Interview Scheduling Process

There is more to the interview scheduling process than simply selecting a day and time to meet with a candidate. It requires the recruiter to gather the list of potential candidates, discuss potential interview times, prepare interview questions, hold individual screening interviews with every candidate, and more.

The interview scheduling process is a long, multi-stage endeavor that requires time, effort, and resources to perform.

What’s more, the advance of technology over the last decade alone caused massive changes to what recruiters and candidates expect from the process. Tasks that took weeks before, can now be completed with a few clicks of a button. However, interview scheduling has remained in the past, relying on traditional methods to perform. It is no wonder that interviewing takes up two-thirds of the hiring process.

An inefficient interview scheduling process can spell disaster for a hiring process. The modern candidate sees the interview phase as their first interaction with a potential employer. Any stage of the process which leads to a negative candidate experience can lead to that candidate declining a job offer. In fact, 58% of job seekers have declined job offers for that very reason.

So, to solve this challenge, hiring managers need to look for tools that can help them modernize their interview scheduling process and their hiring efforts as a whole. Thankfully, there are an array of digital tools now available. It is only a matter of finding the right solution for your company.

Interview Scheduling Software

Interview scheduling software can drastically speed up the recruitment process. Interview scheduling software removes the most time-consuming clerical tasks, allowing recruiters to focus on what’s important — hiring the best talent available. Interview scheduling software is becoming increasingly prevalent. Roughly 51% of recruiters today utilize scheduling software, and 26% more are considering adopting.

Interview scheduling software has totally changed how recruiters work. Before online interview schedules, recruiters would spend several days busy with email chains, calendar invites, and phone calls to find the best time to interview. Eventually, the recruiter would reach out to the candidate only to find the days and times only to find the candidate unavailable.

However, with the best interview scheduling software available today, this is no longer a problem. Interview scheduling apps like Qualifi’s on-demand phone interview platform not only solve this but allow recruiters to interview candidates 24 hours a day.

This eliminates the bottleneck of interviewing in your recruiting process. These online interview apps can also cut down on confusion. Online interview schedulers can promote team collaboration, enabling your recruiters to communicate with each other and their hiring managers.

Interview Process Steps

Interviewing is more than scheduling a time and place to speak with a client. There are many interview process steps recruiters must complete before moving a candidate on to the next round of interviews or making an offer.

This is the process recruiters use, start to finish, to determine candidate suitability. When creating an interview process, recruiters need to answer some important questions. These include how many meetings will be needed to assess a candidate and what the organization is looking for. From there, the exact steps can be created.

Interview steps typically include screening interviews, background checks, additional interviews, and skill assessments.

The screening interview is often the first contact with the candidate, and it is designed to determine if a candidate meets the basic requirements of the role being offered. These interviews typically focus on asking questions to expand on the details from resume information.

Skill assessments vary based on industries and roles. However, their basic purpose is to ensure that candidates have the necessary knowledge and skills to perform the job.

Should a candidate pass the steps throughout the interview process, it’s time for a background check. Although this is not necessarily true for every position, many employers will perform this step before making an offer.

Scheduling Interview Email

Scheduling interview emails are a necessary part of scheduling interviews for candidates. These emails provide candidates with all the essential information they’ll need to know for the interview.

This interview message to a candidate should ensure that your candidate is excited and ready for an interview. Provide the candidate with information on who they’ll be meeting with and when. This gives candidates what they need to succeed. An interview schedule message should include the job title of the position. This is particularly helpful when reaching out to passive talent or previous candidates. This helps prevent any misunderstanding in the interview.

For those utilizing on-demand interview scheduling software, include information in your email regarding the self-guided interview process. Introducing candidates to what they can expect from the interview can ease them through the process.  

Also include the topics of discussion the candidate can expect. This will prepare your candidates for in-depth conversations regarding the relevant topics. The exact nature of these topics can vary depending on the stage of the interview process.

How to Start an Interview as the Interviewer

Being a good interviewer is more than just asking questions. It’s about asking the right questions while providing a pleasant interview experience to candidates while strengthening your employer brand. So, it’s important to understand how to start an interview as the interviewer.

Here are some basic guidelines for interviewers.

Never go to an interview unprepared. This is true for candidates, and it’s just as true for recruiters. An unprepared interviewer will appear indifferent and ultimately cause a poor impression on the candidate. As such, be sure to review the candidate’s resume, work samples, job description, and prepare a list of questions.

Use a methodical approach to interviews. An unstructured approach can become subjective, and lead to irrelevant conversation. This is another benefit of on-demand interviews. With this interview method, recruiters are able to provide every candidate with the same interview. This is most important for employers looking to mitigate bias in their hiring process.

For more help, here’s a quick example of how to conduct an interview.

Start by introducing yourself to the candidate. Not only is this a common courtesy, but it is important for candidates to feel respected.

Then set the stage and tone of the interview. Tell the applicant what they can expect for the next half hour. What’s more, ensure that you maintain an appropriate tone. A casual approach may lead a candidate to feel the process is unprofessional. From there you can ask your questions, review the job description, and eventually allow time for candidates to ask their own questions.

‍