(2-minute read)
Here we are in May, and the feeling of economic uncertainty continues. This month’s jobs report upheld the trend of more openings than applicants, with the notable exceptions of the tech and banking sectors. Of course, those openings may or may not be in your area of expertise or interest.
Right now, everyone is looking for stability. With staff turnover costing 30-35% of the salary, employers want to ensure they hire the best candidates. With inflation and climbing interest rates, candidates want predictability.
If you’re actively looking for work or to fill an opening, you know the process is longer and more complex than ever. Although longer timelines can be frustrating, the emerging trends in interviewing suggest a more deliberate and thoughtful approach. This is good for everyone involved.
Here, we will discuss three trends worthy of consideration and how employers and interviewees can use them to prepare for this drawn-out process.
Longer Timelines between application and offer
Anyone currently interviewing, from either the employer or potential employee side, will tell you that the process has become more deliberate. As frustrating as that can be, a slower process allows for more vetting. A longer process allows everyone involved to ask questions and discuss whether the candidate and company are compatible.
For the interviewee:
Settle in. Use the longer timeline to research the company and develop questions to help you understand if the organization’s stated values have been translated into daily practice.
As you meet with people, ask each how they incorporate their stated values into their daily routine. When speaking with HR, ask how the organization’s values-based practices are included and measured in onboarding and performance management.
Understanding the practical application of an organization’s values tells you what you can expect in your daily working environment.
For the interviewer:
Develop scenario-based, behavioral interview questions that relate to current business challenges. The interviewee’s answers will provide insight into how they problem-solve and collaborate.
Many companies are retrofitting their physical office space. Along with their career goals and aspirations, ask about the candidate’s ideal physical working environment.
After all, you want to hire someone who will be productive and motivated to achieve business and personal goals, whether working in the office or remotely.
AI
AI has been around for decades and is now readily accessible for individual use. There is no question that tools like ChatGPT will make us more productive, and it won’t take long for AI tools to be fully integrated into our workday.
Interviews are an opportunity to learn current sentiments about using AI.
For the interviewee:
Ask specific questions about how the organization uses AI tools and its long-range plans for incorporating AI into daily processes. Be prepared for scenarios where you will be asked to develop an AI writing prompt. If you are interviewing for a role traditionally requiring solid writing skills, be ready for a writing prompt completed in the interview. Employers will want to see proficiency in using AI and how your brain develops new ideas.
For the interviewer:
To better understand applicants’ thought processes, build in time for an in-the-moment writing prompt. To understand their comfort level with technology, ask for examples of AI chat prompts to satisfy a specific writing assignment.
Topic-specific interviews
We’ve established that the interview process is longer. That doesn’t mean that the same conversation should be repeated over and over. With candidates meeting more colleagues, topic-specific interviews are an excellent way to understand how a candidate thinks on a wide range of topics.
For the interviewee:
If back-to-back conversations are scheduled, ask the recruiter or HR if these are topic specific. As these are highly concentrated interviews, employers should encourage you to prepare your talking points and examples in advance. Begin with having a clear value proposition. Your value proposition is the common thread articulated at the beginning of each conversation.
Prepare specific stories, examples, and metrics that speak specifically to the topic and connect with the employer’s current challenges. Use the STAR approach – situation, tasks, actions taken, and results to organize your examples. Topic-specific interviews are your opportunity to connect your experience with employer challenges.
For the interviewer:
Decide on the topics you would like to explore and who the best person is to have that conversation. Examples of topics include outcome thinking, subject matter expertise, cross-functional collaboration, communication, decision-making, results against deadlines and project management.
Open-ended questions that begin with the following will help assess skills and ability.
“Can you describe a time when…”
“Was there ever a time when…”
“How do you…”
“Tell me more about…”
As these conversations often happen in one day, the order of the conversations matters. The most important topics should be first and last to see how the candidate responds to complex questions over a long day. Create a scorecard – far exceeds, exceeds, meets, below and significant gap in requirements with criteria defined for each category- for rating the candidate’s strength in each area.
Interviewing is rewarding when you’re prepared and frustrating when you’re not. There is no better feeling than being hired into the right job at the right company.