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Interviewing candidates and avoiding the coronavirus
With all this Coronavirus going around, if you’re on the verge of interviewing any potential candidates, you might be thinking:
“Should we still go ahead with the interviews?”
We all know that panicking doesn’t help, and that we should be following the advice the NHS has given us to keep the virus at bay – being: Washing your hands, not touching your face, and coughing and sneezing into a tissue and immediately putting it into a bin. (Basic hygiene procedures).
If you are a company who is about to interview people, here are a few things we would advise you to do.
- Firstly, follow the recommended steps from the NHS: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
And then, if you still decide to go ahead with your face to face interview:
- Wash your hands before the interview.
- At the start of the interview process, inform the candidate that because of the coronavirus threat to all of us, you won’t be shaking hands today.
- Have some hand sanitiser/antibacterial gel/antibacterial wipes with you during the interview.
- Wipe with antibacterial gel/antibacterial wipes the chair/desk/equipment they may being using before they arrive and after they leave.
- And finally, wash your hands after the candidate has left.
The above steps will put everyone at ease, as the candidate will probably be thinking the same as you about what the correct procedure is now to take.
Other interviewing alternatives:
Life must still carry on as normal as possible while also trying to limit the spread of the coronavirus, so here are some more options available to you when interviewing candidates.
- Offer the candidate a telephone interview, or
- Offer them a FaceTime, WhatsApp, Skype or Zoom video interview call.
- After their 1st interview using the above methods, you can then book another video call for a 2nd interview.
These alternatives are just as effective as face to face interviews when done correctly.
Also, remember – keep the candidate informed of any changes you’ve made to interview process – keep them in the loop.
Final note:
Once the coronavirus is no longer a threat to us, and you feel more comfortable about inviting candidates back in for a face to face interview, please do so.
Don’t let this virus hold you back on your plans to recruit staff – you will miss out on so many good candidates.
If you need any help with tele-screening candidates, or video screening candidates, please give us a call on 01902 907123 and we can discuss what you need – we can help you with this as part of our service.
