How to Streamline the Interview Process
By Lea Wolfinger, Senior Director, Ashton Tweed
It’s natural to want to take your time during the interview process to sort through candidates and to ensure that those who really deserve the job stick it out to the end. However, this approach isn’t the best for high-level positions with in-demand candidates. A slow hiring process may cause top candidates to withdraw in favor of a more exciting and fast-paced opportunity. Additionally, you might have to offer new hires higher salaries because they will have had time to receive other competitive offers. Here are five ways to streamline the interview process:
Use your professional network.
The top sources of applicants are job boards and career sites. However, when analyzing the top source of hire, the statistics change drastically. Employee referrals generate 39.9% of all hires. This means word of mouth networking is often the best way to jump-start your search for the right candidates to interview.
Write a detailed job description.
Answer as many questions as you can about the job opportunity up front. A clear and concise job description will attract the right kind of candidates and deter those that are uninterested or underqualified. This will help you quickly narrow down which candidates you’d like to investigate further.
Be selective about who you interview.
The smaller amount of applicants you bring in for an interview, the less time spent on undesirable candidates. Do all of your research on the applicant before offering an interview in order to weed out those whom do not fit your needs. Remember, each day that the position goes unfilled costs money. Save the interviews for those that you are willing to give your time and energy.
Ask for what you need in the beginning.
Many companies request certain materials, such as a list of references, only after they’ve been interviewed. It often takes a couple of days to receive these materials, which only elongates the process. Therefore, it’s best to request materials and other information from candidates during the first round of interviews. Then you will have the facts you need to discuss further interviews or job offers.
Utilize external help when needed.
Certain portions of the hiring process might be too much to handle, especially when hiring for multiple positions or executive-level roles. For these situations, take advantage of external search firms who are experts in this area. They have larger networks, more time to devote to your search, and are quick and efficient at navigating the interview process.
Looking for a retained search firm to help speed up your hiring process? Contact Ashton Tweed today.
Share your insights! Contact jamesrudman@ashtontweed.com to contribute your life sciences article as a guest writer.
