Tips for Speeding up the Interview Process

No matter what your industry, you have to be aggressive to hire top talent. The best candidates are always in high demand and don’t take long to get hired. When you add the dynamics of a candidate-driven market, the pressures to make a good hire only grow more intense. 

One of the most surefire ways to hire leading talent is to improve interview processes at your organization. In doing so, you will ensure you don’t lose candidates to competitors. Even more, a quick interview process saves your business money, while also giving a positive appearance to applicants. 

Top executives understand the importance of the right employee team. These leaders take the appropriate steps to hire the best candidates and help them grow with their businesses. Critical parts of this progression are good hiring practices and effective interview processes. 

How Long Should the Interview Process Take? 

While the length of the interview process can vary between industries and positions, there are some solid indicators you can use to gauge the speed of your program. 

According to the popular job board Glassdoor, “The average length of the hiring process in the U.S. is about 23.8 days.” These figures vary according to the industry in question. To illustrate, due to extra screening requirements, government jobs have some of the longest interview processes at around 50 days. Conversely, restaurant positions have the shortest interview processes in the United States with just 10 days.

At CulverCareers, we typically recommend a 3-4 step interview process with a few select candidates. Depending on the availability of both parties, our interview process generally takes as little as 2 weeks. This number can also vary with the position in question. 

How to Speed Up the Interview Process in an Organization 

There are several tricks you can employ to speed up the interview process. Above all, your interview process should be well-planned and appropriately timed. If the interview process is too slow, candidates might accept another job or think poorly of your company. CulverCareers put together the following tips to help you speed up the interview process. 

Know What You are Looking For 

Before you dive into interviewing, you should take time to understand exactly what you are looking for in a candidate. By talking with co-workers and managers, you can develop a strong sense of both hard skills and soft skills required for the position. This step will help you avoid wasting time interviewing candidates that don’t meet the minimum criteria. 

Prepare Questions in Advance 

One of the most surefire ways to keep the interview process moving smoothly is to prepare questions in advance. By asking each applicant the same questions, you can objectively compare responses to find the best fit for your company. You also appear organized and focused during the interview, which reflects positively on your company’s culture. 

Streamline Screening Protocol 

To keep the ball moving during the interview phase, CulverCareers recommends you streamline your screening protocol. To illustrate, you should follow the same steps checking references for every candidate. You should also be prepared to conduct criminal background checks if necessary. Delegating these tasks to the appropriate team members in advance is also a good way to speed up screening at your company. 

Be Prepared to Make an Offer 

You should have all the parameters of the job in place before you begin speaking with applicants. In doing so, you will be prepared to make an offer when the right candidate comes through the door. Preparations to make include getting salary structure in order, as well as putting together a fringe benefits package. 

Speaking eloquently and confidently about compensation during the interview will leave candidates with a positive impression about your business. 

Please Contact Us to learn more about speeding up the interview process. 

What is the Advantage of a Quick Time to Hire? 

Streamlining your interview process is an integral part of shortening the time to hire. There are several advantages to hiring quickly. These include:

• The best candidates aren’t on the market for long. You will get the best available talent by moving swiftly through the interview process and making a competitive offer. 

• Making moves to hire quickly proves you are serious. It also shows you value candidates and don’t want to risk losing them to competitors. 

• Acting quickly to make a hire proves to candidates that your company is organized. A smooth interview process and a well-designed offer package are great ways to increase a candidate’s confidence in your operation. 

• A fast interview process allows you to hire candidates before they begin discussions with your competitors. With such an approach, you can avoid a bidding war that might drive up salary expectations and benefits packages. 

How Can Recruiters Help Speed up the Hiring Process?

There are a number of ways that recruiting services can help speed up the hiring process. Partnering with a recruiting agency like CulverCareers is a great way to get ahead of the competition and hire the best candidates for the job. 

Candidate Sourcing

Recruiters proactively go out into the field and source qualified candidates. In doing so, they speed up the hiring process by bringing applicants directly to you. 

Pre-Screening

Recruiters spend a good deal of time vetting candidates before submitting them to clients. This pre-screening practice eliminates many unqualified applicants before their resumes even make it to your desk. 

Scheduling and Communication

Good recruitment teams will do the heavy lifting in scheduling introductory phone calls and in-person interviews. By acting as an intermediary between parties, recruiters save you time in figuring out the fine details of scheduling. 

Offer Negotiation

When it finally comes time to make an offer, recruiters will work with you on negotiation. Their goal is to help find numbers that work for your company as well as the candidate in question. These negotiations include both a base salary and fringe benefits.  

Talk to CulverCareers Today! 

CulverCareers has a wealth of experience with the hiring processes. We also have the tools and knowledge to help you develop effective interview processes. 

Please Contact Us to start building a winning team.