Preliminary interview preparation involves a discussion with all stakeholders regarding the specifics of the position. Team members must agree on the position’s details, including roles and responsibilities. It should also be clear who will be interviewing candidates, and who will manage the process. Setting clear expectations from the start encourages a smoother interview process.
Job posting
To attract great-fit hires, you need a well-written description that attracts their attention. Remember, a job posting often forms the candidate’s first impression of your company, which means it needs to be as enticing and snappy as any marketing material.
LinkedIn offers 137 job templates to choose from, along with AI-assisted job description generation. Once created, it puts your job posting in front of the most qualified candidates, filtering by industry, skills, experience, and location. The system works quickly – 86% of small businesses receive a favourable response within 24 hours.
Candidate screening
The next step in the interview process is sifting through all the resumes and responses to vet the most qualified candidates. As of February 2024, nearly 2 million unemployed Australians were actively seeking work, while a Gartner survey showed 57% of Australian employees quietly updating CVs and browsing job listings.
With so many candidates out there, comprehensive screening is essential. LinkedIn Jobs lets you build screening questions right into your post, while LinkedIn Recruiter matches you to the most qualified, interested candidates using advanced search filters.
What is a phone screening?
Before proceeding to the next stage of the interview process, a quick phone screening offers a valuable way to informally touch base. Conduct a quick check of skills, experiences, and background with phone interview questions, so you’ll be able to tackle more in-depth lines of questioning in person.
Structure your interview
The best interview structure will depend on factors like industry, role, and whether the position is remote or not. How many interviews will be conducted, and which team members will attend?
Here’s a simple interview structure to follow:
• Phone screening: Typically, the interview process begins with a first-contact phone screening before proceeding to the next round.
• Video interview: In today’s hybrid work environment, this often means a video interview, whether it’s prerecorded or live.
• Skills assessment: For tech or skills-based roles, the candidate completes a practical assessment.
• First interview: With preliminary screening complete, a shortlist of candidates attends a first interview with the hiring manager.
• Second interview: The 2nd round interview questions facilitate a longer, in-depth discussion.
• Third interview: The candidate attends the workplace to receive an office tour, meet the team, and assess whether they’re a good cultural fit.
Interview questions
Once you’ve determined the structural basics, it’s time to carefully plan the specific questions that will be asked at each round. Standardising questions creates a fair, objective interview process. These typically cover the following categories:
• Background interview questions are general. For example, phone interview questions relate to the candidate’s experience within the role, sector, and future career plans.
• Behavioural interview questions assess the candidate’s reaction to specific work situations, drawing from past examples as well as theoretical situations.
• Situational interview questions assess problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, the interviewer presenting problems and asking for solutions.
• Creative interview questions assess the candidate’s ability to think on their feet. There may not be a ‘correct’ answer.
What should be the last question in an interview?
Do you have any questions for us? End of interview questions give candidates the chance to ask their own questions. Rather than sending them out the door, this is a good chance to walk around the office and share more about your company culture.
The most effective interviews also end with a discussion of the next steps. Candidates should receive a clear time limit regarding when they can expect to hear from you, creating engagement right from the start.
Technical assessments
Work sample tests complement the interview process by showcasing the candidate’s skills. This also helps reduce bias in the hiring process, providing side-by-side performance comparisons. Make your assessments more engaging with live debrief sessions and firsthand tasks.
Evaluation framework
Create a scoring framework to fairly evaluate each candidate. This might take the form of an interview scorecard, checklist, or points system. In addition to rating start-to-end interview questions and answers, consider assessments results and background checks.
Candidate feedback
Follow up with feedback, not just from successful hires, but from everyone interviewed. That way, you’ll know if any aspects of your process are unclear or in need of improvement. And keeping an open line of communication builds trust in your company.
