Recruitment – Interviewing Remotely

Recruitment – Interviewing Remotely

The first thing to be aware of is that although you are interviewing remotely this needs to be treated in the same professional manner as a face to face interview. If you are interviewing from home take a minute to think. Would you interview in the workplace lolling in your chair surrounded by empty coffee cups? No employer wants candidates to share negative impressions of their organisation.

Preparing for the interview

Ensure that you have prepared the format and questions in advance. It is advisable to get together with your fellow interviewers beforehand to discuss who will be asking which questions, who will be leading the interview and how you are going to score the interview. Also make sure that someone has knowledge of setting up the technology for the interview.

When inviting an applicant to interview ensure they know that the interview will be taking place via a video link and provide information. Also be aware of any special requirements that an applicant might have that would place them at a disadvantage e.g. a hearing impairment.

Test your connection, sound and picture quality in advance.

Have a plan in case you lose connection during the interview. It would be helpful to have contact numbers for the candidate to hand.

Interview in a well-lit space where there will be no interruptions or distractions. When not talking, mute your mic to avoid background distractions to other participants.

The interview

Arrive in the virtual meeting before the candidate.

Before starting to ask questions allow time for the candidate to become accustomed to the format and allow for a period of small talk to relax them. Explain the format of the interview and what will happen if the connection is lost during the interview. For example you can explain that you will contact them via their mobile and let them know when connection is back up and you can continue with the interview.

Be understanding that applicants might have issues with their internet at home or an interruption from a child so be understanding of issues that may arise. On the other hand you would expect a candidate to be treating this as a proper interview so you might expect them to have made provision to minimise distractions.

Ensure you end the interview properly so as there is no awkwardness from the candidate about wondering when they should leave the interview. Explain how you will follow up the interview and notify them of the outcome.

Following the interview

Notify the successful candidate and explain the next steps. Also notify the unsuccessful candidates. Ensure you have kept written documentation for the interviews as you would for face to face interviews as you might have to give feedback to the unsuccessful applicants.

If the successful applicant is going to commence the role working from home then ensure that you have an effective induction programme set up remotely. As well as the formal documentation and mandatory training you might want to set up virtual meetings for them to get to know the team.