Managers as Recruiters 2

Isn't the questions you ask, it's the experience you create. I'm Brian Welch. I'm the owner of Shift Focus coaching and consulting. And this month I'm talking about recruiting for managers. So last week I talked a little bit about how you can expand your talent pool, and today I want to talk a little bit about interviewing. Now, most people are thinking when they get into an interview process, they're thinking, why should we offer you a job? And they have what I call the gatekeeper mentality. And I want to talk to you today about having a bit of a different mentality, and that is the recruiter mentality. That doesn't mean you're going to water down your expectations or change your criteria. But if that person that's sitting across from you is the future of your organization, is the star candidate that's going to help you take on new projects or accomplish new things, then you want them to be leaving thinking, this is the place I want to work. And in order for them to be thinking that, they have to have a great candidate experience in order for them to leave thinking that way, you as the interviewer, need to be thinking about them. Most hiring managers, I found, are not thinking that way. See, they're. They're coming in thinking about themselves. They're thinking about the risks that they have in hiring somebody new. They're thinking about their needs and what their current problems are. And then they're thinking, how do I make sure this candidate meets those needs? But they're not thinking about the candidate first. And frankly, they're hurting the hiring process. So I want to just give you three tips to think about. First one's a really basic one. It's having a structure and being confident when you go into an interview. See, candidates are nervous and they're unsure coming in to an interview. And so your job as the interviewer, very first job, is to make them feel comfortable, make them feel relaxed and at ease. What's ironic about this is you're thinking about them and how to make them feel comfortable. But if you do that, that is how you're going to get the best interview. So it's in your best interest as well. One of the ways I like doing this, though, is just give them an agenda. Let them know what the flow of the interview is going to be. Make sure that you give. Let them know that at the end, there's going to be time for questions. See, I really don't like the practice that I've seen some people do where they open it up with well, do you have any questions for us? I want that candidate to feel like they're taken care of. Like when they come in, I'm going to shepherd them through the process and take care of them and they can kind of relax and not worry about it and know that at the end they'll have some time for questions. And I'm going to manage the time. So they do have that time for questions. And I'll often open up the interview by just introducing myself and talking a little bit so they can settle in and feel at ease. But then I'm going to pretty quickly turn it over to asking them questions and so I can move into listening mode. Because in an interview, most of the time I want to spend. Now, if you have panel interview. Just a quick note about that. I like to have panel interviews where there's a leader, somebody that's leading the the interview and they're opening and, and closing the review, just like we talked about. But I also make sure that everyone on the interview or everyone in the interview knows who is on the panel and why they're there. I've been in an interview where I had three people in the room and they didn't get introduced and so I wasn't sure why they were there. And it was really unsettling through the whole interview. So you don't want that to happen for your candidate. Give everybody introductions, make sure they know why they were there, and then during the interview have clear handoffs between the people. So when it's time for Bob to start asking questions, you can say, bob, do you have any questions for Jill, our candidate? And then everybody knows it's Bob's turn to ask questions and lead that portion of the interview that helps the candidate really feel taken care of and feel like they've got a process that they're in rather than kind of a haphazard one. All right, speaking of process, that's tip number two. Know the process in terms of the hiring process. So when you're going in for an interview, you should know where that interview is in the sequence of steps that the hiring process goes through. If you work with HR or maybe you work with a recruiter, you should know what they've already covered. Often they'll talk about salary and start date. So if they have that information, you likely don't need to ask it again. And in fact, if you do, it might diminish the hiring process. Know what the process is after your interview. So is there going to be a follow up? If the next step is an Interview, then make sure that that decision gets made quickly and gets scheduled or that the candidate is going to get informed that they're not proceeding to the next step. So you need to know what that next step is so you can communicate that with the candidate and when they're going to hear something. Third one is probably one of the most important ones, is build a connection. See, interviews are a wonderful opportunity. It's the idea of relationships, not transactions. Interviews are a chance for you to learn new things and build your network. So when you're in that interview, you want to show a genuine interest in the candidate. You want to learn about their backgrounds and their interests and what they've done. It was amazing. Some of the things I learned about new tools, new technologies, new things that are going on in the industry from these interviews. Connect with the candidate on LinkedIn. You can do that before the interview, definitely after the interview. Say, hey, it was right after the interview. Hey, it was great meeting you today. Look forward to staying connected. If they get hired somewhere else, they don't get hired with your organization, congratulate them. Just because somebody isn't a hire now doesn't mean they're going to not be a hire later. Or they may refer someone or they may become a client. And that interview is that unique opportunity in that window where you can connect with them and build a relationship. So don't squander it. All right, those are your three quick tips, tips to make the candidate experience great. I call this January series, Think Like a Recruiter. Because in recruiting the candidate, experience matters. And as an interviewer, you've got a. You've got a huge role in that. And so if you do it well, you're going to increase the chances that you're going to be able to hire the star candidates that you want to come join your organization. And if you get star candidates in your organization, you have a better chance of retaining the talent you have, helping the organization grow and reaching new heights. So we'll continue doing these LinkedIn lives in January on recruiting. So if you've got a question about recruiting, let me know and I can definitely try to work it in, try to answer it or cover a topic. If you'd like to discuss how you can build a management team that's going to help your organization grow in 2025, simply go to shiftfocus.com strategycompl call and you can book a time that's convenient for you for us to talk more. All right, thanks for your time today, and we'll see you next week.