You could be unintentionally disappointing your applicants, thanks to a bad interview process. Here’s how you can fix it.
Through working with our 70+ clients, we’ve seen the good, the bad, and everything in between when it comes to job application processes. More importantly, we’ve seen how they affect applicants.
A lot of companies have an interview process that takes too long and fails to give adequate feedback to applicants. When an applicant finally gets their first phone interview after a week of waiting, another week will go by without them hearing anything. Then they get the interview, and another week passes. This often adds up to more than a month, and it’s way too long.
Having so many steps in the process can also eat up time. When candidates have four or five interviews spread across 10 different decision makers, what do you think goes through their head?
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A lot of companies have an interview process that takes too long and fails to give adequate feedback to applicants.
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They think the company is disorganized, indecisive, unfocused, and not interested.
The common thread between these thoughts is that they’re all negative. When looking to find high-level additions for your company, using an interview process fraught with bad impressions is not a good way to do so.
If you’re not interested in an applicant, tell them quickly and professionally. Leave them with a good feeling about the role, and make them think, “I just wasn’t quite right for the role.” If not, they could go and share their dissatisfaction in your company with others in the job market. And if you really are interested in a candidate but they’re carrying all the bad thoughts we mentioned earlier, that’s even worse—they could potentially walk away altogether!
To avoid losing top talent, there should only be a few key decision makers who are all on the same page and who all provide timely feedback. You’ll get to the offer stage quickly and efficiently, and you’ll win a great addition to your team.
If you’d like to speak about your own hiring situation, have any questions, or need more information, feel free to reach out to us. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
