6 Easy Ways to Impress Top Candidates in Interviews

Businesses around the world have the highest intent to hire in history, but are having trouble attracting workers during interviews.

Two-thirds of companies worldwide reported difficulty filling roles, according to a recent Bloomberg survey. Companies are more motivated than ever to attract top talent, and employment is shifting towards being a job-seekers’ market.

How do you best deal with this shift and attract top talent to your workplace? It all starts with interviews – your moment to make a positive first impression on the candidate of your dreams.

An interview may seem like the pressure is all on the potential employee, but nowadays workers are looking for a higher standard and will hold employers to it. In todays job market, your potential employee is going to be considering your workplace as critically as you are considering their qualifications. It’s more important than ever to be prepared to identify and attract qualified candidates in this new job market landscape.

Here are our six easy ways to impress top candidates in interviews:

1. Be Prepared for the Interview

To inspire someone to join your team, first you should understand their valuable experiences and skills. Today’s worker can tell when you’re reading their resume for the first time in front of them. In addition, lack of preparation implies that you don’t care about the position. According to HR Coach Amanda Gee:

“Hiring managers should prepare their interview questions in advance. These questions should be related to what the individual will encounter in the position, their job duties, and the skills necessary to perform the job successfully.”

It is a crucial part of the interview process to verify information provided on a candidate’s application or resume. After addressing the essentials with your candidate, you will be well-served if you have prepared interview questions that can give insight beyond simply how the applicant appears on paper.

2. First Impressions are Everything

Whether you are interviewing remote or in-person, a clean office goes a long way in making a positive first impression. 

Simple straightening up of your work area is one thing, but a potential employee is going to notice dust and grime spread around the workplace. Regular attention from cleaning professionals helps brighten up your facility, as well as reduce the spread of germs. 

Our trained Buildingstars technicians know how to assess and deliver on every cleaning need. To the untrained eye, a facility may look easy to clean, when in reality it may be filled with hidden challenges which require an expert. If you are reassessing your cleaning program or want help tidying up before the interview process, don’t hesitate to reach out today!

3. Highlight the Perks

Once you’ve done the tour, it’s important that the interviewee start imagining what life at your company would be like for them. If your company offers unique perks, such as remote work or unlimited vacation, it’s important to share these benefits during the interview process.

According to Forbes Magazine, many companies are boosting their benefit plans in 2021. From family benefits to mental health support, innovators are finding new ways to provide value to an employee in their workplace.

Don’t forget to mention your favorite thing about the company you work for – that counts as a perk, too! Whether it’s your awesome team or the accessible parking, you have an opportunity to share your unique insights with the potential employee. Make sure to leave enough time at the end for candidates to ask any questions they may have. You never know what biases and experiences each candidate brings, and they might be looking to avoid a negative past experience. Be sensitive when answering these questions, and always return to a positive outlook if possible. 

4. Relax: a More Personal Interview

You will learn much more about the candidate in the interview if they feel comfortable with you.  Help applicants relax and open up by creating a friendly environment and engaging personally. Whether it’s volunteering a personal story of your own to introduce yourself, or asking about their weekend plans; applicants want to feel like they are being met instead of being evaluated. 

Make sure to personally introduce every team member interviewing the candidate, as well. If the interview isn’t conducted in-office, this will be easier, as your team will have a chance to introduce themselves on the video call. Inform everyone taking part in the interview beforehand that you want the interview to feel relaxed and easy for the candidate. Don’t have anyone else tagged in? That’s okay, you can talk about your co-workers whom they will be working with anyways, to create that welcoming feeling. If the pandemic has quieted down your office space, read our tips on dealing with a shrinking workplace here.

5. Take Extensive Interview Notes

Whether you’re a team of 500 or newly expanding to three associates, you will probably want to share your impressions of the candidate with someone. Make sure to take notes on their work experiences, comments, and questions so that you can understand where they are in their career path, and if they would be the best fit for you. 

Obviously, paying attention to the person you’re speaking with and making good eye contact are the first priority. If you need the candidate to slow down so you can note what was said, simply ask. “That was a fascinating answer, would you mind repeating it slower so I can take a note?” Prioritize their experience over your documentation, so make sure to take some time after the interview to write down any additional things about the interview you think will be significant to the process. 

6. Interview Follow-Up

One of the worst parts of the interview process from an interviewee’s perspective is the waiting for communication on their application status. Make sure to communicate well and frequently. Even if you aren’t planning on hiring the person, sooner rather than later is a great rule for follow-up. 

Be honest and prompt when continuing the interview process. For example, the best time to send a follow-up email to an initial interview is one to three days after the interview is conducted. Let your prospective employees know you are prioritizing this position by showing that you can collaborate with your team and communicate with them about their status. 

A personalized follow-up can make a big difference in this age of applicant tracking systems and auto-rejections. A simple, few-paragraph email should communicate that you want to talk with them further about the opportunity. 

Good luck landing your big fish job candidates!