Recruiting Interview Strategies

Andrew Casalino
May 1
4 min read

Learn how to match the right candidates with the right clients by using the interview techniques below.

As a company, are you frustrated when you invest time and resources into hiring, only to start that process over when someone quits? According to Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA), it costs $4,000 on average simply to bring on a new employee, although this may be a conservative guess (SIA, 2015). It's inefficient and just bad business to have to do this repeatedly. That's why it's crucial to hire the right employee on the first try. Easier said than done, right? How do we achieve this? Luckily for you, there are professionals (like us, hi there) who have spent numerous hours hiring people. It's like it's our job or something.

We screen for longevity and career-oriented job seekers. Infinity Staffing looks for candidates that have demonstrated commitment to previous jobs (with consideration to extenuating circumstances). We screen for this not only by studying their resume, but also by diving deeper into their previous job history during interviews.

SIA recommends asking job seekers about their plans for the future, if they see themselves moving up, and their goals. While not foolproof, this may give the interviewer a clearer picture of whether or not the job seeker plans to stick around long-term (SIA, 2015).
We Customize Questions Based on Our Client. During our interviews, we use our client's onboarding process to screen our candidates. This includes skill tests or other client-specific requests they may need to know about the candidates. For example, if a client requires a candidate to be able to read a measuring tape, we will make sure we add that as an interview question. Rather than asking generic questions, this allows us to gauge if they're the right fit for that client in particular.

Forbes also advocates for personalized interviews and identifying if your candidate is the right fit. This allows you to, "identify the specific skills and qualities that the person you hire will need in order to be successful in their role and support the team's overall objectives." (Forbes, 2023). Otherwise, you're setting your candidates up to fail, resulting in a dissatisfied client.
We Focus on Our Candidates During Interviews. Thanks to programs like Fathom, we can get to know our candidates through behavioral interviews. This program can summarize your meeting for you through recording and transcribing, so you can focus on the person in front of you. This allows us to watch our candidate's body language, while providing a more personal, face-to-face interview instead of staring at a computer screen. Additionally, we hold all interviews in a private space or office to allow our job seekers to feel more comfortable. This also fosters more open dialogue, without the worry of others hearing the entire conversation. SHRM agrees that, "...practical skill assessments and behavioral interviews help to assess candidates' workplace skills." These are effective tools that can be used during the candidate screening process (SHRM Adisor, n.d.).
We are Honest with our Position Description. The interview is also a time to discuss exactly what the job entails. Our recruiters make sure they have a detailed description when searching for and interviewing candidates to ensure their skills align with what our clients need. This way, there are no surprises from either party when the employee starts. While it may be enticing to hire applicants quickly to make a good impression, this can create more work in the long run and makes your company less credible to both the employee and employer.

According to Forbes, setting clear expectations of the job position should be your first step. You also want to make sure the company and candidate values both align. Knowing exactly what you're looking for from your job seekers will allow you to be successful (Forbes, 2023). The Society for Human Resource Management also stresses the importance of being truthful with candidates about the job position, and that "If you sugarcoat too much, you won't find a candidate who's going to stay." (Roepe, 2020).
We Continue to Uphold Hiring Standards, While Coaching Those We Don't Work. We see potential in everyone who walks through our door. While we uphold certain criteria in our candidates, we still take the time to coach all of our applicants on areas of improvement, while providing resources for alternative hiring routes. Feedback can be career-changing, since it gives people tangible things to improve upon.

Another way to assist candidates after the interview is to share a post-interview survey. SHRM recommends using applicant feedback surveys to enhance your future interviews based on the candidate's recruitment experience (SHRM Adisor, n.d.).

Literature Cited

Forbes. (2023, Jan 13). Follow These Seven Steps to Ensure you Hire the Right People for Your Team. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/councils/yec/2023/01/13/follow-these-seven-steps-to-ensure-you-hire-the-right-people-for-your-team/

Rabasca Roepe, Lisa. (2020, June 23). How to Make the RIght Hiring Decision. Society for Human Resource Management. https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/news/managing-smart/how-to-make-right-hiring-decision

SHRM Advisor. (N.D.) Strategic Talent Acquisition: Proven Tips to Target Right Candidates. Society for Human Resource Management. https://www.shrm.org/in/topics-tools/news/blogs/strategic_talent_acquisition_tips_hire_candidates

SIA. (2015, December, 2). 5 Tips for Recruiting High-Quality Employees. Staffing Industry Analysts. https://www.staffingindustry.com/editorial/staffing-stream/5-tips-recruiting-high-quality-employees

Want a free interview consultation for your company to refine your techniques, including how to train your interviewers, what you can and can't ask, and more? Schedule a meeting with a member of our management today: sales@staffindy.com.

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