier to arrange and can be done at any time or place. The main difference is that a candidate will not view the environment they may potentially be working in which can deter potential candidates from accepting an offer.

The best way to screen your candidates is to pick and choose a few different interview stages and alter your process depending on the role.

Having clear interview stages gives you the capability to identify your front runners at an early stage. It also offers a fair opportunity to candidates who are all measured by the same process.

At Elite Staffing Solutions we have an impressive seven step recruitment process to ensure that every time you add to your team you’re getting the very best fit.

We have exceptional resources to help you hone your interviewing skills so you know what to ask and how. If you need the experts to do the heavy lifting for you, get in touch.