Hiring managers understand that interviews, by nature, cause candidates a bit of anxiety. However, that doesn’t mean your process isn’t potentially making things more challenging for job seekers. In some cases. At least part of the candidate’s nervousness is potentially in your control. By taking the right steps, you can make the process less intimidating, reducing the amount of stress candidates feel when they meet with you.
Ultimately, creating as near a stress-free experience as possible for candidates is a smart move. When job seekers are comfortable, their real selves will shine through with greater ease. This can make it easier for you to assess their capabilities, culture fit, and more, as nerves aren’t impacting how they present themselves.
If you would like to make interviews more stress-free for your candidates, here are some tips that can help.
Provide the Candidate with an Introduction
Before the interview day arrives, consider sending candidates some introductory information that can help familiarize them with your company, its products and services, and yourself. This could include links to your LinkedIn profile and the company’s social media pages, product or service brochures, and similar materials.
When candidates feel more familiar with you and your organization, they tend to be less nervous. You’re reducing the number of unknowns in the equation, and that can make a significant difference.
Look for Signs of Nerves, Then Let Them Know It’s Okay
It’s wise for hiring managers to learn to spot the signs of nervousness in candidates. Fidgeting, struggling with eye contact, stumbling over answers, yawning, and a slew of other signals could all indicate that a job seeker is feeling stressed.
If you see a candidate exhibiting signs of anxiety, pause for a moment and let them know it’s okay. Tell them that you understand that they are likely a bit nervous and that if they need to pause for a moment and take a deep breath to relax or recenter, that’s alright. Usually, just acknowledging that the situation can be stressful and reassuring candidates that it’s going to be alright can be enough to calm them significantly.
Create a Comfortable Space for Holding Interviews
The space where you conduct interviews can have an impact on how nervous a candidate feels. If the room is plagued by noise from other people in an office or ringing telephones, has a clear view of people moving around through the workplace, or other potential distractions, job seekers may become overwhelmed by all of the input. However, if you can choose a calm, quiet space, those distractions won’t increase the candidate’s stress levels.
It’s also important to realize that even an uncomfortable chair can have a negative impact on how a job seeker performs. If a chair doesn’t provide enough support or allow for good posture, it may distract the candidate or even lead to pain, causing them to struggle during the interview.
Even lighting can make a difference. If the space is incredibly bright, the job seeker might feel like they are being interrogated. Too dim, and they may have trouble seeing.
Spend time considering how comfortable the space is, including any furniture, ambient sound, and lighting. Then, make adjustments if any of those factors create a less than ideal experience.
Ultimately, all of the tips above can help you make interviews more stress-free for candidates. If you’d like to find out more, the staff at GSG Talent Solutions can help. Contact us today.