Press Room

The Successful Interview Visit

Posted on December 12, 2008

Many organizations often overlook the fact that a successful interview visit begins well before the candidate leaves their residence and continues well after their return home. This article will hopefully help guide organizations with the recruitment process and particularly the candidate interview visit. Let’s review the following two scenarios.

Scenario 1

“John, Mary here with XYZ Corporation. I hope all is well with you. I wanted to let you know our management team would like to bring you in for an interview. The whole team is in the office Monday in two weeks. Will this work for you?”

“Wonderful, I will set you up with our travel agent, she will make all your arrangements and before your visit I will send you an itinerary and the name of the people you will be meeting with. Call me if you have any questions and I look forward to meeting you Monday when I pick you up.”

Scenario 2

“John, Mary here with XYZ Corporation. I hope all is well with you. Sorry to call you so late on Friday but I wanted to invite you to interview with us on Monday.”

“Oh yes, this Monday. I’m not quite sure who will be around that day but our CEO said for you to fly down here on Monday morning and he will try to squeeze you in. It’s only a two hour flight and he said for you to be here pronto first thing in the morning. Go ahead and make your arrangements and don’t spend the night on Sunday as our company policy does not allow for week-end travel. Just check in with the receptionist on Monday.”

The Outcome

Two calls, two interview visits, two approaches, and two very different messages communicated. Which one would you rather receive? Which one would your candidates you are recruiting rather receive? Which one is your organization sending?

Recruiting top talent is critical to your organization’s success, maybe more so in these difficult economic times. By the time an interview is scheduled significant communication and interaction has already taken place between your organization and prospective employees. Skill, expertise, and knowledge have been verbally evaluated but next comes the all important in-person visit.

Making the interview visit count is just one of many steps in the critical recruitment process, but one which is often overlooked by many organizations. The interview visit is critical in determining the right candidate and often sets the stage for the future relationship you will have. This is truly the time for both parties to shine and sell themselves (remember attracting talent is a two-way street). The visit and the preparation for the interview sends a powerful message about your organization’s process and values.

As reflected in the conversations above, a scheduled, well arranged visit will reflect the importance the organization places on people. Allowing for a humane and realistic travel experience in these days of travel nightmare shows concerns for the candidates. A last minute schedule, unless reasonably explained, reflects a frantic, “shoot from the hip” organization. Minimal comfort and care either reflects a financially strapped, cheap, or maybe totally unconcerned organization. It might be totally unfair to make a judgment, yet a message has been delivered, and a first impression has been made.

The well thought out and planned visit allows key players and decision makers to be present on the interview day. Have you ever seen candidates being paraded up and down the halls just so someone, anyone, can “entertain” them? Potential candidates want and need to meet the individual he or she will report to. If the chemistry and fit is not right with this person, most likely meeting additional members of the team will not improve the odds of working there successfully. In addition to meeting his or her direct report, a candidate should have the opportunity to interview and meet future peers. Peers will often paint a more realistic picture of the work environment, culture, and expectations.

Candidates are always encouraged to ask questions and often the same question to different people will yield surprising results. Employees who are interviewing potential candidates should also be presented with questions to ask interviewees as this will make sure that not everyone will ask the same obvious questions but will fully probe the candidate. This can be even more important when dealing with the “group interview.” Again, upfront preparation of a list of questions and who will ask them will ensure that all participants are involved and minimize those awkward moments of “who’s next.” A well constructed visit minimizes downtime and will maximize the investment value your organization is placing in the interview. If there are unavoidable gaps on the schedule, use the opportunity wisely. Tours or a break for the candidate to make calls can be a good use of this time. While extravagant meals may be out, make sure that candidates have an opportunity for a meal, snack and “bio” breaks. At least allow the candidate some use of an empty office or conference room rather than parking them in the lobby for all to see. After all, this may be a very confidential visit.

While technically not part of the visit, a post visit debrief of all parties involved is essential to not only assure that all are on the same page but to reinforce that the time vested in the interview process is valued. Regardless of the outcome of the interview, contacting the candidate with follow up information and to receive their feedback is also critical. A successful interview visit begins well before the candidate leaves their residence and continues well after their return home.

“John, Mary here. Our management team was delighted with your visit and you made quite an impression. All the feed back received has been overwhelmingly positive and we are putting an offer together for you.”

Read Olivier Van Dierdonk's Professional Bio.