Optimizing Candidate Experience: Strategic Hiring Amid Economic Uncertainty

Written by: Dana Ramnarine

Where budgets and projects have been significantly paired back, many hiring companies feel the weight to hire carefully or ask if this is the time to even hire! Hiring sustainably and with compassion is more important than ever. I’d like to share some thoughts, to refresh the human side of hiring, during times of uncertainty.

The Person You’re Interviewing Likely has Interview Fatigue 🥱

The squeeze on the job market means we have skilled, ambitious, and available talent who have been open for work for some time. They’ve likely submitted their resume to countless openings and had dozens of ‘initial conversations’ and several rounds of team interviews. 

They’re exhausted. 

Communicate a concise, logical interview journey at the beginning of the interview process so your candidates understand what skills your team is assessing throughout each group of interviews. Unless you’re hiring for an executive role, maintain a tight interview loop that includes a debrief. Ensure your recruiter or main candidate point of contact keeps communication lines open. 

If You’re Not Sure If You Need The Role, Why Is it Open? 📭

There is nothing worse than companies waffling on the need for the role in the middle of the hiring process. Ensure proper planning for headcount is done before hiring begins. Whether headcount planning happens at the beginning of the year or each quarter, spending the time to connect your open headcount to your organization or project needs will help you know exactly what you need and when you need it. This supports clear hiring decisions that minimize indecisiveness.

Train Your Interviewers Often, and Refresh Your Training 📝

Ensure your teams understand how to interview well. Respectful practices (like no phones), understanding and spotting biases (“They went to XYZ university, so they’ll surely be great!” 🙄) and assigning focus competencies (for example, Sam interviews for leadership and collaboration, while Jill interviews for problem-solving and project management) helps craft an insightful and enjoyable candidate experience for everyone. 

Debrief and Communicate Promptly ⏳

Candidates don’t deserve darkness. Schedule interview debriefs so the team can come together within a day or two of the final interview to discuss the next steps. 

To Reference Check or Not to Reference Check?✅

Reference Checks aren’t an afterthought. If you’d like reference checks to be a part of your interview process, decide on the process, tools, and approach you’d like to take before the interviews begin! When we hired for a recent studio, Reference Checks weren’t about finding a reason not to hire someone — they acted as an opportunity to uncover opportunities to develop strengths and vulnerabilities in our new hires, and we communicated this at the beginning of the interview process!

Above all, let’s all be a little mindful of how stressful it is out there for people on the job market. The candidate experience is more than just giving a “wow” effect, it’s about remembering to be a caring and communicative human being, especially if you’re in the role of a hiring manager.