What’s your story?
Recruiters, you may do whatever it takes to dress your open opportunity to the nines, but you’re simply grazing the surface by sticking to a script ushered by the job description.
Typically, the phone screen and interview gives recruiters and hiring managers a chance to sell their role to a potential hire and to learn how a candidate fits within that position. Running through a list of questions, job duties, and required experiences and skills barely illustrates the company and employer brand, and shortchanges the candidate on getting an in-depth narrative of what it’s like to be part of the company’s backbone.
Here’s what candidates are looking to learn about your company.
The customers you work with
If you’ve got a few notable companies under your client belt and you have the go to mention they’re customers of the company, have at it! By (appropriately) name-dropping companies your team works with, recruiters and hiring managers add credibility to their brand, and communicate the company is up to creating a product whose quality and service is backed by their customer base.
A vision of the company’s future and a plan
The path of startups and small companies may not always be clear, but telling candidates the team doesn’t either 1) have a strategy to get from Point A to Point B or, 2) that there is no Point B is another way of saying the company is making blind hires until they understand where they want to go, and how to get there. Candidates want to know they’re part of a plan, and that their role has an impact on how the company grows and meets its goals.
Why you like working for the company
Leading an interview? Consider yourself a spokesperson for the company. If your interview structure is a hard set Q&A list, push for some time to add a few notes on what you enjoy about your role. While candidates want to hear information about the role’s duties, daily tasks, and projects, sharing what you like about your job gives candidates a first-hand, honest take on how the company maintains employee satisfaction and succeeds at developing its team. It’s a clear example of the same benefits, perks, and employee satisfaction you’re rooting for in the role.
What gets you excited to come into the office? What do you enjoy most about working with your team? How does the company drive you toward your own bigger, professional goals? Telling the employee testimonial also adds a personal touch to the interview and can encourage interviewees to feel more comfortable, and to speak candidly about their expectations or ask questions about the company.
Background on their potential coworkers or managers
On the note of adding a personal touch to your candidate engagement, sharing some of your team members’ backgrounds helps candidates envision their potential coworkers as people with interests and a life outside of their job, rather than a collective of bots who run the company. What other positions did the company CEO hold before his or her current role? What side project is someone on the engineering team working on? Why did you decide to join the team and where do you hope to be in five years?
Communicate the company provides opportunities for advancement, supports its employees’ career development, and allows for a balance between their personal and professional interests. Your employees were once in another role, whether it be more junior or in a different industry, and giving candidates insight about where the team was and how their role fits their skills and experiences now encourages candidates to consider how your opportunity suits their professional plans.
While we encourage recruiters share the goods of their company, keep in mind the interview is about the candidate and not so much the interviewee. Give candidates an opportunity to learn about the role, but they should be doing most of the talking. Don’t forget to close off the interview with a quick note on when they can expect a follow-up.
If you want to learn more about how to connect with candidates, be sure to save a seat for our tech recruiting webinar series and get the lowdown on how to better connect with engineers, data scientists, and designers for your company!
