The way some companies treat candidates is a crying shame. I get it. Companies think they are calling the shots, and in many ways they are. They can be as picky as they want to be, and the truth is, with the exception of a few areas, a lot of people are scrambling to find work. For many people the job market is brutal and companies have had to create procedures that remind me more of manufacturing widgets than seeking talent.
I think the hiring process is a lot more like dating than manufacturing, and like dating, the most painful position is when you are really into a candidate and he or she is not that into you. So don’t let that happen.
My advice is for all companies to always be in the position of “putting their best foot forward” in order to enthuse candidates. Opt them in until you opt them out – and even then, leave a good taste in their mouth. Even if you choose not to move forward with someone, it is better that they view you as “the one that got away” instead of seeing you as those arrogant idiots who wasted his or her time, or were rude. Perception is important.
If you do move forward, you are then in the position of having them be as receptive as possible to any offer you make, which is the ideal.
Don’t do these things, please:
- Open an interview with the question: “So, why should we hire you?” They don’t know if they want to work with you yet. I think that question is okay as a closer – in the beginning it is borderline offensive.
- Ask inane questions like: “What is your favorite super hero?”
- Start and end a conversation with “buzz word bingo” or conduct an entire interview around the game of “try to stump the candidate” especially with canned, text book questions.
- Use an interview as a way for you, the interviewer, to show how smart you are at the expense of the candidate.
Build rapport with every candidate. Spend a little time sharing why you think you offer a good place to work – even during the first step of a very technical screen. Instead of canned questions, discuss the problems your are trying to solve and your desired goals and see if their experience and knowledge lends itself to your approach. Pose questions that allow you to get a feel for their past work and how they might approach your challenges. You can throw in as many difficult questions as you’d like, (and get all the technical depth you need) but this approach will work better than a canned list, and annoy people less. I understand that machine gun question/answer sessions are sometimes fun/useful. Don’t let that be the very first interaction a candidate has with your company.
For folks interviewing software developers: Remember that despite the rampant unemployment in other sectors, many software developers have a lot of choices. Most of these folks aren’t looking – if I sent them to you as a candidate I just managed to catch their eye and got them to talk to me and I think they are a good enough match for you both to spend some time together. Lets try to woo them together.
You might want to consider the fact that you both are interviewing each other, and remember that the people stuff often matters more than anything else – to the candidate and to you. So let that part shine early on, and throughout the whole interaction – treat people with repect. I promise that is how you will discover and win the employees you want.
