Well, the ongoing pandemic is still showing its true colours. That’s why a mass of companies is cruising the challenges of the remote hiring process. According to the Gartner HR survey, approximately 86% of organisations have gone virtual for candidate interviews.

Virtual interviews aid to keep up with the state guidelines of maintaining social distance, offering a bounty of benefits to the candidates. They feel comfortable, have no more traffic jams stress and get convenient interview timings.

For an interviewer, only preparing 10 or 20 questions to ask when interviewing a job candidate isn’t sufficient. The world of virtual interviews has a unique set of challenges. As this is a new approach for many organisations, choosing the right candidate becomes intricate. This pressurizeshiring managers to a great extent.

In this blog, we’ll explore nine handy tips for interviewing a candidate virtually. Implementing them will lead to efficiency gains and great hiring results.

  1. Email The Invitation With The Date:

Set the interview date much earlier with the purpose that people involved in it, including the candidate, get copious time to prep. Once you schedule the date with mutual consensus, send an invitation email to the candidate with that time and date. If there are other attendees as well, then keep them in CC. Additionally, confirm the interview by requesting the candidate to respond to the email.

  • Provide Details Clearly:

You might be contemplating the online platform as the new normal. Likewise, the candidate might also be getting the identical feeling. Therefore, equip the candidate with all the instructions about the platform where you’ll conduct the interview. If they’re unfamiliar with the application, furnish information about its setup. As well, ample time to do that. Otherwise, the last-minute technical setup would spoil your interview.

  • Pick A Peaceful Interview Spot:

With multiplied workload, employees with WFH culture have become teachers, nurses and cooks worldwide. Additionally, with kids around, selecting a quiet location for work at your home is challenging. Having said that, for conducting interviews, finding a peaceful spot is significant. By keeping the distractions away, you can concentrate on conducting good interviews without compromising audio quality.

  • Get Ready For The Interview:

A candidate shows up prepared when they meet for the interview. Similarly, you must also spend time making this virtual interview as productive as possible. Check whether or not you face any technical challenges, like internet connection, laptop working well, etc. Additionally, look at the information you have about the candidate. Also, prep up the questions to ask in the interview.

Some virtual interview questions should include:

  • Do you think you can manage yourself? Why or why not?
  • Would you face distractions while working from home? What are they?
  • Have you ever used online tools for collaboration? What are they?
  • What would be your first step when you lose internet connection during working hours?

Additionally, keep yourself prepared to ask essential reference check questions to the candidate.

  • Showcase Professionalism:

Professionalism matters even during virtual interviews! And first impressions should be from both parties. Hence, act appropriately, like you do during face-to-face interviews. Dress up like a professional, speak politely, pay heed to the candidate’s talks and maintain constant eye contact with them.

  • Converse About The Work Environment:

Face-to-face interviews give a glance at the work environment of the company. Conversely, that’s not the case with virtual interviews. Therefore, implement the following steps for providing them with a clear understanding of the work culture:

  • Talk about the company’s vision and ethics,
  • furnish some examples of the company’s social values
  • and lastly, provide examples of the ex-employees, their thinking about the company and how the company changed the lives
  • Talk About COVID-19 Precautions:

As several giant companies are about to log out from work from home culture, candidates seem perplexed about the company’s precautions to alleviate the infamous virus. So, talk about it proactively. Share the knowledge of how you keep customers, employees and clients’ safe. Also, if you have any on-site work, talk about the measures your company takes for the health and safety of the employees.

  • Observe Red Flags:

Virtual interviews are way difficult than in-person interviews. Therefore, it’s wise to watch some red flags of the candidates. Here are some basic ones:

  • They didn’t show up on time.
  • They didn’t demonstrate professionalism, like wearing pyjamas or sweat pants for the interview.
  • You find the candidate uncomfortable in the interview.
  • You hear a lot of distractions and background noise coming from the candidate’s side.
  • Share The Next Steps:

Before saying goodbye and have a nice day, share the immediate steps for the candidate. For example, if selected, you’ll have next round interview with our director or VP. Or our HR will call you to declare the results.

Wear Confidence Too!

COVID-19 has turned our lives upside down, including the hiring process. Luckily, you’re not alone in this struggle. To minimise your challenges, put on the confidence and keep in mind the above techniques, and we’re sure you’d hire the best, fitting in the company’s budget, among the rest!