I recently lost a candidate to a competing offer where the candidate has a chance to work with an old colleague/friend. But the candidate wrote us back that his hiring experience with us is the best of all the interviews he had and he would send as many referrals as possible.
Some of the things I have done in my team
30 minutes call with the candidate to pitch the vision for the company, the team, the role and responsibilities.
It's important that the candidate comes onsite best prepared and with high confidence so we can spend time on the depth rather than the breadth. So we provide as many details as possible on the interviewers the candidate will meet and what topics to prepare for each interview slot
We try to spend at least 10 minutes in every interview to take q&a, talk about the product, team, and growth opportunities in the company. It’s important to be transparent and authentic. Every competent candidate is assessing you as much as you are assessing them.
As a team when we made offers we always valued and gave high marks to candidate’s motivation, humbleness, coachability, and ability to learn and pick up new skills over current technical expertise.
Lastly, it's important for the hiring manager to reach out personally if you decide to make the offer and open a line of communication for the candidate to ask questions any time until he/she is onboarded. I always send a congrats email and do frequent check-ins before the candidate's first day at work.
Most of the time candidates join for the opportunity to work with a leader they believe and admire more than the company or the benefits. Building trust early on will go a long way in the journey together over a number of years.
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