Who is interviewing who?

There are few recruitment markets where you can advertise your vacancy in the 'Ilkeston Advertiser' on Monday, begin interviewing forty candidates on Tuesday, short list to five on Wednesday (this is starting to sound like a really dull version of a Craig David song), invite them back on Thursday and place the role on Friday. We're almost at full employment. At 4.9% unemployment, this is the lowest level since 2005 and the rosy days when Gordon Brown believed in the end of boom and bust, and people still listened to Tony Blair with a straight face (if only to disagree with what he said, wear a bust of his face on theirs and shout horrible things about him), but the economy was still fundamentally dancing to a booming merry tune.

The war for talent is on! The professionals who want jobs are probably in them or about to be snapped up, probably by the competitor who gives you evils at the local networking event when one of their clients starts introducing themselves to you. You don't want to let them have the last laugh do you? Interviewing has never been more a two way process. Forget the notion that you are in control in a talent short market. Yes, you can do the usual vetting of candidates, but they are doing the same with you. You might only be interviewing one or two candidates, but you can be sure as hell that they are interviewing at multiple firms or businesses in your market.

So, if your business is being interviewed as well, who should you send to best represent the business, whilst properly vetting the candidate? In an ideal world, if you value the role you are recruiting for enough, somebody senior (preferably an owner) should be on hand to give an enlightened account of the history of the organisation, and answer any questions unburdened from a deflating lack of knowledge.

The best two interviews I have sent candidates two recently were incredible for related but different reasons. The first because the accountancy firm sent two of its six partners along so they could sell the opportunity, and answer with a clarity one of their managers could not, in order to give the candidate exactly the information they needed to make an informed decision. The second was incredible because both Managing Partner and another Partner were sent along, and spent a small proportion discussing the candidate's background (although in my market this is admittedly pretty straightforward anyway), and a much larger portion selling their firm to said candidate. Both ultimately recognized that they were under the spotlight too.

It always helps if the people you are sending to be interviewed are dynamic, engaging, and generally interested in people. Some of the best HR and internal recruiters get people. They are empathetic towards nervousness, the odd slip up (everybody makes them), or a phone going off (yes it is annoying but not the end of the world). Some of the worst can grill a candidate as if a burnt steak cooked by a inattentive trainee chef and put them off for good. Interviews work both way remember?

So yes, you are still interviewing the candidate. Do not turn up to expect the candidate sat behind a desk relaxing in their chair asking you "what is your greatest weakness?" (although to be honest I think I'd hire anybody who did that right on the spot). But be mindful that they might be seeing three other businesses, so don't make their interview some X Factor style audition, playing the Simon Cowell bad guy. Someone, somewhere, is being helpful and jolly Ant and Dec, helping them to their destination and it will be you who gets buzzed off.