Do you think Multistage Interviews put off applicants?

We all think we know how to carry on our side of a two-way business conversation, but we can get much fuller and more accurate information if we pay careful attention to strategies of effective interviewing.

- Samuel G. Trull (January 1964)

Interviews are one of the most crucial steps in the recruitment process.

It is at this stage that both the company and the candidate get to know more about each other, interact, and evaluate whether the engagement will be a good fit.

Because this process is so crucial, increasingly many organisations opt for multiple rounds and/or stages of interviews for a single role.

As per Indeed Survey, almost 9 out of 10 HR professionals (86%) find it challenging to hire technical talent, with over a third (36%) finding it “very challenging.” This is occasioned by having aggressive hiring goals and the inability to quantify a candidate’s on-the-job potential.

Senior level positions most definitely need a second, third and even fourth stage interview as there is a lot at stake for both parties. 

While this approach primarily has its advantages which include;

• Detailed assessments which may reduce the chances of hiring the wrong person. 
• Getting independent opinions from different interviewers at different stages.
• Allowing for different aspects of the candidate to be evaluated over multiple conversations i.e., technical skills can be evaluated separately from culture fit, values and additional competencies required for a role.

Multistage interviews can also be a frustrating experience for the applicants to an extent of putting them off from taking on the role. 

In my experience recruiting, specifically, in the life sciences industry, where recruitment is largely for a very specific skill set that is niche, the longer the process, trying to find ‘the perfect candidate’ that may not exist, the more, good candidates go off the market, taking us back to square one.

Times have changed, the hiring market has changed and become more candidates driven as opposed to just the company’s decision.

From the perspective of the candidate being interviewed, going through so many stages, and successfully getting through them validates their effort and acumen as a professional. However, constantly failing at the final stages may result in a decrease in moral and lead to self-criticism with regards to competency.

I have heard several candidates share their interview experiences. Although the evidence may be anecdotal, the common factor is that, after two or three interviews, the candidate is asked to do e.g., a strategy paper on a current issue facing the company that they are interviewing with, or a software or dashboard and they prepare a presentation sharing their ideas but still are not being selected and later seeing their ideas / strategy being implemented by the interviewing organization. 

With this regard, a friend recently asked me to what extent are we to share our ideas and strategies during interviews?

While carrying out a practical or having the candidate write an actual strategy paper, or technical screening (a process of simultaneously testing and evaluating technical candidates’ skills and experience against pre-decided parameters, using a combination of knowledge and application-based techniques such as MCQs and simulators) is one of the ways to interview a candidate’s ability to effectively develop solutions that will benefit the company. I would like to propose a few questions that will still help the recruiter to achieve this in a one-on-one interview.

• What factors do you consider when coming up with a strategic plan, a dashboard, or a software?

The candidate will have an opportunity to demonstrate that they understand the how to. They can go further and highlight with examples the success stories of what they built or worked on.

• How much time do you invest in… (strategic planning)? Highlight the methods you use?

Building or coming up with a software or a strategic plan has phases. This question presents an opportunity for the candidate to show case organizational skills and successes that they have had in the past.

• How do you keep your team informed?

Communication is a key factor of success in business. This question offers an opportunity for the candidate to demonstrate how effective they are with communication.

• How do you measure whether __is effective?

It is important to be aware of the Strengths Weaknesses and Opportunities of whatever you are putting together. Keeping track of your Key Performance Indicators will aid in success

In conclusion, Multistage Interviews enable companies to find the right candidate and make an informed decision. While the questions I have listed above are not conclusive, recruiters must strive to employ different methods of measuring the suitability of a candidate, in terms of, the candidates’ thought process and innovation levels, that does not leave the candidate feeling that the organization is thriving from their brains with no returns, in the name of an interview.