en
Jobs

Our industry specialists will listen to your aspirations and share your story with Belgium’s most prestigious organisations. Together, let’s write the next chapter of your career.

See all jobs
Services

Belgium’s leading employers trust us to deliver fast, efficient hiring solutions that are tailored to their exact requirements. Browse our range of bespoke services and resources

Read more
About Robert Walters Belgium

For us, recruitment is more than just a job. We understand that behind every opportunity is the chance to make a difference to people’s lives

Learn more

Work for us

Our people are the difference. Hear stories from our people to learn more about a career at Robert Walters Belgium

Learn more

Interview experience

The hiring process is the first step in building a world class team. Creating a positive experience for candidates in the interview process can indirectly be a great marketing opportunity for your organization, while a negative experience can be crippling for brand reputation.

For establishing or maintaining a reputation, nailing the candidate experience is key. This crucial piece of the hiring process is often overlooked and undervalued, leaving much room for improvement.

Tips for ensuring candidates are positively engaging
with your company during the interview process

1. Pre-interview, make sure that your dialogue with the interviewee is coming across as polite and friendly. You very well may be working with this person in the near future and you want to make sure to start off on the right foot interpersonally. It might be the oldest cliché in the book, but first impressions really do count – especially in such a competitive and candidate short market.

2. This sounds like a no-brainer, but make sure that interviewees can actually get into your office without much stress or hassle. If your building uses a buzzer to let people in, make sure that it works. If there are two entrances, make sure they aren’t going to surprise you at the back door. Pre-empt any issues that might come up and make sure candidates have the contact details for you or your receptionist in case they run into anything unforeseen. You don’t want to set your future top employee up to be flustered, stranded or unable to make it on time for the interview.

It might be the oldest cliché in the book, but first impressions really do count 

3. One of the easiest and most effective ways to enhance the candidate experience is to encourage your current team members to offer a warm welcome to guests as they come and go from your office. This is often ignored. Of course everyone is busy. But never underestimate the value of a smile and a genuine Hello/How are you/ Nice to meet you. You are essentially selling your company to new employees through a series of first impressions. Make sure everyone is on their best hosting behaviour.

4. Once through the doors, interviewees will be looking for clues as to what it would be like to actually work at your company. The quick 30 second walk through your office before the interview offers potential employees a brief glimpse into the very soul of your company. They will be able to sense if the current team seems happy, engaged, frustrated, motivated, or (in worst cases) desperate to jump ship themselves. Make sure that your current team is cognizant of the impact of their demeanour, and that they are showing the company and culture in the most positive light.

5. If snacks, lunches, drinks, beers etc. are perks of working at your company, make sure these are plainly visible. However, if you order in family style lunches, be aware that it’s not the best look to have lunch sitting out all day when a potential new hire is coming in. So, if it's past 2.30pm, now might be a good time to put the leftovers away in the fridge.

6. When closing out interviews, be polite and make sure that everyone leaves with a clear idea of the next steps. There is absolutely no value in being rude or disrespectful to candidates who haven’t impressed you. It’s a small world after all, and they could well be roommates with your actual next dream hire.

What will they tell their friends?

You’ll only ever hire a small percentage of the people you interview. That being said, you want everyone who walks out of a meeting with you impressed by your company and telling people in their network what a great experience they had with you. 

 

Looking to hire?

Submit your vacancy today. Read about our services to discover how we can help you find the best talent for your team.

 

Share this article

Related Solutions

Looking for talent?
Salary Survey
Hiring Advice
Get in touch

Find out more bij contacting one of our specialist recruitment consultants

Related articles

View all

Getting the hiring process right

The hiring process is the first step in building a world class team. Creating a positive experience for candidates in the interview process can indirectly be a great marketing opportunity for your organisation, while a negative experience can be crippling for brand reputation. For a startup establis

Read More

How to recruit professionals in a candidate short market

Robert Walters recently surveyed over 100 companies in Belgium to research the effect of both a candidate short market and the strategies businesses employ to manage them. According to this survey, an overwhelming 83% of employers in Belgium, regardless of company size, have experienced challenges w

Read More

How to spot resilience in a candidate

Increasingly complex working environments mean organisations want employees that are adaptable and resilient. But how can you spot these qualities in candidates? When hiring new talent, you may think technical prowess and interpersonal skills are all that matter. But in the stressful modern workplac

Read More

I'm Robert Walters Are you?

Come join our global team of creative thinkers, problem solvers and game changers. We offer accelerated career progression, a dynamic culture and expert training.