How do you show up in a virtual interview?
In my last article I focused on the risk of unconscious bias in virtual interviews and how to prevent it influencing our selection decisions. Of course, virtual interviews give a privileged insight into your world as well as the candidate’s. What does a candidate learn about you during a virtual interview? In this article I share some tips on how to be the best version of yourself as a virtual interviewer and leave a candidate feeling excited at the prospect of joining your team.
What are candidates looking for in their new manager?
Let’s not underestimate the scale and the scope of the change we are experiencing right now. We are all having to adapt rapidly to this change, and our emotional intelligence – the ability to understand and manage our own emotions, and those of the people around us – is more important than ever.
Our cognitive ability, personality, skills, experience and motivation all influence the way we behave in the work place (and in an interview). Since we are all unique then our preferred ways of working (and interviewing) are different. Candidates pick up on our style as much as we pick up on theirs.
Candidates want to feel that they will belong in their new team, that their contribution will matter and they will be able to perform to their full potential, in their own way. They are looking for compassionate, inclusive and engaging leadership. They want to trust you before they will follow you.
In our virtual world we need to dial up our emotional intelligence
The non-verbal cues we often pick up on in face to face interviews may not be as obvious in a virtual interview. We need to work harder to demonstrate the leadership qualities candidates are looking for.
A candidate’s score card for their potential manager might look something like this:
So how can we get to the top of our candidate’s list?
Be yourself. A virtual interview is not a performance so relax and let your personality shine. Give candidates an insight into what’s important to you. Share some of your motivations, values and beliefs - focus on those that are well aligned with those of the organisation. Candidates don’t want to join a team where their manager doesn’t believe in the organisation and its direction.
Don’t try to have all the answers. A candidate is more likely to be attracted to a ‘learn all’ rather than a ‘know all’ mind-set. Demonstrate how you involve others in finding solutions.
Be empathetic. Take time to show an interest in the candidate and empathy for the situation. Create a personal connection by sharing a personal story or asking about something you notice in their background.
Listen hard. With so much happening on screen we can easily appear distracted or disinterested. Remember all the basics of listening. Tilt your head to one side. Encourage with a nod. Maintain good eye contact (into the camera not the video on screen).
Help candidates feel that they will belong. We are likely to experience warmth - an affinity bias -towards those who are similar to us, and not for those who are different from us. Be aware of your strengths and preferred ways of working and how these might show up during an interview. Adapt your behaviours to help the candidate experience how your different styles could work well together. Demonstrate that you value different perspectives and approaches to build solutions, solve problems and make better decisions.
Be confident. It’s natural to be concerned about providing a professional technical experience. If things go wrong don’t put your technical ability down. Technical issues happen and we are not all IT experts!
Keep calm under pressure. Technology failing or time running out is a great way for your candidate to experience your response under pressure.
Respect your panel. If you are part of an interview panel – make sure you are on same page. Communicate and plan in advance. Your candidate will learn a lot about you from the way you interact with your colleagues. It’s a great insight into your leadership, team working and collaboration skills.
Have an engaging conversation. Interviews aren’t about catching a candidate out or exposing some fatal flaw. Use your interview questions as prompts for an engaging conversation. Successful relationships are based on learning about each other through dialogue and this is just the start!
Next time…
Gone are the days of impressing candidates with a carefully curated tour of the workplace. Virtual recruitment has created a level playing field where candidates are comparing culture and values rather than coffee and toilets. Next time we focus on what really matters when selling your organisation in a virtual interview.