Whether you’ve been working remotely as a company for a long time, or if you’ve just started this year, working from home is here to stay. With more people working from home, hiring from home is on the rise as well. Try these top tips for hiring remotely to help ease the process for everyone involved.
Over-communicate
Let potential candidates know exactly what is expected of them during the process, starting with the job advertisement. At every point of communication, let the candidate know when you’ll be contacting them next. Tell them how they can contact you with questions, and what platforms you will use for communication. When you’re clear with your communication and expectations, candidates can refer back to the job posting and your emails with any questions that may come up during the process.
Use the Right Tools for Hiring Remotely
You likely already use the right tools for remote work in your company, but are you using them in the hiring process? SHRM suggests testing your technology before using it in any interviews to ensure that it is working properly for you and the candidate. Beyond checking your own systems, you should put processes in place that check the candidate’s system as well. This will help cut down any time that would be wasted figuring out technical issues so that you can focus on the interview instead.
Plan for a Plan B
Always have a Plan B in place in case of a technology failure on your end or the candidate’s end. You don’t want to end up in a situation where your only point of contact with a candidate was a scheduled Zoom meeting that they’re locked out of, and you can’t email them in time to schedule another way to talk to them. Ensure that you have a back-up method of contact. Then, if your video interview fails, you can talk over the phone instead.
Be Professional
We may be working from home and wearing our slippers, but it doesn’t mean we can be sloppy and unprofessional when interviewing. While you’re interviewing a candidate, you’re representing your company and need to be professional. Ensure your space is clean and well lit. Dress in a way that appears professional to the candidate. You may not be meeting face-to-face, but your mannerisms and tone will still come across in a virtual interview. Conduct yourself as you would during any other in-person interview.
Acknowledge the Weird When Hiring Remotely
Video interviews can be a little weird and awkward, especially if the candidate has not had much experience with them. Help set your candidate at ease by acknowledging that the situation can be awkward and strange. SHRM suggests being mindful and letting the candidate know that you may be looking down or away to take notes so that they understand that you’re not distracted. Having some empathy and showing kindness goes a long way in helping candidates feel at ease during the interview process.
Assess Their Skills
Since you’re getting to know your candidate virtually, you can only rely on their resume and interview. Wouldn’t it be useful to get to know them beyond their resume as well? You have your candidate fill out our assessment, and then you’ll get our PIR report, where you can learn more about their skills and potential beyond their resume and interview. Our reports help you get to know each person and their future potential to find the right fit employee for your company. You can also use our web app to see how the candidate would fit your team, using real-time analytics.
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