Thus far our Remote Hiring Series has covered transitioning to virtual interviews and humanizing the virtual candidate experience. If you’ve successfully brought someone through your new remote interviewing process, you’re ready to talk closing. Even in a remote work setting, your mission is still to help the candidate picture themselves on your team. Read on for our tips on how to get a candidate to cross that finish line.
Keep in touch
There’s a lot going on in the world right now and tensions are running high. Help reduce your candidate’s stress level by communicating thoroughly and consistently throughout the interview process, especially as you near the end. Let them know what’s going on on your side and keep them in the loop in regards to timing and remaining steps. Things are still moving quickly in this remote hiring world, so plan to touch base every few days. Increased transparency can help reduce any unnecessary unease with the candidate.
Know your audience
When considering new opportunities, candidate priorities are shifting. Company stability, remote work flexibility, virtual onboarding, and company culture are top of mind for job-seekers right now. Be proactive! Address these topics right off the bat to reassure the candidate that your company has a lot to offer. If you have a remote onboarding plan and new hires that have already gone through it, tell them about it. If the team is settling into new remote routines, share those too. Remember, many of the benefits that people loved prior to COVID-19 are not going to be as relevant now (e.g. snacks and dogs in the office), so don’t overemphasize them.
Open communication is key - pay attention and ask questions so you know what each individual candidate values. Once you get a sense of what’s important to them, tailor your process and conversations accordingly.
Here are some example scenarios in which you can demonstrate how your company aligns with what the candidate is looking for:
- If they were just laid off and are looking for stability in their next role, set up time for them to chat with a member of your leadership team. This conversation can occur after an offer is extended and should be used to discuss long-term company strategy and vision. This tactic is especially well suited for more senior hires.
- If they want to work on a product they’re passionate about, offer to arrange a product demo with a member of your product team.
- If personal and professional growth is their top motivator, make sure to allot extra time with the hiring manager to discuss their long-term growth path at the company.
- If they’re curious about team culture, invite them to join a more informal team meeting or virtual happy hour.
- If they value working on a close-knit team, schedule time for them to meet with a potential teammate one-on-one in a relaxed setting, such as a virtual coffee chat. You don’t need to limit these types of interactions to just the team they’d be working on - chances are, they also value cross-team collaboration and would be just as eager to chat with someone from another team.
Make one-on-one connections
In general, we recommend avoiding large group discussions in remote interview processes as they can be especially chaotic over video. Instead, focus on helping each candidate build meaningful one-on-one connections with their potential new teammates. It’s these interactions that help them picture themselves on the team, and are what will ultimately drive them to accept an offer with you. Plus, by kicking off these relationships during interviews, they’ll already have those bonds in place when they start on the team!
The final post in our Remote Hiring Series offers tips on remote employee onboarding.
