This is the second lesson in the Startup Recruiting Process class focusing on how to run an interview in the most effective way for both the interviewer and interviewee. Especially given the changes in hiring practice due to the Pandemic, Kevin Charles gives insight into how to navigate the virtual interview.
Kevin Charles is a former Senior Technical Recruiter at Abnormal Security with over 15 years of full-cycle recruiting experience from entry to executive level. He has worked at Workday, Artemis Health, and SoFi in the past, and is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, earning a bachelors in Marketing, Sales, and Economics.
Kevin Charles: Hi everyone. Welcome to this lesson on running a successful interview as part of the startup recruiting process class. My name is Kevin and I'm on the recruiting team here at Abnormal Security. I will be your teacher for this lesson.
Let's do a quick recap on the previous lesson, getting candidates into the pipeline. As an interviewer, you want to identify what you're hiring for before you hire. Being realistic and transparent with your budget will also help save time in the short and long runs. You want to have a well written job description that not only captures the candidate's interest, but we'll get them excited about your role in the company.
Having strategic sourcing methods will also add to the pool of candidates who are directly applying to your role
In today's agenda, we're gonna cover what does an effective interview look like? What the ideal interview format should be, how to assess candidates for the role in the company, how to build a diverse team, and finally, collecting notes from the interviews. So what is an effective interview?
How can you ensure that the interview is both effective and successful? First and most importantly is beyond time. Call or connect via Zoom at the scheduled time with the candidate. If you anticipate being late email or text the candidate to alert them. Keep in mind, always that you're a representative of the company.
Your first impression is usually a glimpse into the values of the company.
Next, introduce yourself, greet the candidate in an upbeat, positive way, which usually helps put the candidate at ease. Tell them something about yourself and about the company. This is the first impression that a candidate will have of you presents yourself well and remove distractions such as turning off your mobile phone.
Be neat and appearance. If you're interviewing them in person, have an uncluttered and distraction free.
It's important to set the stage with the candidate so that they know what to expect in the interview, outline what to expect in the allotted time and what time the interview is to end. Your behavior will set the tone of the interview.
If you're too casual, it will give the impression that the interview isn't serious. If you're too serious, it may make the candidate more nervous. The goal here is to bring out the best in every candidate.
Most candidates who are interested in the company and position will have all read, ready, reviewed the job description. Prior to the interview, take a few minutes to review the job they're being considered for in more detail. Spell out what the position involves in more detail than shown in the job description, go over core duties and responsibilities for that specific role, and then discuss working location hours, any additional details that are required of the one hired into the position.
As you're going through the interview process with the candidates, knowing what to ask is critical in getting the most information out of candidates. Start with generalized questions about candidates, background, and interest in the position or company. Thoroughly review the candidates resume. Ask about any specific positions that relate to the position you are hiring for.
Ask about job details, responsibilities, accomplishments that they've, uh, achieved, discuss any inconsistencies like gaps in resume education, and then ask about reasons for leaving previous companies, ask consistent questions to be able to compare candidates. And then vary the questions to UN uncover strengths and weaknesses.
I like using open-end questions. Um, during interviews, such as what was the most difficult challenge of your last job? It requires an answer more than yes or no. And you really get a glimpse into the working behavior of candidates.
I like to leave five to 10 minutes at the end of the interview for candidates to ask questions. I make sure before the interview that I thoroughly review the job description. So I know the aspects of the position, and I can clarify our expectations. Remember candidates are interviewing you and your company.
As much as you are interviewing them. Candidate questions can help you assess whether they're prepared for the interview and interested in the position. The more questions a candidate has, the more engaged I feel that they are in the opportunity. And then I like to follow the 80 20 rule where I do 80% of the listing and 20% of the talking.
And then, toward the end of the interview, I let the candidate know what to expect. And by when I wanna make sure the candidate is engaged at every step throughout the process. So I outline the steps in the interview process. The time commitment needed to complete the interviews, suggested resources to keep the candidate engaged.
And then I'd like to confirm with the candidate they're interested in moving forward. They're available to interview in the allotted, uh, interview timeframe and that they are ready to make a move. If the opportunity meets and exceeds their expectations.
Let's talk about what the ideal for interview format should look like from recruiter screen to the final interview. The number of interviews should stay around four, give or take one and eat the direction. The more drawn out. The interview process is the less the en engage. The candidate will be. Here's an example of a complete and thorough interview process.
Starting off with the recruiter screen lasting no more than 45 minutes going to the hiring manager interview, which should take 45 to 60 minutes if applicable, uh, technical assessment lasting no longer than 60 minutes. And then the bulk of the interviews, which are either virtual or onsite being 90 minutes for each sec, section the top grading, being the final hiring manager interview, and then if necessary for more senior level positions having an executive screen, but that can be optional.
Now we've been thrown into a new world where virtual interviews are now the norm and in person interviews being less common, both interview formats have advantages as well as pitfalls with virtual interviews, they really became very essential in 2020. Virtual interviewing winds your talent pool and offers benefits to both employers and candidates as you're reducing the time taken off of work and the need to travel much more cost effective.
It accelerates the hiring process. And it allows for much more scheduling flexibility. These type of interviews are ideal for roles. That will be 100% remote based. Some of the pitfalls is it can be harder to assess body language by not interviewing somebody in person. And it requires technology and a quiet room, which isn't always available for candidates.
Looking at in-person interviews, they offer the best opportunity for genuine engagement and higher levels of engagement between two parties.
You don't have to rely on technology as much as you do in virtual interview. Candidates can get a great feel for a company, culture and vibe. And you're also able to provide a very good first impression. Employers can assess presentation skills and communication skills much better in person than they can via virtual interviews.
Some of the downsides to in person interviews, as it can delay the hiring process and as much more cost oriented, given that travel is involved.
So, what do you wanna cover to ensure that you're getting the most outta your conversations with candidates? First? I like to prep candidates for the interview so that they know what to expect.
I like to set the stage for an open and honest conversation. I establish rapport and find out commonalities in their background, give some common grounds on things to talk about. I like to ask open-ended questions to really get a feel for who they are and how they would handle themselves in certain situations.
And I like to focus on more than just the skills I like to hire for the who also hire for the, what I ask them about their career moves, what motivated them to make a move and, and, uh, change positions. I allow candidates to do 80% of the talking so I can get to know who they are. And then I provide follow up and regular feedback to stay engaged with the candidate, to find out if anything has changed.
Since the last time I talked to them. Factors to consider when making a decision to move forward with a candidate, um, are things such as educational background? The position requires it, the relevant work experience, alignment of their skills to the position, their ability to collaborate with teams. Do they have leadership qualities that would make them somebody who would advance in the organization?
Do they have the critical thinking and problem solving skills needed for the role? How are their communication skills? Both verbally and, um, non-verbally and will they be in value? Add to the company? These are all things that I take in consideration when making a hiring decision.
So, how do you increase the representation and create a more inclusive environment in your organization? First you wanna define what diversity and inclusion mean to your company? You wanna remove interview biases in interview biases where the expectations or opinions of the interviewer interferes with the judgment of the interviewee.
This can either affect the outcome positively or negatively, and these preconceptions can both consciously and unconsciously influence your judgment. You wanna use inclusive language, you wanna expand your recruitment pool set and measure goals against diversity, and then offer training and host discussions.
Now that you've put a candidate through the entire interview process, what should you do with the notes that everyone took during the interviews?
The most effective way to store notes taken during interviews is with interview scorecards. A scorecard is a predetermined set of criteria, which is often set against hard and soft skills required for the role when interviewing a scorecard helps to remember each candidate resulting in eliminating the mental blur that can happen when seeing a high volume of candidates.
In order to run a successful interview, you wanna create an effective interview process, which can be done through virtual or in person interviews. You wanna have a tool that's gonna help you assess candidates for fit with the role and also value. Add to the organization, make sure that you diversify your candidate rules, that you diversify the teams you're hiring into your organization.
And then finally keep track of all your interview notes in one place. I recommend scorecards for doing so.
Thank you for attending this lesson on running a successful interview here at abnormal business school. Hopefully you're able to learn something today and I hope you have a great rest of your day.
Thank you.
