Remote interviews, digital interviews, virtual recruiting, whichever term you go by it’s clear that this style of hiring has switched from a trend to an absolute necessity for many companies. In just a few short weeks after the lockdown was announced, there was a 67% hike in virtual interviews and it looks like the hiring method here to stay. Knowing how to conduct a remote interview – such as choosing a room with good lighting, strong internet connection and dressing professionally – is one thing. The key to successful recruiting is figuring out how you pick the best candidates when you’re no longer in the same room. Here are four tips that will help you identify top talent when interviewing remotely – follow them and you’ll be able to make those job offers with maximum confidence.
Utilise the recording features
Virtual meetings are just one example of the ways that technology is transforming the hiring process and enabling hiring managers to make a personal connection with candidates they can’t meet in person. It may sound contradictory, but interviewing software can help you to make a deeper connection with candidates since you can focus your sole attention on the interviewee during the meeting and use the recording feature to playback the session. This will allow for a more natural, two-way conversion that may even go off script and you might hear an interesting story about how they overcame challenges and still hit their targets. A relaxed interview will let you see the candidate’s true potential and help you identify the top talent that you might have overlooked.
Picking up non-verbal cues is harder, right? Not quite
Utilising the recording feature in virtual interviewing software can also make it easier to pick up on non-verbal cues, you just need to brush up on your body language skills.
You’ve probably heard of the 7-38-55 rule, or if not you know that a large amount of what we say is communicated not by what we say but how we say it. The rule is based off Dr Mehrabian’s study which found that when people talk about their feelings and attitudes, 38% is communicated by the tone of voice, 55% via body language, leaving just 7% expressed through words themselves. Though the exact numbers are up for discussion, it’s a good reminder to watch out for subtle cues and body language in a virtual interview.
Track performance
To help your future hiring, use the interview recordings to keep track of the skills and attributes that top performing interviewees had in common. Did you find that the top talent listed experience using a certain software or perhaps they didn’t all have two years’ experience in the industry? After all, there are some rules you need to break to hire the best people. Create a list of must-have skills and revisit the requirements you list in the job specification.
Cast the net wider
One of the beauties of interviewing remotely – and there are many – is that it makes the hiring process more accessible. There are several reasons why candidates are put off by the interview process: they can’t get the time off work, they live too far away from the interview location, they have young children to care for or a disability that restricts them. Accessibility is a top hiring trend and one reason it’s gained so much momentum is because by casting the net wider in the recruitment process you’ll find the top talent that would otherwise be discouraged from applying. Think about how you can make the process more accessible, enquire if the candidate has any accessibility needs and go above and beyond to meet them.
Now you know how to spot the top talent and have nailed the process you’ve got all you need to make offers confidently following remote interviews.
Let BMS help you find the top sales and marketing talent
Are you searching for the next recruit that will take your high-performing team to the next level? If so then we want to help. We have 30 years’ experience identifying the top sales and marketing talent, interviewing 500 candidates a week and placing 40,000 professionals. But enough about us, find out what we can do for you – contact us and a member of the team will be in touch to talk you through our recruitment process.
