Technology has made it easier for employers to subject candidates to endless virtual interviews and expectations; let us tame our temptations …
Somewhere in the last couple of decades, we lost the simple hiring process consisting of a single send-out of CVs to companies and later getting the call to attend only one or two interviews.
Now, job hunters are growing frustrated with the process and the never-ending dance of impressing potential employers and are airing their grievances online. Making applicants jump through seemingly endless hoops will not help most companies and often drives quality talent away, possibly leaving employers with less-than-ideal candidates.
The tech, finance, and energy industries have even added novel technology-enabled approaches such as robot interviews and TikTok résumés. Although this may work for some sectors, it could create more confusion and frustration in others.
Employers need to find a balance between capturing granular evaluations of their applicants and avoiding confusion and discouragement. After all, technology has made it easy and tempting to conduct talent hunts in ways that overdo things or make up for inefficiencies in the hiring process.
So, what can employers do to achieve this balance?
Too many interview rounds
As we know, bad hiring experiences can push applicants away. But what makes the process so unenjoyable and cumbersome? The main issue lies in having an overwhelming number of interview rounds.
Nowadays, an applicant can make it through three rounds of virtual interviews only to find there are three more waiting. After getting dressed, adjusting the camera, and answering countless questions several times, the toil can begin to wear down any candidate.
Arguably, interviews should not surpass three rounds. Jobseekers recognize that their time and effort are wasted, and they may perceive it as the employer undervaluing them. They may even see the excess procedures and steps as indecision and a poor reflection on a company’s work culture.
This perception could make them pull out of the race if they feel they will be working in a chaotic workplace. Employers can learn all they need about a candidate in three interviews by asking detailed and insightful questions about them.
The less information they glean at each interview, the more the number of interviews. Although some senior positions may require more rounds, employers should be transparent with the timeline to prevent candidates from growing frustrated and moving on with another potential job opportunity.
Fewer but higher quality candidates
Depending on their industry layout organizations should focus on how to approach their hiring processes.
There are many recruitment channels to work through, and employers can look for routes that lead to a bigger pool of candidates to increase the chances of finding suitable interviewees.
Then, there are ways to avoid going off the deep end with interviews and still select the right candidate. Starting at the resume stage, organizations should begin weeding out applicants through an extensive review.
Using technology, they can determine which candidates match the hiring criteria before moving on to the interview stage. By doing so, organizations will have fewer candidates to filter through, reducing the number of interviews needed.
Reaching curated talent pools quickly
Recruiters are reaching out to qualified candidates through direct communication, resulting in the number of applications on traditional job boards waning.
As technology advances, talent recruitment will have to adapt alongside it. Employers must leverage an efficient hybrid use of human touch and technology. Practices such as robot interviews and video résumés could work as preliminary stages to human interview stages. Each process requires tailoring to the organization’s needs and the type of position being filled.
Digital solutions can now aid organizations to conceptualise a recruitment strategy focused on adapting to the significance of talent: First, talent can drop their CV in a candidate database, where employers can filter attributes by location, skills, visa requirements, notice period, and salary. Said employers can then reach out to the curated talent pools directly, reducing the shortlist to a manageable size. This, in turn, helps reduce the number of interviews and assists employers in getting the right candidate onboard quicker, with less possibility of them slipping through the cracks.
