Everybody knows that when interviewing for a job, you only get one shot at a first impression. The same is true when you are conducting interviews for a job.  Sales interviewers, don't give your candidates a bad impression of your company. Be just as prepared to interview as you would expect them to be. As an interviewer, this may be one of the most important decisions you make in the process.

Follow these five steps to give your candidates a great first impression and snatch your ideal candidate before someone else does.

Don't Show Up Unprepared

This is really basic stuff, but believe you me, it happens a lot. There is nothing more unprofessional than showing up to an interview unprepared.  If you front up to a candidate and spend the first five minutes reading his or her resume, you have not done your job. The only thing worse than that, is sitting down with the candidates resume and asking them to, “run through their employment history for you.” If you see a candidate shift in their seat, it's because they are trying to figure out what the point of submitting their resume was and if you even looked at it before the interview.

Stay in Contact

Communicate the exact time-frames you expect the different steps of the interview process to take. Your candidates took the time to complete applications and submit his or her resume. Even if you can't get to all of the submitted resumes, let the candidates know a date they should hear back from you if qualified. That way they can move on with their job search if they don't hear back from you by that time. Don't become a resume black hole and damage your employment reputation. Every interview, phone or in person, deserves a personal follow-up and response. If you are uncomfortable calling a candidate to give them bad news, then quite frankly, you're probably not cut out to interview them. Stay in contact and keep them informed on their status.

Don't Keep Candidates Waiting

The five-minute rule needs to apply to interviews. Be prepared to meet with your candidate five minutes before your interview time. On the flip-side, don't be a minute late for the interview yourself. Don't leave a candidate waiting in a conference room. Would you show up late to a meeting with your boss? Would you leave your boss waiting in a conference room for you? Of course not. Show the candidate the same professional courtesy and respect their time.

Be Upfront and Honest

Many interviewers will let a candidate continue on in an interview knowing half-way through that the candidate is not qualified for the position. Then, upon completion of the interview, will tell the candidate something along the lines of, “we have some more interviews and then will be making a decision on the next steps.” Translation, “I don't think you are qualified for the position, but I'm going to make you feel like you have a chance, just so I don't have to give you bad news.” Don't do this. If the candidate is not qualified, tell them, at the interview. There's no sense in giving the candidate hope, when there isn't any, only to send them an email later on to tell them what you could have told them immediately.

Be Respectful

Ask the candidate a question, then be quiet and listen. Being a good interviewer is about your ability to listen, not talk. You should be listening 90% of the time and talking 10%. And the only time you're talking is to ask a question or a clarifying question. This is the candidate's time to boast and brag about their abilities and accomplishments, not yours.

Too many interviewers forget that recruitment is a two-way street. It's a trap to think that the way you treat candidates doesn't matter, and showing the necessary levels of respect, courtesy and organization are vital to the communication of your professionalism and your calibre as a recruiter and a person. It really does come down to the little things which have the biggest impact on a recruitment experience, not just for you, but for the person on the other side of the desk.

Want to make sure your candidates get a professional recruitment experience, every time? Call Tony. (03) 8606 0330.