Interviewing Candidates

Once a promising candidate is found, the next challenge – and marketing opportunity -- for both firm and candidate is the interview. On average, a firm might do two interviews for a permanent position, one for a contract position.

Probably the first order of business is to think carefully about who does the interview and where it takes place. Definitely, the questions posed should reflect the style and nature of the office, but even before that, as soon as a candidate walks into the office, the employer is being judged on the nature of the space, the waiting area, the receptionist’s greetings, even subtle first impressions that might be non-verbal but are still vitally important. The office might be a branch of a famous, prestigious firm, but if the waiting room looks tired, or the people look bored, the candidate might be forgiven for wondering, is their architecture the same?

Of all the items to discuss and ask about in an interview, perhaps the most important task is to make the case for the benefits of working in the firm. Not just benefits like healthcare or salary, although it is important to point out that the firm provides a good basic package and pays the market rate salary (and if the firm goes beyond that, it should be treated as a major selling point).

But the firm’s culture and chemistry should be communicated clearly. Now is the time to talk about non-standard benefits such as encouragement of work/life balance, diversity, flexible working hours and special activities, and also to give a general picture of how people are trained and developed, and how much and how soon meaningful opportunity is available. A small firm might want to emphasize close working relationships, fast feedback loops, greater responsibility and ownership of work. A large firm might talk about special projects, the wide range of opportunities and room for growth.

Whatever the particular advantages for a firm are, hopefully all the promotion of it in social media and the website will be reinforced in the interview.