A well-planned first interview could make or break your hiring success.
Right here’s the construction I like to recommend:
Part 1: Introduction & tradition
That is your likelihood to promote the function and showcase your differentiators. As a substitute of reciting generic firm values, cowl what candidates truly care about:
- Your organization’s progress and potential
- The product imaginative and prescient
- Alternatives for profession and private progress
- Autonomy and decision-making energy
- Staff range and totally different views
- Transparency in management
Professional Tip: Don’t sugar-coat the job. Transparency prevents nasty surprises later and reduces early attrition. You don’t need staff leaving throughout their probation since you weren’t upfront.
Subsequent, shift to your questions. Skip the standard ones like “What have you ever been doing for the final 10 years?” (which you’ll be able to already see on their CV), and as an alternative, ask questions that spotlight their potential to steadiness technical and enterprise points.
For instance:
- “What’s your largest achievement up to now?”
- “How did you contribute to your earlier firm?”
- “What initiatives or successes are you able to share?”
You’re attempting to determine what units this particular person aside as a prime candidate. Search for solutions that present how they’ve pushed income, improved effectivity, or constructed and led groups.
Pink flag: If a candidate solely talks about being a “medior” or “senior” with out particular achievements, they may not be the affect participant you want.
Part 2: Technical dialogue
Let a technical skilled take over this a part of the interview stage. They need to ask detailed questions on how the candidate dealt with complicated tasks and code. It’s necessary to craft a narrative that ties their expertise collectively.
Finest practices: Encourage the technical skilled to assist the candidate, not put them on the spot. They need to supply hints or steerage when wanted and keep away from lengthy, uncomfortable pauses. The aim is to make the candidate really feel optimistic in regards to the expertise, not stressed.
Part 3: Abstract & subsequent steps
As a substitute of simply asking, “Do you’ve gotten any questions?”, body it as: “Do you continue to see a win-win match?” Deal with considerations proactively and reinforce why they need to be excited to hitch.
Part 4: Submit-interview follow-up
Many firms drop the ball right here. Keep in contact with high quality candidates by:
- Sending a follow-up electronic mail or Slack message with further assets (e.g., related tech occasions, blogs, podcasts, and your Glassdoor critiques, profession framework, product score, and roadmap).
- Personalizing the follow-up. Thank them for his or her time and reinforce the connection you constructed.
If you wish to scale hiring effectively, you additionally want clear documentation, the precise job descriptions, and sufficient recruiters (one particular person can handle 2–3 hires monthly).
Deal with hiring as a structured course of, not an afterthought.
