While still the preferred candidate assessment tool for many, the traditional interview is now widely considered an inefficient way to ensure the successful hiring of a candidate. It’s natural to want to have a face-to-face meeting with someone who is going to be an integral part of your team, but interviews are limiting an employer’s ability to completely assess a candidate and it leads to a possible clouded judgment.
For years, the importance of the first impression has been drilled into us. The efforts that we make create a biased opinion, and it is often far from the reality of what we see over the long-term position. Extensive studies have been carried out. One stated that 33% of hiring managers make their decision within 90 seconds of meeting a candidate. An incredible 40% of hiring managers feel that a candidate not smiling is a reason not to hire them. From the candidate’s efforts, 81% will lie during an interview.
Getting Rid of Bias
In most cases, this is an unconscious act, but it still leads to bad and unfair decision making. It also reduces diversity while increases employee turnover and runs the risk of legal repercussions. While we are busy looking for our idea qualifications or characteristics, it is easy to overlook the other talents a candidate has.
A classic example is the enthusiastic candidate. Interviewees love this type of person as they bring fresh energy to the process. We instantly fall in love with their passion and tend to overlook a lack of qualifications. This is not to say that enthusiasm is not an amazing trait, it just can’t be the only thing you see. Your recruitment process needs to include an evaluation of knowledge, skill, experience, cultural fit, among others.
The following three practices will allow your business to hire candidates without bias and based on more than just an interview.
- Auditions for the Job
During a job audition, a candidate may perform simulations of the job or just certain tasks that the job involves. This can be done individually or as part of a group, which will give you more of an idea of how a candidate works with others. This is a very accurate way to measure whether or not the candidate has the necessary skills to perform the job. Examples would be a candidate to launch a social media campaign and to meet certain project metrics.
As well as a good understanding of the candidate’s abilities, job auditions are frequently associated with higher employee satisfaction, and as a result, lower turnover. On the other hand, it is time-consuming, and the tasks must be related to their experience, rather than things that can be learned during onboarding.
- Samples of Work
This is a type of test allows employers to see if a candidate can carry out day-one job tasks, for example, online code testing or technical (job-related) questionnaires. The information you can collect is similar to that in a job audition, but it requires less time. Candidates are still tested on certain talents and abilities, so the tests need to be planned so they are relevant to the job.
- Current Employee Interaction
Your employees can provide an excellent perspective and feedback regarding your candidate. At the end of the day, the candidate will be working alongside them and it is your employees who know exactly what the job requires both daily and long-term. Employees will also know is your testing methods are at the appropriate level for the job. Candidates seem to agree, with 81% of Millennials believing that employee interaction in an interview is crucial. Your employees may also have referrals. Referrals take less time to hire and tend to stay with the organization for longer.
In Conclusion
There is now one way to hire a successful candidate. It is important to develop a process that works for your company but one that is more extensive than just an interview. Job auditions, work sample tests, and employee interactions are excellent ways to assess skills and personality traits, but for the best results, you should combine these practices with other forms of tests and an interview.
