COMMENTARY: Streamlining The Interview Process

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Asia - As the economy slowly recovers, companies are beginning to hire again.  Unemployment is still high and many job applicants have been unemployed for many months.  Since companies have not had robust hiring initiatives, their internal hiring skills may be a little "rusty" - not to mention new managers who may have not had thorough training or experience in hiring.  In this kind of environment, there's plenty of opportunity for error and costly hiring mistakes.  As companies begin taking applications and considering candidates, it's time to assess your hiring processes and the managers using them.  And the most important component in any hiring process is the interviewer.

There is no substitute for a skillful interviewer who understands your company's culture and the human characteristics that the job requires…no substitute! Managers seem to be always looking for the hiring panacea… the pre-employment test, the latest hiring process fad, the web based application center, or the high priced recruiting firm… but nothing can replace the benefits of a good interviewer.

            As the economy in Singapore picks up, and companies find themselves needing more staff to fill more demanding positions, employers will begin to source for new talent and to hold interviews to assess the suitability of such talent to take on tough appointments throughout the firm.

           

            The interview process can be a difficult and harrowing one. Interviewers often have to sit through tens, sometimes hundreds, of candidates, all showing veritable promise and all equipped with varying sets of skills, work experiences and education levels. Interviewers also have to ensure these future employees are able to fit into the culture of the company and have the appropriate knowledge and perception of the company to be able to contribute positively.

            It is therefore very important for interviewers to be able to reduce the hassle and trouble that may come with the interview process. Each interview should be, preferably, assessed with refreshed eyes, ears and a clean slate of a mind. Having to keep track of the various applicants can dampen the clarity of an interviewer, and it would also cause great hassle if the applicants were mixed up or confused with one another due to fatigue or administrative error.

            Since the whole world of HR, including payroll and course schedules, have already been digitalized, why not the interview process as well? Here’s the dream: a software system that allows interviewers to sort applicants out, into several piles, including but not limited to: ‘Pending/Awaiting Interview’, ‘Short Listed’, ‘Offered Candidates’ and ‘Rejected’.

             This system of classification would greatly reduce confusion for the interviewer. At one click, he can see the names of applicants awaiting their chance to impress and see the names that he’s already put together as a tentative list to consider for the necessary position. With another click he would be able to shift names from one list to another, and it becomes a lot easier to make the important decisions crucial to company growth.

            Additional functions would include being able to see the last applied position, qualifications and expected salary of all the candidates, set up against one another for easy comparison. Employers, especially those who belong in or are running small to medium enterprises, would be very mindful of such conditions of a candidate, and this would aid in the careful screening and selection process.

            Of course, these conditions are just one aspect of the whole interview process: the candidate must also show the drive, motivation and will to succeed and take himself as well as the company to new heights. Employers must also note these aspects, and to ease the difficulty of selection, employers can add in these notes to each application on the list.

            Finally, employers can view any vacant position with just a click – which would open up the database of all available job openings and show the candidate list, as well as necessary skills and qualifications needed, to fill those ranks.

            How would you streamline the interview process? As an employer, what do you look out for when you interview candidates? Share your thoughts!