Way more than just video interviews.
Our interview intelligence guides you through the entire interview process, so you find your next great teammate—effectively and equitably.
Our interview intelligence guides you through the entire interview process, so you find your next great teammate—effectively and equitably.
“Having the ability to record and share interview clips with our hiring teams has been a game-changer in getting good candidates into the process and speeding up our time to hire.”
“Pillar is a huge opportunity for us to be completely confident about the fairness and effectiveness of our assessments. It is an invaluable tool for coaching, developing and supporting our newer interviewers on the team.”
As you consider how to hire top talent, it’s important to create an interview process that delivers results. The first step is understanding what you need to accomplish in each interview to identify and hire the best candidates.
Which qualifications are required for the job?
What attributes would make someone successful in the role?
What type of questions will help you assess whether or not a candidate has those qualifications and attributes?
Once you know what you’re looking for, you can choose from several types of interviews to find the best fit for your needs.
As the majority of the workforce has transitioned into remote roles, so has the interview process. Many interview processes begin with a simple phone screen to identify the candidate's qualifications to perform the role and move on to the next round of interviews.
1. Phone Screen:
A phone screen is a quick, initial interview typically conducted by a recruiter or hiring manager to determine if a candidate is worth pursuing. The interviewer will ask general questions about the candidate’s experience and qualifications to determine if they meet the basic requirements for the role.
The goal is to identify red flags and weed out unqualified candidates quickly and efficiently.
Phone screens should be short, around 15-20 minutes, and focused on the most important qualifications for the role.
Quite often, 3- 5 minutes spent on the highlights of the role, the candidate's experience, and company culture will give you an idea of their potential fit.
2. First Interview:
The first interview is usually conducted by the hiring manager and focuses on the candidate’s qualifications for the role. The interviewer will ask a mix of general questions about the candidate’s experience and specific questions about their ability to perform in the role.
Questions should be based on the job description and tailored to assess whether or not the candidate has the skills and experience required for the role. The interviewer should also take this opportunity to assess the candidate’s cultural fit for the team and company.
3. Second Interview:
The second interview is usually conducted by a team leader or panel of interviewers. This interview is designed to assess the candidate’s qualifications and cultural fit for the team.
Questions should be based on the job description and tailored to assess whether or not the candidate has the skills and experience required for the role. The interviewer should also take this opportunity to assess the candidate’s cultural fit for the team and company.
4. Technical Assessment or Task:
For roles that require specific skills or knowledge, a technical assessment or task may be included in the interview process. This allows the interviewer to assess the candidate’s ability to perform the duties of the role and their level of expertise.
The assessment should be relevant to the skills required for the role and can be conducted in person or remotely.
5. Final Stage Interviews:
Final stage interviews are usually conducted by a senior leader or panel of interviewers. This is the last opportunity to assess the candidate’s qualifications and cultural fit for the role before making an offer.
Questions should be based on the job description and tailored to assess whether or not the candidate has the skills and experience required for the role. The interviewer
6. Reference Checks:
After a candidate has been selected for the role, reference checks are conducted to verify the information provided by the candidate and to get feedback from previous employers about the candidate’s work performance.
As you're interviewing candidates, try to keep them focused on metrics that you can verify when speaking to their references. Highlight these metrics in your interview intelligence software so you can refer back to them when you are conducting reference checks.
By following these steps, you can create a structured and fair interview process that will help you identify the best candidates for the role.
There are a handful of interview types. If you're building your interview process you may want to consider a combination of these to fit your hiring needs.
What are the 5 types of Interviews:
1.) Structured Interview:
A structured interview is a type of interview that uses predefined questions to assess a candidate's qualifications for a role.
The interviewer asks the same set of questions to each candidate in order to compare their responses side-by-side. This type of interview is useful for roles that require specific skills or knowledge.
2.) Semi-structured interview:
A semi-structured interview is a type of interview that uses both predefined and spontaneous questions to assess a candidate's qualifications for a role.
The interviewer asks the same set of core questions to each candidate but also allows for follow-up questions based on the candidate's responses. This type of interview is useful for roles that require both specific skills or knowledge and the ability to think on your feet.
3.) Behavioral interview:
A behavioral interview is a type of interview that assesses a candidate's past behavior in order to predict their future behavior.
The interviewer asks the candidate questions about specific situations they have been in and how they handled them. This type of interview is useful for roles that require specific skills or knowledge and the ability to think on your feet.
4.) Unstructured Interview:
An unstructured interview is a type of interview that does not use predefined questions.
The interviewer allows the candidate to guide the conversation and asks open-ended questions about their qualifications for the role. This type of interview is useful for roles that require the ability to think on your feet.
5.) Informational Interview:
An informational interview is a type of interview that is used to gather information about a candidate's specific qualifications for a role.
The interviewer asks the candidate questions about their experience and expertise. This type of interview is useful for roles that require specific skills or knowledge.
There's actually an additional interview type that's not talked about often. That's the:
6.) Technical Assessment:
A technical assessment is a type of interview that assesses a candidate's specific skills or knowledge related to the role they are interviewing for and most often includes a test to verify proficiency in a required skill.
As you consider which interview type to choose from, understand that they each have strengths and weaknesses. And, the best interview process will likely include a combination of these types to get a well-rounded sense of each candidate.
In this section, we'll give a sample hiring process you can use to hire a salesperson and include types of interviews with examples.
After your ATS, AI-sourcing, and digital assistance software have identified a candidate that meets your job posting's qualifications, it's time to start the interview process.
The goal of the first few interviews is to get a sense of whether the candidate has the skills and qualifications you are looking for. The final interview is designed to assess fit - whether the candidate is a good cultural fit for your company.
The phone screen is a great opportunity to ask general questions about the candidate's qualifications for the role. This is also a good time to start building rapport with the candidate.
Types of interview questions you might ask on a phone screen:
Tell me about your experience in sales?
What type of sales environments have you been successful in?
Describe a time when you overcame an objection from a prospect.
The first interview is a good opportunity to ask more specific questions about the candidate's qualifications for the role. This is also a good time to start delving into the candidate's motivation for the role.
Questions you might ask in the first interview:
Tell me about a time when you closed a large deal.
Describe a time when you had to overcome a difficult objection.
Why are you interested in this role?
The second interview is a good opportunity to assess team fit.
Questions you might ask in the second interview:
Why do you want to work for our company?
What do you know about our company's culture?
Describe a time when you had to work with a difficult team member. How did you help them reach a resolution?
The final interview is designed to assess fit. This is the time to ask questions about the candidate's motivation for the role and their understanding of your company's culture.
Questions you might ask in the final interview:
Tell me about a time when you had to adjust to a new team or work environment.
With what you've seen so far, how would you describe our company's culture?
Have you worked in a remote environment before?
How do you stay motivated when working on a long-term project?
What do you do when you encounter a problem you don't know how to solve?
Asking behavioral questions is a great way to assess a candidate's qualifications for the role. It's also a good way to get a sense of the candidate's fit for your company.
The goal of the final interview is to assess whether the candidate is a good cultural fit for your company. Asking behavioral questions is a great way to assess fit.
These are all tips to help you build an efficient hiring process. Pillar's video interview platform will help you interview effectively and select the right candidates every time.
Schedule a demo to see how it works, today!
