We’ve all pretty much nailed working from home now…whether we enjoy having a home office or not. A lot of us were thrown into this environment. I turned 29 this year and there wasn’t a time in my life where I worked from home. Plus, I’m a PC gamer so using my home PC for work was all too new to me.
However, I managed to get into the swing of things and I now love a hybrid week – 2 days in the office with 3 at home. The option to have a routine like that in my work week and an opportunity to cycle to work – great!
What has really caught my attention is how interviewing has changed. Now I’m not talking for better or for worse, I’m talking about how we approach interviewing. By we, I mean the interviewer, interviewee, and me, the agent. By now, we all expect a virtual interview and to many, it feels very normal. To others, interviewing with and joining a new company virtually can be very daunting. You simply can’t build rapport with someone in the same way you can face-to-face.
Not just this but exit interviews. Are companies still making the effort to sit down with their leavers and “debrief” their time with the business? Is it on their agenda to ensure that their employees are having a positive experience with the business? An exit interview is an opportunity for businesses to understand what is causing their attrition levels. Any negative areas are opportunities to boost attractiveness to prospective candidates. Positive areas are also opportunities to capitalise on what people really like about working for your business.
The job market has become very buoyant of late. With companies across London hiring much more than ever, it’s fantastic to see but there are fewer candidates available on the market. So how have we adapted to this? It’s more important than ever to ensure that candidates that are being interviewed have the best possible first impression on the business. What more can be done to ensure the entire process is a positive experience to them?
I posted a poll asking my network on what they find helpful during virtual interviews. The answers were pretty level around communication and quality interview preparation. You would associate the latter with agencies – it’s our job to ensure that the candidate has researched the company and is prepared for the interview. This can be done internally – a prep call can be set up by a member of the HR/Internal Recruitment team to discuss key questions that they will likely ask and questions that the candidate can ask. All of 15 minutes will inject confidence into the candidate and provide a great first impression of the business.
It is a joy to me that my job is to help people find their next chapter in their career and to have the opportunity to support people in need after the crisis we had throughout 2020; it has been very fulfilling. Not to mention supporting companies with the frustrations they have faced.
A well prepped candidate will beam with confidence in their interview and will leave a lasting impression on everyone involved. Consistent, effective, and supportive conversations with candidates from our first call together to 6 months into their new job is so important for them.
It makes them feel valued.
About our author:
Josh thrives on networking and building strong relationships with his clients. He heads up the BI, Data and Business Change function within Finitas.
Josh works exclusively with clients in the Lloyd's and General Insurance market by supplying market experts with a wide range of niche skillsets both in contract and permanent requirements.
If you’d like any help in your job search or would like to discuss your hiring needs, please get in touch with Josh today j.jennings@finitas.co.uk