Interviewing: 3 Best Practices for Hiring Top Talent in 2022

In 2022’s hyper-competitive job market, innovative talent recruitment strategies are critical. Employers need the best HR strategies for recruiting because it will be a true “candidate’s market.” MP’s HR services team shares three critical best practices for hiring top talent this year.

3 Best Practices for Hiring Top Talent in 2022

1. Cut assessments from your hiring process or move them.

Employers must simplify their hiring process as much as possible in a candidate’s market. Candidates will be juggling multiple potential employers at once, and they’ll always choose the easiest to apply to. Employers should consider completely cutting assessments from their hiring process to streamline the hiring process and hire the strongest talent. If an assessment is critical to the process, HR and compliance experts suggest moving it to the end of the hiring process. Candidates will be more invested in the role, the company culture, and the people they’ve interviewed with at this point. When employers require an assessment at the beginning of the process, candidates are more likely to drop out and pick new job listings and less demanding hiring processes. This effect will severely reduce the candidates an employer and its hiring managers could choose from to fill open positions.

2. Standardize and streamline the interview process.

One of the most challenging elements of the hiring process for a candidate is uncertainty. When they don’t know the next steps in a process, how long it will take, or what to expect, they feel nervous and uncomfortable. Employers make candidates more comfortable with their hiring process when they have one clear and efficient interview process that everyone agrees upon. When a candidate is at any stage of the hiring process, their interviewer should be able to tell them what will happen next and give a rough timeline of upcoming events. If interviewers or HR staff share conflicting information, the candidate may take it as a sign of a disorganized, chaotic workplace. To optimize the hiring experience, employers need one, standardized process they are prepared to communicate with the candidate transparently. It’s vital to note that this process should be as efficient as possible. Candidates are likely to drop out of the hiring process if they must perform too many interviews or wait too long for decisions. This scenario is especially prevalent in 2022, when candidates are in high demand and often fielding multiple job offers simultaneously.

3. Ensure interviews flow like a comfortable conversation.

Sometimes employers unknowingly create an interview environment that feels like a firing squad. In 2022 company culture is more important to candidates than ever. Employers must consider how an interview feels to the candidate. Here are a few essential tips to ensure the interview environment feels comfortable for the candidate.

• Ask for the candidate’s questions, concerns, and feedback throughout the interview, not just at the end.
• Ask open-ended questions.
• Probe for details, but not aggressively. Avoid a feeling of interrogation.
• Make time to ask who the candidate is as a person, not just an employee. Ask about what they’re passionate about outside of work.
• Connect with the candidate on a personal level. Point out commonalities if they come up. For example, if the candidate loves jogging, interviewers shouldn’t be afraid to share they also love jogging and indulge in this topic for a moment.
• Share anecdotes and information about the corporate culture, not just the job. Especially if the employer nurtures a strong culture, this will be a powerful motivator in selling the role to talent. (Note, if an employer has a toxic workplace or low employee engagement, they should address it quickly. This advice is especially applicable if they’ll be doing a lot of hiring in 2022. MP offers services and technology to assist with boosting employee engagement.)