candidate experience

13 DOs and DON’Ts for a positive candidate experience

After discussing with lots of candidates and interviewers the conclusion is that there are a lot of interesting things to pay attention to and others to avoid during recruitment discussions. We put together a list of 13 DOs and DON’Ts to help you create a positive candidate experience during interviews.

So, put on your interviewer’s hat and enjoy the list below.

Make sure you DO

  1. smile and make eye contact from time to time
  2. ask open-ended questions
  3. focus on one question at a time
  4. speak 20% and listen 80% of the time
  5. build on your candidate’s pluses, not on the minuses
  6. control the interview

Make sure you DON’T

  1. frown, roll your eyes and/or have a passive-aggressive attitude
  2. ask YES/NO questions or suggest the answer in the question
  3. be biased (remember that it’s all about the candidate, not about yourself)
  4. stereotype your candidate (nerd, tattooed, old, bold, blonde, etc.)
  5. feed the candidate to the wolves (this is not Game of Thrones, be kind and emphatic)
  6. let the candidate badmouth past employers
  7. share information about the candidate with other persons outside the selection process (GDPR)

My advice

By far the most important advice I would like to share with you is to keep an open mind and transform each interview in a positive experience both for the candidate and for you as an interviewer.

P.S. If you’re a recruiter, you will surely love going through these DOs and DON’Ts as well.