7 ways hiring managers can provide a great candidate experience
Over time, I’ve built my list of recruiting must-haves, which also loosely translate to what I expect as a candidate myself. These seven tips have helped me build high-performing teams at some pretty well-known tech companies while giving our candidates a productive experience, even in ‘no-hire’ cases. Some of these steps will never be directly visible to the candidate, but it’ll make the process much smoother and more enjoyable for them.
Job description: JDs should be realistic. If yours is all hyperbole, then you’re going to attract candidates who are also hyperbolic. Also, don’t lie. If you require them to carry a pager or work shifts, say so. Last thing you want to do is hire and train someone who later realized they have unrealistic expectations of the role.
Resume review: Sit with your recruiter to review batches of resumes, regardless of how long the recruiter has been in the role. Sometimes I’ll bend my “rules” for a candidate who might not otherwise have the requisite skills or work experience listed on their resume. I’ve hired at least 3 top performers in the past few years who wouldn’t have made it through the initial review by my recruiter. It’s not the recruiter’s fault- they can’t read my mind and don’t necessarily know where I’d like to see the team in another 2 to 3 years, etc. Also, anyone touting the title “expert” gets a very senior engineer for the technical phone screen or on-site loop, even if the candidate is a junior. There are only a handful of actual experts in the world on any given topic, and I want to see how they handle being challenged by someone who knows more than they do.
Preparing the interviewers: Calibrating interviewers is the most difficult piece of the process, particularly with a new position. Every engineer has their own notion of a stellar candidate, and it takes a LOT of effort to make them realize their opinions carry less weight than mine do as the hiring manager. (I’m not autocratic, but there are some things I just won’t budge on) This is especially true when hiring juniors. Most senior engineers see a junior as “less than” and not worth their time. That’s a different post/rant though. Then there are the pre-interview emails, interview training, and reviewing the JD with everyone involved in the loop. Basically, setting expectations on what is and is not acceptable in a candidate and why.
Preparing the candidate: Some recruiters do this very well themselves. But for candidates I’ve personally phone screened (most of them) and really liked (far fewer candidates), I will send a pre-interview prep email with topics to brush up on and introductions to a few of the key interviewers. Interviews are brutal, so putting a candidate at ease means I’ll get a better sense of who they’ll be after they join the team. Their level of preparation on the topics I provide also shows how much they’re invested in the role.
Post-interview emails: I send this version to the interviewers. I’ll also send one to the candidate if they’re this close to receiving an offer. That includes a quick note that I’d love to see them interview again in N months, after studying up on a few topics. Again, some of my top performers are folks who didn’t make it through their initial on-site, but returned for another go-around. Doing so shows perseverance and a ‘thirst’ for the job and the company that goes a long way in my book.
Calling the interview early. Sometimes things just aren’t caught in phone screens. This is particularly true of soft skills and attitude. I’ve worked at places where they will under no circumstances call an interview early. I think it’s a waste of everyone’s time to proceed through hours of interviews when it’s a foregone conclusion that an offer won’t be made. I know when I was building my team of SREs at Facebook, I saved our interviewers at least a couple hundred hours total by cutting interview loops short- and all due to soft skills issues with the candidate. I would always have a 5min wrap-up meeting with the candidate to tell them why, and we only received positive feedback from those candidates. Doing this shows respect and gives them an idea of what they need to focus on to get another shot (although very rarely would I re-interview someone who had attitude issues- very difficult to ‘fix’ for most people).
Feedback quickly, decision quickly. For candidates whose loops aren’t cut short, get the feedback in within 1 business day, have a de-brief scheduled before the interview even happens (you can always cancel it later if it’s a no-go), and make the hire/no-hire decision in the de-brief if possible. As a manager, schedule a conversation with your recruiter on leveling and compensation directly after the de-brief so it doesn’t languish.
