The DO’s & DON’Ts of an Interview Process
When you are trying to attract and retain the highest calibre candidates for your firm your interview process is often overlooked as one of the key components. During the recruitment process you are selling your firm to the candidate as much as they are selling their skill set to you and the first impression you give off is often the deciding factor.
It is important to make yourself as attractive as possible to these high calibre candidates as they have a savvy knowledge of the market and will compare their experience during the process to your competitors.
Here are a few key Do’s and Don’ts.
DO
- Have a clear process which is outlined to the candidate at the outset
- Prep your interviewers so that they are all aware of the next stages when interviewing each candidate
- Choose your interviewers wisely – who sells your company the best?!
- Make it personal - add a peer drinks round or an informal coffee chat, this is a much more accurate way to assess a good culture fit
DON’T
- Have the same process for all levels – it should be bespoke pending their grade
- Use quantitative assessments on senior candidates- this is not the best way to assess their capabilities, a personality assessment such as Gallup is more fitting
- Alter the process throughout – this creates uncertainty and doubt
- Take more than 3 days to give feedback – time kills deals and can leave candidates feeling unwanted
- Repeat the same questions throughout the process, each stage should be assessing different capabilities
An Ideal Process
Round 1: Informal interview cultural fit (ideally someone senior) – pre-screen with HR optional
Round 2: Technical interview with a “case-study” ideally on a recent project – can they do the job?!
Round 3: Leadership Interview – sell the firm/vision, progression, clarity on role, address any concerns
Round 4: Peer-to-peer chat (lunch, drinks, etc…) – what’s it actually like to work there?
Bonus round: Do you know how long a management consultancy interview should be?
