Practice Areas
Sometimes you may feel like the person you are interviewing really isn’t right for the job, so what do you do? Do you cut short the interview or continue it out of courtesy? The actual answer may be even simpler than that, don’t let it get to that stage.
Not every candidate that gets to the interview stages of a selection process is going to be 100% suitable for the job, and sometimes this is going to be much more apparent than others. This means there can be times when recruiters will know within seconds they have no intention of hiring the candidate in front of them.
Should you cut an interview short?
While cutting the interview short may save you time, it’s also very likely to leave a bad impression on the candidate. Yes, you may be lucky and find the candidate had realised the same thing and was looking for a way to cut the interview short too, but equally you could end up really offending the candidate and have them storm out, a far from ideal scenario.
Laurie West, Xchangeteam’s talent acquisition manager, adds: “You really shouldn’t ever need to cut short an interview. Good interviewers know that whatever the temptation, you can’t leap to conclusions about your candidate before the end of the interview.
“Regardless of what happens within the first two to three minutes you don’t really know the candidate until you take time to find out, this means you have to get beyond first impressions. On top of this, a good recruiter will always be looking at other jobs the candidate might be relevant for in the future.
“If it’s about saving time this is not the stage you need to be looking at: by the time a candidate comes to interview, a recruiter should already have invested considerable time in the recruitment lifecycle. If the wrong people are getting through to the final stage then there’s a problem at the beginning of the recruitment process.”
Be tactful but keep interview to a minimum
If you really do feel the candidate is wrong for the job for whatever reason, then continuing the interview out of courtesy is the most popular route, while reducing the length. While 20 minutes is probably too short, 30-40 minutes is a fair length as this at least gives you a chance to get to know the candidate a little more. Who knows, you may even change your mind before the interview is over.
How to avoid a short interview
Dave Millner, director of assessments at Kenexa offers three key areas to focus on to ensure you don’t have to cut short your interview.
“Have a clear success profile that’s based upon research and insights into what top performers do rather than just focusing on requirements of the job,” he says. “Define a clear process that ensures core capabilities are assessed at an early stage. On top of this, don’t focus on volume of candidates, focus on quality.”
Focusing too heavily on quantity is a potential recipe for disaster, if you’re obsessed with simply getting the numbers through the door then you’re more than likely going to have to cut corners at some point. Focusing on quality candidates instead means you can invest more time into making sure you get the right person. Ultimately this will save you time in the long run.
Millner also adds: “Don’t be afraid to give ‘tough love’ earlier on in the process either, if there is any doubt in a candidate’s capabilities then don’t push them forward to the next stage. Uncertainty means there are some doubts, so don’t exacerbate the issue by spending more time with them.”
Having said all this, if you still find yourself in this position, what should you do? The reality is there isn’t an easy way to do it and you’ll find much debate among recruiters around the ethics of cutting short an interview. Essentially, you are faced with two options:
Be honest and upfront
Sometimes, you may feel that stopping the interview is the best approach, in which case, be honest. Time is money and as a recruiter you must make it clear you only expect the best. So try to share feedback with the interviewee, it may be harsh at the time, but ultimately you may be helping them in the long run. For example, if they weren’t prepared, let them know. That way they can change their behaviour before the next interview.
Top tips for interview feedback
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Be timely and efficient
Having to wait more than a few days can be difficult when you’ve applied for a job, so try and be efficient when giving feedback. The candidate may be waiting on your feedback before accepting other job offers, or applying for other positions, so keeping them waiting unnecessarily is not very polite or fair.
Ideally, you should tell candidates at the interview stage when they can expect to hear from you. A good benchmark to aim for is around a week, or five business days after the interview.
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Choose the right method
As already mentioned, there is more than one way to go about this. You should choose the method which is most comfortable to you, and allows you to get across what you mean.Chris O’Connell, CEO of Timothy James Consulting says, “We always give feedback over the phone. The benefits of this method are that it allows for a detailed breakdown and allows the candidate the opportunity to ask questions. The downsides is that a face-to-face approach can be seen as more personal, although constructive comments can be harder to take face-to-face, hence our preference for telephone feedback.”
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Be as detailed as possible
Gary Chaplin, Managing Director of Communicate North says, “I make every effort to provide honest, blunt feedback. I don’t tell everyone they came a close second, people will only learn from mistakes and if they did badly, I will tell them as much. I ensure they are given the information, tools and time to rectify their mistakes.”
It’s also important to be personal, there’s nothing like an email titled “Dear CANDIDATE” to show how little thought and effort you’ve put into something.
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Be helpful and constructive
It can be useful to have a list of points you wish to feedback to an interviewee if you plan on speaking to them on the phone/in person.
If you’re choosing the email method, take time to construct a helpful letter that contains lots of positive advice that the candidate can take away with them. Try to remain upbeat in tone, especially if the candidate performed well but wasn’t quite right for the role.
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Be prepared to react to complaints
It’s not easy hearing that you’ve not been chosen, and some will not take too kindly to it. Be prepared for complaints, but do your best to avoid it in the first place. “If feedback is given in the correct manner and with the intention of helping the candidate, then there shouldn’t be a negative reaction,” says Mark McFall.
Saving time and money
The sheer volume of candidates in the job market over the last few years has resulted in an increase in interviews being conducted over the phone. But it isn’t just a case of recruiters and employers looking to crash through as many candidates as possible; it’s also partly down to jobseekers looking to save both time and money as they pursue their perfect role.
“One of our clients will give candidates a choice of face-to-face or phone interviews,” says Sandeep Bhandal at Recruitment Consultancy Work Group. “The initial take up for phone interviews was just 25%, but this has risen to 77%. So there has been a shift from a candidate behavioral viewpoint, with people becoming more comfortable with phone interviews.”
Bhandal adds that this is probably driven by the increasingly high applicant to hire ratio, which in some circumstances can top 225 to one. He also believes a change in recruitment methodology, which embraces new technology, has driven an increase in phone use.
“Technology has really helped with the screening process, and situational judgment tests, which present candidates with the kind of decisions they will need to make in the role, can be used effectively in conjunction with phone and face-to-face interviews,” explains Bhandal.
Plus phone interviews have progressed. It is possible now to have video or web-based interviews where visuals can be used. You can also deliver an interview with automated prompts, which allows employers to carry out scientific volume-based assessments. This can mean that the recruiting company doesn’t need to get involved until a later stage, saving time and effort.
Do phone interviews work?
But is this increasing reliance on the phone taking the soul out of recruitment? And by doing so is there a danger of key nuances being missed that could contribute to the assessment of cultural fit? Victoria Maddock, director at Expectations Recruitment Service, thinks so.
“Telephone interviewing does not enable the recruiter to fully assess eye contact, body language, gestures and the genuine interest of a candidate,” she says. These factors show a candidate’s personality and character, all of which are important to ensure the ‘correct fit’ of the person into a team and company, as employers select personality, not just specific skills.
Although Laurie West, talent acquisition manager at Xchange Team, agrees that it’s easier to build a rapport with candidates face to face, and wouldn’t want to put someone in front of an employer without having met them first, he does see key advantages with phone interviews.
“What I like about the phone is that it allows you to get to the point very quickly and gives the candidate time to think,” he says. “What’s more, you’re not colouring your judgement by their physical appearance or body language, you are purely focused on their communication skills, the language they use and how well they listen to and answer the questions that are asked.”