Few things remain unchanged as time passes. Whether they become outmoded or obsolete, there is little that hasn’t been touched by Father Time’s hands. And though we know this, humanity has the funny habit of resisting that change every time.
The interview process is a case in point. Once, it was an employer’s market, with companies having their pick of the pack. Now, that trend has flipped, with job seekers having the upper hand. The problem is, few are changing up their interview model, resulting in unsatisfactory hiring processes that leave much to be desired on both ends. Perspective employees find the rigmarole most have in place to be old-fashioned and frustrating, and employers are equally upset when halfway through the interview process they find themselves ghosted.
To create a more successful hiring process for your dealership, three practices need to be looked at and updated so that everyone wins.
#1. Communicate the Role Clearly
One of the issues with hiring these days is that often those applying don’t have a real sense of what the job is before they’re halfway through the interview process. Once they find out, there are going to be a number who drop out. This means your dealership has wasted precious time with possibilities that were never real options. Keep this from happening by being clear from the start about what the role you’re looking to fill entails. When advertising, list all the tasks expected of a new hire or give an overview of what a day in this position would look like. This will keep your pool of possible hires focused.
#2. Communicate the Process from the Start
If you have a multi-layered approach to interviewing, it’s crucial to let interviewees know from the start what to expect. This means that at the very first meeting you tell those trying out how long the process takes and how many rounds they may have to go through. Many looking for jobs today don’t like jumping through too many hoops when they’re surprised by them. They just want to know if they’re hired or not. By giving them a head’s up before starting, they can decide right then if they’re going to go through with the process. This way, those who would drop out do so before you’ve invested too much time in them, and you know that those who remain are committed.
This also ensures you’ll take a good look at your process to make sure everything about it is necessary because you can’t communicate clearly what isn’t structured correctly. This assures you’ll notice and get rid of anything that keeps the process from being streamlined and efficient.
#3. Communicate That You’ve Done Your Homework
A final pitfall in today’s interview process is that many employers have a key list of questions that they ask every potential employee. These questions often end up coming across as rote and turn off interviewees.
Those looking for jobs today want to know that your dealership cares about them as individuals. Shake things up and shine by including at least one question in each interview that indicates you’ve paid attention to their resumes. Try as much as possible to convey that you’ve given them actual time and thought as individuals and you’ll find fewer ghosts going forward.
