Many managers think of interviews primarily as a way to assess a candidate’s ability to do the job, but the best hiring managers understand that interviews are just as much about selling the company and the role, and about giving top candidates the confidence that they’ll succeed if they accept the offer. Here's how to identify the best candidates and make them want to work for you.
Preparation: The Foundation of Great Interviews
An interviewer who arrives late or appears to be scanning the CV for the first time as the interview begins signals disinterest and can turn top candidates off immediately.
True preparation begins well before the interview:
While good preparation may seem like extra work on the surface, investing the time upfront significantly improves your chances of hiring the best person for the role so saving you time (and headaches) later. It also signals to the candidate that your company takes hiring seriously which is step 1 in attracting the best candidates.
Why Candidates Appreciate Rigorous Interviews
The approach above makes it easy to run a structured and robust interview process. So long as that interview process is fair in tone and content, it won’t discourage strong candidates, rather it will actually reassure them. Questioning that is relevant, respectful, aligned with the role and thorough will leave candidates with a positive impression of your brand. For those who receive an offer, a rigorous interview leaves them feeling that they’ve earned the opportunity and that they know the company is both serious about the role and is confident in their abilities.
The confidence candidates have that they can do the role also reduces the chances of them backing out post-offer, and can make it harder for competitors with less thorough processes to create the same level of engagement.
Sell the Role and the Company
Hiring managers can be so focussed on finding the best candidate that they forget to sell the company and the role. While they will likely have limited control over the employee value proposition (EVP), finding out what is important to each candidate and highlighting synergies in what the company offers can go a long way to making it feel like the role is tailored to each applicant.
Equally important is using energetic language (without going over the top!) to create a sense of excitement, positivity and purpose around the role. Candidates want to be a part of excellence and innovation, so hiring managers who are passionate (but honest) and use dynamic language often differentiate the roles they are recruiting for from their competitors.
Top candidates want to be part of something exciting. Roles pitched with passion and clarity often stand out—especially in competitive markets.
Final Thoughts
Interviewing is a two-way evaluation, not simply a screening process. The best candidates typically receive multiple offers, and this is your chance to differentiate your role from the competition. Get candidates excited by the potential as well as making them earn the opportunity and everyone will come out better off.
Want to go deeper? We’ve created a series of guides to help hiring managers master the interview process and attract top-tier candidates… they can be downloaded from the Insights section of our website.
Adam has over 20 years’ experience recruiting procurement and commercial professionals across the construction sector.
