June 07, 2016 – Vicki Pero - Insights

At What Point Do You Make a First Impression On a New Hire?

businessman hand and evaluation concept
Let’s be honest, when you have a vacant position within your team, it’s a total drag.  Your workload increases in two ways – carrying out the duties of the open position and searching to find a replacement for the role; and additional pressure may be put on the rest of your team too.  With all of this going on, it’s easy to overlook an important detail during the candidate selection process – they are evaluating you too!  Once this process comes to a close, the successful candidate becomes part of your team, and based on how the process went, they’ve already formed opinions about you and the company.  Make a positive impression from the very beginning, by following these guidelines:

Don’t Let ‘Em See You Sweat – Avoid spending the first several minutes of the interview explaining how chaotic things are and make sure you are on time and prepared.  You want to be transparent about what the role will look like, but don’t allow your stress to create a negative impression about the role or the company.

Strong Candidates Don’t Last – Keep the process moving as quickly and efficiently as possible and always provide candidates an accurate picture of what the next step in the process looks like including timing.  If the process drags on for too long, you may lose the best candidates to other opportunities, or they may become uneasy about the role within your team wondering if it is a true priority.

Be Prepared to Answer Candidate Questions – Candidates often do a lot of research on the opportunity within your company and on the company itself.  When they come to the interview with questions, this is a good sign that they are serious about the role and have a genuine interest.  Leave time at the end of the interview to respond to candidate questions, and if you are asked something you don’t know the answer to, follow up after the fact once you have obtained the information.

Need assistance with your recruitment efforts, Marlyn Group can help!  Contact us today at letsconnect@marlyngroupllc.com to start the conversation.