Page 162 - Boost Your Hiring

148 Boost Your Hiring IQ

dates.You will want to present some kind of information packet outlining
your benefits program. If you are a small company, a simple folder and
copies of information will suffice.

What’s the Next Step?
Whether you are interviewing ten candidates or one candidate, each
candidate will want to know the next step or part of the process that will
take place leading to the decision. If you have a deadline for a decision,
you should share it with the candidate.
The deadline will depend on whether you are the sole interviewer or
whether others are involved in the decision. Either way, there should be
some plan in place before bringing people in to interview. Some compa-
nies lose valuable candidates by dragging out the process because of a
lack of a plan.

Follow Through on a Promise
A cardinal rule in interviewing should be,“If you say you’re going to do
something, do it!” One of the most inconsiderate things you can do as
an interviewer it to promise to call the candidate and then not follow
through as promised.
For you this promise may not mean a great deal, but to the candidate
waiting by the phone to hear whether he or she got the job it means a
great deal. Not only is it inconsiderate to have taken an hour or more of
the person’s time; but it is rude not to give him or her the courtesy of a
call, an e-mail, or at least a form letter. Many companies don’t feel that
it is necessary to have anything to do with job candidates once they have
been rejected. Wrong!
This could fall under the heading of good common sense. But the
truth is that some interviewers are “bad” interviewers. The candidates
come away from the interview feeling that the person interviewing
them didn’t give them a fair chance at proving themselves. They feel
that they were treated rudely or that the person doing the interviewing
didn’t really know what he or she was looking for or what to do with the
information that they provided.
Surely you do not want to fall into this category of being a bad inter-
viewer.All candidates should be treated as though they are an important
guest. Any promises made should be followed through on. And you
should keep the candidate posted as to the progress of the interview if
you fail to meet your prescheduled deadline.
Remember that the person you interview will go to another company
sooner or later and will remember your company through the way that
you conducted your interview and the courtesy you extended. In fact,