5 Tips to Speed Up the Interview Process
In today’s job market, employers need to speed up their interview process. A slow interview process can cost companies the opportunity to hire their preferred candidate... and millions of dollars every year in terms of revenues and productivity.
The job market in supply chain and logistics in Canada is hot! Which is great if you’re looking to advance your career in supply chain, but not so good if you’re an employer looking for talent!
Here are a few ways you can speed up the interview process, as an employer.
Employers in today’s job market need to speed up their interview process. I’ve worked with employers who have put candidates through 6-8 interviews before finally presenting an offer. Or, after a great first interview, I’ve seen delays of several weeks or even months before moving ahead.
This can cause candidates to either find another opportunity or simply lost interest. These delays in the hiring process cost companies millions of dollars every year in terms of revenues and productivity.
Here are five quick tips on how to speed up the interview process:
- Write better job descriptions.
Make sure you know exactly what you want and need in this new hire before you start interviewing.
- Use a panel interview to shorten the process,
so instead of 4-6 separate meetings, you can bring all the hiring managers together at once. Remember to build a few minutes into everyone’s schedule to compare notes immediately after the panel interview.
- Keep communication open.
If you’re working with a recruiter, provide feedback within a few hours of the interview so the recruiter can keep candidates engaged or tweak their search if necessary.
- Don’t wait for more candidates.
If you know exactly what you’re looking for and find someone that is a great match, go ahead and make them an offer! Don’t feel that you need to meet more candidates just for the sake of comparison. Particularly in today’s job market.
- Do your testing and reference checks early in the process.
Some of our clients do personality and aptitude assessments as the final step in the interview process, which can eliminate candidates just when we are expecting an offer. Why not do these early in the process so you’re not wasting time interviewing candidates you can’t hire?
Remember, a slow hiring process does not improve the quality of the hire. Try applying these tips to speed up the interview process, and see what happens!
Learn more about Recruitment and Retention with our resources. If you're currently looking to hire, simply post your job via our Job Posting Form to get your role in front of qualified supply chain and logistics professionals in Canada!
Tom Pauls, CCLP
Managing Director
SCL Search Consultants
Tom Pauls, CCLP, has over 20 years of experience in recruitment and executive search, and is founder and Managing Director of SCL Search Consultants Ltd; a search firm with an exclusive focus in supply chain and logistics.