The staff selection process is rigorous that involves several specific interrelated tasks. Incidentally, the process is never really complete and this process is very much dependent on each organization’s human resources policy. Indeed after going through all the application letters and resume among other requested documents the real work begins at the recruitment process whereby candidates are taken through interviews.
Although some companies only perform just one interview others require more than one and may go up to conducting three interviews per candidate. This process, however, is determined by the organization culture, the nature of the job, the size of the company, the job demands, the complexity and policy in order to attract and eventually hire the most suitable applicant.
Indeed second round of interviews are a very significant component of the selection and recruitment process as they allow one to conduct a comprehensively extensive and exhaustive analysis on the respective candidate. It is therefore for his particular reason that the interviewee has to be adequately prepared. In some case, the interview might take several dimensions and a different approach might be employed. Primarily, ranking the top candidates is important as it allows one to select the best-suited individuals.
The second round of interview might be one on one, a panel of the interviewer or a group that might include the specific prospective line managers. This process removes any shadow of doubt and there are no biases. Using multiple interviewers therefore ensures the process is ethical and accurate while offering different opinions of the selected applicants. Since the interview is ultimately different from the initial one, the process is therefore bound to be different while.
The second round of interviews also provide an opportunity for the employer to negotiate the terms of service and the offer and are subsequently a precursor to the final selection process.
For that reason, this article will focus on the elements that are required by the interviewer while interviewing the applicant for a second round of interview. This procedure requires objectivity, rationality, trust and to some extent one has to rely more on the interviewers instincts as well as the gut feeling. These round of interview is important because if you choose the wrong individual, you might end up months of the organization’s time and potential.
Consequently, the secondary interview requires a small pool of individuals. Most appropriate number should be two or three and four to the extreme. The following are therefore the requirements of conducting a second interview:
Table of Contents
1) Get more personnel involved
As earlier indicated it is important and more productive to involve other members of your organization during the second round of interviews in order to get an insight about applicant’s abilities, his suitabilities and opinion. These individuals who are invited to the interview ought to be line managers (managers of the same department as the interviewee) as well as people who are likely to have day-to-day contact with the prospective employee.
2) Call and Schedule well in advance for the Second round of interviews
Calling the job applicant to get a confirmation they are still interested will automatically eliminate any disappointment as the applicant may no longer be interested or could have decided not to leave their current employer or even explore other prospects. Subsequently scheduling the interview on a reciprocally appropriate time and date for the second round of interview is paramount in order to reduce time wastage for the other candidates as well as your colleagues.
3) Ample Preparations for the Second Round Of Interviews
Sufficient preparation is another requirement. By making sure that you review all the notes from the primary interviews beforehand reduces the cases of mix-ups and enables the interviewer to remain focused during the interview. Reviewing one’s finding as sharing the same with the interview panel with briefs on how and why you arrived at your decision is important. However, it is critical to stress that the panel should come up with their own independent conclusions.
Ideally, by beginning the second round of interviews by asking a series of predetermined questions highlights the candidate core competencies. However the questions ought to be more comprehensive than the straightforward job-related questions, this is because trying to find what makes each individual applicant tick. Although this is seemingly obvious make sure that these same questions are directed to each and every interviewee.
4) Make sure that the candidate is at ease
Since the key and primary objective of the second interview is to get the best impression of the potential applicant’s temperament as well as their skills. This, therefore, necessitates the relaxation, comfort, and easiness of your hopeful.
This will make them feel at ease which will allow them to give the best account of themselves. Just like in any initial interview simple things like asking how their journey was, offering them a drink can actually make them feel more relaxed and less anxious. Disclosing to the applicant what the secondary interview involves while acquaint them with the interviewing panel encourages them to feel more relaxed and comfortable.
5) Recap the first Round Of Interviews
Going over your impressions from the first interview with the applicant while stating the areas of interest to your organization and the specificities that you want to delve on is significant, while re-examining and narrowing down the focus to the applicant’s specific qualifications significant in the establishment of facts and removing all shadow of doubt and ensuring that you have the right candidate for the position.
6) Prepare your questions in advance for the second round of interviews
This is not all about the employer but rather it is the best time for the applicant to really get to understand what your organization is all about. The interviewers have to be prepared with a set of questions which are challenging. Also, the interview panel has to give the candidate the chance to ask questions and inquire more about your organization.
In this step, i advice that you give your best to the candidate. Ideally, the most grilling questions should be asked at this stage. This is where the line manager also plays a role. The line manager can get an idea how knowledgeable the candidate is in his field of operations.
Not only from the operational point of view, from the future perspective point of view too the questions are important. Example – Is the candidate comfortable in moving out of the city for the job? Has he stayed alone ever in the past? etc.
Similarly, ask him more technical questions and scenario based questions. Such questions actually can help you analyse the communication levels of the candidate and his experience.
Example of asking smart questions – Everyone will say yes to moving out of the city to get the job. But if that person has no experience in the past of staying out of the city, then he will face a culture shock and might leave the job down the line, wasting all your training and salary expenses. As a result, in such a case always prefer candidates who have stayed out of their home for long period of times.
7) Getting down to basics
Since the second meeting is the most likely time when you settle on your preferred candidate, one has to ensure that they consider every contingency appropriately. Example – Checking out the earliest possible date the applicant is ready to join work.
Furthermore, ensure that compensation desires are clearly spelt out and consistent with what the employer is putting forth; this is actually the time to truly investigate every possibility. Understanding this critical information will eventually enable one to push ahead fast and make expeditious decisions. If the candidate is expecting too much, then you can let him go or give him a yes or no offer.
8) Tie up any loose ends of the second round of interviews
Avoid the tendency of leaving the candidate hanging, it is vital to ensure the applicant is conscious of where they stand. Occasionally the interviewer may be required to make some conditional proposition towards the end the interview; nevertheless, it is quite appropriate to make such kind of an offer after one has completed interviewing all the candidates.
Finally, it is ethical and important to appreciate the candidate for their interest in your organization, give them a definite date when they are likely to hear from you and most of all wish them the best of luck.
With these tips and steps one is more likely to be the market leader in the recruitment process and more so give a positive image not only on themselves but also the organization as well as the members of staff.
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