8 Companies With A Unique Approach to Interviewing
Looking for a way to innovate your recruiting process? Try reworking the interview stage. This can be useful for attracting diverse talent, creating a more even playing field, and testing candidates' skills in new or different areas, among other benefits. According to LinkedIn’s Global Recruiting Trends 2018 report, 63% of recruiters surveyed agree that traditional interviews fail at truly assessing candidates soft skills like teamwork and flexibility. And 42% of recruiters surveyed believe that traditional interviews feed into the bias of the interviewers. Switching up the interview process can not only lead to a more enjoyable experience for the candidate, but will ultimately help bring on better talent. Here are a few companies that utilize unique tactics to create a more dynamic interview process.
1. Google
In an article written for Wired, former Senior Vice President of Operations at Google Laszlo Block explains that the problem with most interview processes is their lack of structure and consistency. To address that problem, Google created their own internal tool called qDroid, which helps interviewers make the most out of their time with a candidate instead of asking arbitrary, bias-prone questions. This system allows the interviewer to select what job they’re hiring for, pick which attributes they want to test, and then emails an interview guide with questions that will best help determine the applicant’s ability to perform for the specific role.
This business-tech company brought a whole new level of competition to their interview process by asking candidates to play a few rounds of ping-pong. CEO Rob Bellenfant explained in an interview with USA Today that they were testing if a candidate’s ping-pong strategy correlated with their skills in the workplace. Using a team of statisticians, TechnologyAdvice analyzed the candidates playing style including things like level of offense or defense, how they reacted to pressure, and how risky their shots were. They hope to use this as a predictive model eventually, but in the moment it serves as a memorable interview experience for the candidate, especially for millennial and Gen Z talent.
3. thredUP
Another innovative tactic geared toward younger generations: utilizing texting. While it might seem impersonal and overly casual, there are companies with software to manage the process now like TextRecruit and Canvas. Hiring managers can still benefit from the ease and timeliness of texting without having to worry about handling it all from their personal phone. The clothing consignment company thredUP successfully expedited their recruiting process using TextRecruit. Texting mostly comes into play with conversations usually done over email, like scheduling interviews, sending reminders, and setting up start dates, but all at a faster rate. ThredUP reduced their time to hire by 30% using texting, which proves it can be a great tactic for companies facing a surge of quick growth.
Sometimes the best way to figure out a candidate’s personality is not just through a series of questions, but also through their actions. CEO of Charles Schwab, Walt Bettinger, explained in an interview with the NY Times that he purposefully puts potential hires on the spot during an interview to see how they react in the moment. He takes a candidate out to breakfast but beforehand asks the restaurant manager to purposely mess up his guest’s order. Depending on how the candidate reacts to the incorrect order, Bettinger can see how understanding they would be during a similar situation in the workplace. He claims, “It’s just another way to get a look inside their heart rather than their head.”
5. Jet.com
It’s a common interview tactic to bring the candidate into the office and try to showcase the company’s work environment. However it’s extremely uncommon candidates can do that from their own home. Jet.com decided in 2015 to utilize virtual reality as part of their interview process in order to give candidates a realistic view of a day in the office. Potential hires can sit in on a meeting with CEO Mark Lore, join the team for happy hour, and get an idea of how the office runs. This technique is especially helpful for candidates who aren’t from the area by giving them the benefits of touring the workplace without having to buy a plane ticket.
6. Detroit Labs
This computer software company switches up their hiring process from the first step by ditching resumes. Instead, they have a “Getting to Know You” survey that focuses more on what drives the candidate and their work style. They actually discourage candidates from focusing too much on their professional history and rehearsed answers in order to get a better understanding of their personality. After applicants submit their responses, everyone in the company has the chance to look at the answers if they want, and then they have employees vote on whether the potential hire should move on to the next step. This tactic humanizes the interview process a little bit and Detroit Labs has found passionate, successful talent from hiring this way.
7. Mogul
Mogul, a startup all-female social media platform, found that the best way to test if their candidates are a good fit for the office was by having them actually spend a day in the office. After a more conventional series of interviews, the last step in the process is a “trial run” of the job the candidate is interviewing for. Applicants spend a day with the team they would be joining and get to see how they communicate, work on projects together, and what their responsibilities would really be like. Not only does the candidate benefit from experiencing the job hands-on, but it gives the current employees a chance to see if the candidate fits into the company culture as well.
This software design and development firm shook up their whole hiring process from the very beginning with their mass hiring auditions. CEO Richard Sheridan explains in an article he wrote for Inc. that they have candidates pair up sharing one computer in collaborative working style that’s supposed to mirror how the office actually runs. Then the candidates are given a task typical of the work they would be doing if hired while being analyzed by Menlo employees who will ultimately be making the decision of who moves on to the next round. The catch is that the candidates are actually told their goal is to make their partner look good, and promote them to be moved up to the next interview. Sheridan says they want “good kindergarten skills at Menlo” and by making applicants fight for each other instead of themselves they take the inherent competitive nature of the process out of the equation.
All of these companies are testing new and innovative ways to create a more effective and enjoyable interview process. Some tactics can help to better fit people’s busy lifestyles and will enable a wider variety of candidates to apply, like recruiter texting platforms and virtual reality office tours. Other tactics like audition-based competitions and hands-on trial runs will give hiring managers a better sense of how the candidate will actually perform on the job than any sit-down interview ever could. By choosing new and interesting interviewing tactics that fit the culture of your company, you can better highlight the most important factors for a new hire and make the process more enjoyable for all parties involved.
Want more information on how to create a Gen Z-friendly hiring process? Download our report on 'What Gen Z Wants at Work' for more information on hiring a new generation of employees.
