ExecutiveChronicles.com | Talent Acquisition | Whether you have a tight deadline, need to fill multiple positions, have a teamwork-oriented environment, or all of the above, group interviews can be a marvelously effective recruitment strategy. However, it’s no easy task dealing with so many applicants at once.
From the strategic use of media wall banners to fun but informative team-building exercises, the following five tricks of the trade are used by top recruiters to secure the best talent in the field:
1. Set the scene
For the best candidates, job interviews are as much about determining if your company is the right fit for them as it is about proving their aptitude and value. Since you want to attract the cream of the crop, it’s worth ensuring your interview space is impressive.
You’ll need a clean, clear, and quiet area with ample room and resources for everyone. A brilliant way to direct candidates to the right place is to set up branding materials such as audio-visual displays, media wall banners and the like. Make these bright, attractive and informative to show your company in the best light. Also, be sure to provide water, tea, coffee, and if the interview will take several hours, snacks or a catered lunch.
2. Follow a clear structure
Break the interview up into discrete activities and be sure to give candidates an overview at the beginning so they know what to expect. Include adequate break times and try to add some fun into the mix early on to help everyone relax. While you want to keep things light, it’s also important to choose group exercises tailored to revealing the key qualities you’re looking for as we’ll see below.
3. Start with an icebreaker
Before launching into your roster of activities, it’s vital to include an icebreaker. In addition to allowing candidates to get to know each other and loosen up for the activities ahead, this gives you a glimpse into how each person deals with pressure, their confidence levels, and ability to integrate into a group.
4. The best group exercises
With so many options available, it can be difficult to determine which group exercises will serve you best. Since you can’t test for everything, take your most critical requirements and create activities around them. If teamwork is crucial, team-building exercises will reveal each candidate’s strengths and weaknesses. For sales roles, improvised games (like trying to sell strange objects to the rest of the group) will tell you a lot. For more technical roles, case studies and problem-solving activities will be your best friends.
5. Question time
Always allow time at the end of the day for candidates to pose questions. This is vital to ensure that everyone goes home feeling fully informed, respected, and certain of the next steps in the process. However, it is also another opportunity for you to assess the candidates. You can learn a lot about a person by the questions they ask in an interview situation. So, this section is for you as much as it is for them.
With the group interview successfully completed, your work will only be half over. The next step is to get together with your fellow interviewers and tackle the even more difficult job of determining who among the candidates is an ideal fit for your team. This is no easy task. However, if you adequately prepared for the group interview by creating the ideal space, ensuring your candidates were well-cared for throughout, following a clear structure, and engaging in fun and relevant group exercises, some clear front-runners should have emerged.
