Planning and Organizing the Interview

What is the timeline to hire?

Flexibility in the hiring process timeline is vital, as you may discover. The need to adjust may be the result of the role’s requirements, industry dynamics, or your team’s availability. For those reasons, an average timeframe to hire is an impossible question to answer.

Start with the end in mind. In other words, identify the date you want this new hire to start. From there, you may back into your timeline to complete critical elements of your hiring process. Here are some inputs to consider when backing into your timeline:

1. Target start date.
2. Offer acceptance date.
3. Offer date.
4. Assessments started and completed.
5. Interviews started and completed.
6. Initial screenings started and completed.
7. Identify candidates.

Who should be involved with the interviews?

• Recruiter: Whether using an internal or external team, recruiters play a critical role in initially finding, qualifying, and actively managing the candidate’s experience from screening and scheduling interviews to making offers.
• Hiring Manager: The hiring manager is arguably the most important person involved in the hiring process. They are responsible for defining the job requirements, creating job descriptions, and determining the qualifications needed for the role.
• Human Resources: HR plays a critical role in ensuring a fair and consistent interview process, guiding hiring managers on best practices, and ensuring compliance with company policies and legal regulations.
• Team: The teammates you include in interviews and hiring decisions should be top performers and either in a leadership position or demonstrate potential for leadership.

What are the types of interviews to consider?

The type of job interviews may vary depending on the size of your organization, amount of time, number of people involved, and level of the position. When planning the process, ensure there is forward momentum with each next step.

• Informational interviews provide a general introduction and may offer a networking opportunity for future openings.
• Screening interviews are initial assessments to evaluate the candidate’s basic qualifications and suitability for a position. These interviews aim to narrow down the candidate pool before more in-depth assessments. It is common to break up screening interviews into multiple sessions such as a short phone interview followed by a longer video interview.
• On-site interviews often consist of a workplace tour and team introductions that give candidates a holistic understanding of their skills and suitability.
• Small group or panel interviews involve multiple decision-makers simultaneously who typically represent different perspectives within the organization.
• Behavioral-based interviews assess and evaluate problem-solving abilities based on past performance.

What’s the difference between pre-employment screenings, personality assessments, and aptitude tests?

Pre-employment screenings verify a candidate’s qualifications and protect the organization against dishonesty. These actions may include background checks, credit checks, education verification, and drug screening, and require the candidate’s consent.

Assessments are intended to describe aspects of an individual’s character or natural behavior, relevant to their job responsibilities and forecast cultural alignment. Common assessments include: WorkPlace Big FiveTM, Myers-Briggs, Gallup CliftonStrengths, DISC, Enneagram Test, EQ-i 2.0, etc.

Aptitude tests gauge an applicant’s future job performance and capacity through targeted critical thinking and problem-solving questions aligned with the position’s needs and company standards. Common tests include Numerical, Verbal, Inductive, Mechanical, Diagrammatic, and Spatial Reasoning test as well as Wonderlic Tests.

TYGES can help you plan your hiring process. We work cross-functionally and can share our experience with who should be involved in the interview process, and which types of interviews, pre-employment screenings, and assessments to consider.