Are interviewers stalling your recruiting process?

Ever had a hiring manager say, “I don’t have time to interview,” while you’re struggling to send them qualified people who statistics say will be on the market only about 10 days? Here are some helpful ways to get your interviewers ready to go:

At the intake meeting:

-Ask interviewers to provide any dates they will be traveling and when they can block their schedule for interviews.  

-Ask for alternative interviewers who can stand in if they are out or too busy. This should not create another round of interviews but truly be someone they trust to make the decisions for them.

-For those with routine or entry level openings, set scheduled weekly or monthly time blocks  and fill them as needed with candidate interviews. This can be a game changer when recruiters are screening and can immediately set up the next steps with candidates.

-Help the interviewer plan a structured interview with key questions prepared. If they aren’t thinking they have prep time for every interview but that is done for them, the process may go much faster.

-Reassure interviewers that the candidates you’re scheduling to meet with them have passed the screening process and meet the hiring manager’s requirements set in the intake meeting.

Finally, remember that hiring is not all that interviewers are doing. Offering some empathy about their workload can go a long way to building the recruiter-hiring manager partnership.