If you’re an employer, you must understand that the interview process is a two-way street. At the same time that candidates are attempting to prove themselves to you, you should also be attempting to prove your organization to the candidates.
This is especially the case with top candidates. That’s because we’re currently in a candidates’ market, and in such a market, the best candidates have the most options. With that in mind, it’s important that you take special care to put your best foot forward during the interview process.
This means to treat all candidates involved in the process with the same level of respect that you expect them to treat you with. There are two main things that you should respect in regards to candidates. You should respect their confidentiality and you should respect their time.
Top candidates are likely employed, and as a result, they’re conducting their job search in a confidential fashion. They don’t want their current employer—or anyone else, for that matter—to know that they’re conducting a job search.
Since these candidates are employed, they’re interviewing during the day. This means they have to make arrangements for interviews while still maintaining the confidentiality of their job search. So as an employer, you should avoid inconveniencing them with an interview process that lasts for hours. You also should not keep rescheduling interviews with candidates over and over.
The interview process is a two-way street. If you don’t respect the time and confidentiality of candidates, they will be more likely to drop out of the process and you’ll lose your opportunity to hire them as employees.