The final “C” in our Key of C interviewing regiment stands for “considerate”.
What do we put our candidates through? How do we treat them? Are we respectful … are we considerate?
This is perhaps the most overlooked yet most important element of the interviewing dynamic. “How” we engage and treat them is even more important than “what” we talk to them about in many ways.
Have you ever received a resume on a Monday, got really excited and called the candidate right away?
“Hey how are you? It’s Corey, do you have a minute to talk? I just got your resume. Can you come in tomorrow afternoon and meet with me?”
They make it happen and show up the next day. You have a great interview and then you say, “Hey, this has been great. Can you come back tomorrow and meet with my partner (or the department manager or our HR person?”
Let’s try to understand what we just asked the candidate to go through.
First of all, we called them blindly, without giving them notice and started talking. Their boss could have been standing beside them.
Then we say can you come in and meet with us tomorrow? If they have a fulltime job, what arrangements will they have to make to come in and meet with us tomorrow?
They’ve got to take time off work. And, it’s probably PTO, or, time that they had earmarked to go on a vacation or spend with their family. We’ve essentially said, “Can you take your money and time and invest it in us?
Now that they are planning to take a ½ day off, they need to have a conversation with their boss. What are they going to have to do in that conversation? They’ll have to lie to their boss.
High integrity people don’t like to lie.
If they show up to work dressed up the next day, what’s the joke going to be? Going for an interview? So some people might have to change in the car.
They don’t know where you’re located and where the parking is. They don’t know where to go or who to ask for. There’s a lot of anxiety and stress.
And after they’ve gone through all of that, you say, “Can you do that for me again tomorrow?”