Creative Ways to Ensure Candidates Have a Positive Interview Experience

Employers have had to step up their game amid the "great reshuffling" of the past few years, working harder than ever to appeal to job seekers at every phase of the hiring process, including the interview.

Creating a great candidate experience is also essential to preserving your company's public image. You may lose great candidates during the interview process if they have a better experience with a different company, and word of mouth about a bad experience with your company may dissuade other qualified applicants from applying.

How to Improve the Candidate Interview Experience

Consider the following creative tips for how to create a great candidate experience.

Ditch the Corporate Interview Environment

Interviewing is stressful, and conducting interviews in a stuffy office environment won't put your candidate at ease. So instead, conduct in-person interviews over coffee or lunch in a more relaxed environment. You could take this a step further by asking what their favorite food or beverage is and bringing it to the interview.

Remote interviews can be equally casual, and you can inform candidates that interruptions from pets and children are expected and won’t reflect poorly on them. Also, consider being flexible with scheduling and share that you’re willing to work with their availability.

Ask Candidates What They Want From You As Their Employer

Candidates want to work for an employer that cares about their well-being. Companies that value mental well-being and invest in growth opportunities will have an easier time with employee retention. 

By clarifying expectations and goals during the interview, you can establish whether a candidate will be a good fit and assure them that your company cares about their needs and career growth.

Consider asking what they’re hoping for out of their role in terms of continued education, growth within the company, mental health benefits, etc. 

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Pay Candidates for Their Time

Unless it’s legally required to do so, for working interviews or other similar assessments, paying candidates for the time they spend interviewing with you will surprise them and set you apart from other organizations. You could compensate them monetarily or give a gift card or other token of appreciation.

Furthermore, you’ll demonstrate your respect for their time if you request a more in-depth interview experience that may include multiple interviews or assessments. 

Send a Driver for In-Person Interviews

If you’re holding in-person interviews, sending a driver to pick your candidate up is a simple way of going above and beyond for candidates and letting them know that you're taking their time seriously and value the contributions they could make to your company. This will also eliminate the stress of arriving on time and ensuring they can find a parking spot.

Request Candidate Feedback

At the end of the interview process, request feedback from applicants to get suggestions that may help recruit future candidates. 

Attach a survey to rejection emails so candidates you didn't choose understand that you still value their input and opinion. Include an assessment of the interview process in employee onboarding.

Companies need to go above and beyond to ensure that qualified candidates will accept job offers, and minor improvements to the candidate interview experience can convince potential employees that they want to work for you.

Use iHire's many resources to help you recruit the best talent, improve candidate experiences, and increase employee retention.