We spend a fair amount of time here on the Helpmates blog helping to ease the nerves of anxious and eager candidates. And with good reason – searching for jobs can be stressful! When someone is especially excited about a company and role, it can be hard to keep nerves at bay (We’ve all been there – remember the last time you had to interview for a job?).
Helping candidates feel at ease during interviews means better results for your business.
Of course, putting candidates at ease is a nice thing to do, but ultimately more relaxed candidates provide better quality responses and overall better interviews. Try these tips for putting candidates at ease, and you’ll be well on your way toward stronger interviews:
- Prepare them. When scheduling interviews, give candidates an idea of the topics you’ll be discussing. There are two benefits here – 1) You’ll get better, more thoughtful answers from candidates to give you a more thorough impression and 2) The candidate will feel better prepared when entering the interview and should be more comfortable with the process.
- Greet them. Ensure there is someone to meet candidates as they arrive and possibly even give them a tour of your office as you get ready for the interview. Waiting silently in a reception area can be nerve-wracking and can result in extra jitters for candidates.
- Smile often. It’s amazing how much power there is in a smile! Job interviews can make everyone feel nervous and uncomfortable, but a simple smile (genuine and often) can immediately make candidates feel more relaxed. It can help interviews be less stressful for you, too!
- Set expectations. One of the most nerve-wracking parts of job interviews is not knowing the next steps. If you clear the air at the very beginning by explaining your plans and hiring process (and when candidates can expect to hear from you), you can immediately put candidates at ease by removing that key stressor.
- Turn off the phone and computer. Candidates have done their research and practiced their responses…what could be worse than delivering a great response to your interview question only to have the phone ring or your email notification ding. Turn off your phone and computer (or at least silence them) before the interview to remove distractions and keep candidates at ease.
Before you can put candidates at ease during job interviews, finding top talent is the hardest part. Helpmates has been providing top talent to companies across Southern California for more than 40 years. We’ll help you get a better return on your talent investment.
