Related Posts
How many interviews do you really need?
Now before we look at an answer to that question, let’s bear in mind a few key facts.
Studies show that the #1 reason why candidates abandon the recruiting process is that there were too many interviews, or their time was disrespected.
It goes hand in hand with the viral LinkedIn post about the software engineer who backed out of an interview process when they asked for NINE interviews!
As an employer, you need to be very careful here. Too few interviews and you might hire someone without a key decision-maker’s input or make a bad hire. Too many, and you’ll lose some of the best talent you could have hired anyway.
So how can companies make sure they’re hitting the sweet spot?
Click here for a video on what Scott Wilson, our director of executive search, has to say on this topic!
There’s No Magic Number
The short answer is that there’s really no magic number for the right number of interviews. It’s always going to be different for different roles and companies.
To make sure you’re using the right number of interviews, ask yourself one question: what are you getting out of each interview?
You’ll always get diminishing returns from more interviews. The first is essential, the second is still helpful, but past that, you get less and less value.
If you truly feel the need for more interviews, consider scheduling the interviews on the same day back-to-back so the candidate can do them all at once.
However, there’s another element to consider here – and that’s the overall time the process takes.
Consider How Much Time the Whole Process Takes
It’s easy to understand candidates’ frustrations when they’re asked for too many interviews. However, you also have to think about how long your entire recruiting process takes.
The #2 reason that candidates abandoned the recruiting process was that the whole process took too long!
When people apply for a job, they’re naturally eager to hear an answer. Regardless of what you decide no one wants to be stuck around waiting to hear back.
If the candidate is dying to leave their current job and you’re taking too long, they will start pursuing opportunities at more responsive companies.
The takeaway here is that even if you only have 2 or 3 interviews, make sure there’s not too much time between them and that you give the candidate an answer ASAP afterwards.
Don’t Forget to Give Honest Feedback
Last but not least, don’t forget to give candidates honest feedback. The best candidates usually want to hear honest input on why they did or didn’t get a job.
If you don’t give direct feedback, people make assumptions. For the sake of your candidate experience and employer brand, be sure to give insightful feedback when you reject a candidate.
Navigating today’s tight labor market may be tough, but with these approaches you can position yourself for success.