It’s no secret that interviewing — and scheduling interviews — can be one of the most time-consuming components of your team’s day. The average interviewee goes through two-to-three interviews with a single employer before receiving a job offer accounting for hours of everyone’s time. There are several ways to help expedite the process, especially if you perform multiple-stage interviews for a role. Check out some of these details on scheduling software, tips for scheduling interviews with candidates, and other interview scheduling tools.
Scheduling Software
Don’t get trapped in the logistical nightmare of scheduling everything by hand. By adding scheduling software (our team uses Calendly and loves it) into your arsenal, you’ll lighten the administrative load for the team. Additionally, it’ll streamline the recruitment process while simultaneously creating a better candidate experience which is crucial for retention and getting referrals. Scheduling software is especially vital if you’re hiring for several roles or receiving a large number of applicants.
Key functions of a scheduling tool:
We recommend finding a scheduling software that can integrate into the calendars of your hiring managers to provide times that will work for both parties – the interviewer and the candidate. The software will save plenty of time by quickly finding a time that works while avoiding the game of phone or email tag.
Features to look for:
The beauty of scheduling software is that you not only save time on phone calls, but most have plenty of other time-saving features such as:
- Email templates,
- Text or email reminders of upcoming interviews,
- Schedule viewing in real-time, and
- Rescheduling options.
Top-notch infrastructures may even include Applicant Tracking System (ATS) integration. That’s extra helpful when looking at your KPIs to audit your hiring process and goals.
Tips for Scheduling Interviews with Candidates
Having the right tools in your belt, including a scheduling system, will help make the interview process easier and more timely, decreasing your recruitment cost and time to hire. With such a competitive hiring market, you must capture those top-talent candidates right away. If your recruitment strategy is sourcing excellent candidates, the next step is to get them in and through your interviewing process. Here are some tips to make sure it happens in a time-saving manner:
1. Do it promptly
As we’ve learned, 40% of candidates drop out of a hiring process if it takes too long to hear back. Schedule your interviews immediately (if possible), no matter which stage of the interview process it is. If the person looks great on paper, get that initial conversation on the books. If that goes well, be sure to follow up immediately or ideally before they leave with next steps and what they can expect moving forward. Even if it’s a video or phone interview, don’t leave the candidate waiting and wondering.
2. Get interviewer notes back right away
When deciding on a candidate, you’ll want feedback from the interviewers as soon as possible. That way, you can compare and contrast the candidates quickly to schedule the next round of interviews. Every hiring team will have a different strategy for tracking their candidate notes, whether by a follow-up email or directly in your ATS (We always recommend using Recruitee as your ATS, it is easy to set up, simple to use and can keep everyone on your team up-to-date and on the same page when it comes to candidates–we can help you get your team up and running).
3. Create a standardized interview
While this tip falls more under interviewing candidates than scheduling interviews, having a standardized interview is still essential for scheduling. Yes, it will help reduce bias and give hiring managers a way to equate candidates across the board. However, more importantly, it will help you sift through candidates more quickly so that you can extend that next-stage interview invite and exercise tip #1 effectively. An expedited interview and marking system mean a fast track to getting the top candidate on board.
4. Leverage an ATS
An ATS guarantees that even if you exchange a few emails to answer a candidate’s questions or reschedule, they’ll all be kept in the same place. Being organized means that you look like a pro and that no one slips through the cracks, left with a bitter taste in their mouth following your interview process.
At Pivot + Edge, interviewing is our bread and butter — a significant part of what we do every day. Naturally, simplifying them into a scalable process is a priority. When the majority of occupations could automate at least 30% of their tasks, getting an interview scheduling software system is a no-brainer. You’ll look great as a business when your interview candidates have a quick and seamless interview and hiring experience. Plus, if you add in an ATS, you’ll have plenty of stats and KPIs to look at when it comes to improving your hiring success or even tracking down unsuccessful candidates for better-fitting roles.
