The more prepared you are, the more you’ll be able to focus on what truly matters, which is selecting the right person for the right role.
How is a digital interview different from an in-person interview?
In an in-person interview, you can rely on body language, facial expressions, eye contact, and other forms of non-verbal communication. While video interviewing, it’s more difficult to make fair assessments of these nonverbal cues, especially if you or the candidate experience technical difficulties.
5 tips for digital interviewing
Here are 5 best practices to keep in mind when holding a digital interview. As with any hiring practice, conducting a virtual interview is both an art and a science.
Prepare your space
Digital interviews should be treated with the same degree of professionalism as in-person interviews. If you’re conducting multiple interviews on the same day, make sure you leave enough time after each call to prepare for the next one.
Select a working space that’s well-lit with little noise. Whether you’re back in the office or still working from home, make sure whatever the candidate can see is professional and distraction-free. And while it’s tempting to opt for a virtual background, try to prioritize a space that’s authentic and similar to your current working environment.
Provide clear instructions for candidates in advance
The hiring process can be a stressful experience for candidates. The more context you provide them ahead of time, the more you set their digital interview up for success.
Let the candidate know the interview will be conducted virtually and provide the amount of time they should expect to dedicate to it. You should also email them clear instructions on how to access the technology.
While you personally may be very familiar with your preferred video technology, keep in mind that your candidate may not have any experience with it.
Whether it’s Zoom, Teams, Skype, or Google Hangouts, provide step-by-step instructions on how to navigate the platform.
Also encourage the candidate to take time to prep the video conference tool on their end. Tell the candidate to login some days ahead of the interview to get familiar with the system.
Know what’s important to judge and avoid making assumptions
Keep in mind, not all candidates are starting on a level playing field. Some may not have access to a webcam, a working mobile device, or stable internet connection.
While it can be frustrating to conduct a job interview with unreliable technology, these factors should never be held against a candidate.
You can achieve equitable and inclusive talent acquisition in your organization by judging candidates based on their responses and their character, rather than their access to certain technology.
Double-check technology
As far as video conference technology has come, glitches still happen from time to time. Prior to the start of the interview, double-check your video and microphone capabilities and request that your candidate does the same.
Even the best-laid plans can go awry, so have a backup interview method in mind. If your technology isn’t cooperating, you can opt to conduct a phone interview.
While it might not be what you expected, it’s better to act swiftly rather than waste time trying to tinker with the technology.
Plus, keep in mind that digital interviewing can be especially stressful to candidates, so it’s best to remain calm and move forward with your alternative plan.
Follow up with next steps
Just as you would with an in-person interview, adhere to the best practice of following up with the candidate afterwards.
Even if you are still conducting first-round interviews or have yet to make a final decision on how to move forward, a simple email providing a status update to candidates will be greatly appreciated.
About
This article was written by Caraline Winch at The Predictive Index (PI), the US-based provider of premium assessment tools (psychometric and cognitive).
Read Caraline’s entire article, read here: www.predictiveindex.com/blog/digital-interview/
Tom Sorensen Recruitment (Thailand) Co Ltd represents PI in Thailand as an Associate Partner of Humanostics, a Certified Partner of the Boston-based Management Consulting Company: The Predictive Index LLC.
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