Anyone who has ever had a job interview knows that interviewing well and being able to do the job well aren’t the same thing. But when you’re hiring someone new, you need to see your top candidates face to face before you can make a decision on hiring them. If you want to be a supportive employer not just for your existing employees but also for your potential hires, there are things that you can do to help candidates show their best side during interviews and the rest of the recruitment process too. It will help you to find the best employees, and benefit candidates even if they ultimately don’t get the job.

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Make It Easier to Attend Interviews

It can be difficult for candidates to fit interviews into their schedule. They might need to take time off work, and they may have to travel to reach you too. But if you make it easier for them to attend an interview, you can ensure you have the best candidates interviewing for the position. Using human resources software for scheduling and carrying out interviews can help. Video and phone interviews make it much easier to schedule interviews at a time that suits your candidates, and gives them plenty of time to prepare.

Test Their Skills

As well as asking candidates questions at their interviews, testing their skills is also a smart idea. It gives them a chance to show what they’re capable of, even if it might not show on their application or they might not interview as well as others. You can test your candidates in different ways, whether it’s giving them questions to answer or perhaps asking them to complete a small project. You can also present them with a problem to solve to test their thinking and problem-solving skills.

Forget the Standard Interview Questions

When you’re preparing to interview candidates for your business, you might look for suggested interview questions to decide what you should ask them. However, if you want to really get to know your candidates, you might consider ditching the standard questions and being a bit more relaxed and creative. Turning your interview into more of a friendly chat than an interrogation can help your interviewees to feel more relaxed. Asking more natural questions will allow them to answer more naturally, instead of just having prepared answers for some of the most common questions.

Get Feedback Outside of the Interview

Another way to understand your candidates better is to get to know them outside of the interview room. You can make sure that different people interact with them, and then get their opinion on the candidates they talk to. You might have one person greet your candidates when they come in, and someone else to give them a tour and introduce them to others. This can help you to get an impression of them when they’re more relaxed and see how they interact with the people they could be working with.

If you want to find the best talent for your business, give your candidates a chance to show their real selves outside of the standard interview format.