The hunt for the best talent pool continues to challenge organizations at all levels. The job market has undergone sea changes in the past decade. It has become equally integral for a candidate to evaluate the job and the company as it is integral for the employer to evaluate the candidate. The competition level to attract and retain the top talents has doubled for employers too. As such, they should focus on improvising their interviewing system – making it more conversational than interrogative.
How to Make an Interview More Conversational?
- Truth finding: Any job interview should be about truth-finding. The role of a good HR manager or recruiter is to identify who the applicant really is and if he is a perfect fit for the job – and not just slamming them with one-sided questions that make the candidates sweat.
Whether it is a face-to-face interview or a virtual one, a conversational tone allows the applicant to feel more comfortable and open up. This helps identify their hidden personality traits which are crucial to determine if they are fit for the job.
- Have a script: Most interviewers are too confident not to have a well-prepared script. They will briefly scan the CV and ask random questions to screen the candidates. This often results in personal bias and becomes more of an interrogation. All candidates should have an equal opportunity for a fair comparison. And having a script can help here.
- Ask thought-provoking questions: Most of the time, interviewers judge a potential candidate based on their behaviour in a past job. The questions and subsequent reactions of the employer develops around this. This may overwhelm even a good talent and you may lose a high-potential candidate.
The interview should be focused on identifying the candidates’ skills, sense of responsibility, experience, etc. Asking thought-provoking questions can help initiate a conversation and make the applicant feel more confident when answering about his skills or the job.
- Listen: Allow the candidate to talk and show that you are genuinely interested. This will make the person feel more connected with your organisation.
Creating a powerful employer brand is more important than ever in today’s competitive talent hunt market. Refining your interview system is just the beginning of it. Outsourcing the hiring process to a specialist like Recruitment Central can help elevate the job applicants’ experience and get the best talent on board.
