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Running effective interviews is foundational to a company’s success. Why? Because deciding who to hire is one of the most impactful decisions a business can make. 

However, not everyone treats the interview process with the importance it deserves. Many companies overlook a critical part of conducting good interviews: training interviewers and recruiters. For this reason, organizations are starting to build structured interview training programs to ensure everyone involved in the hiring process can conduct high-quality interviews. 

We recently spoke with recruiting and talent acquisition teams leading the way in interview training to get us an inside look at how they built their programs. What did we uncover? There are four primary steps teams take to develop effective interview training programs.

Read on to uncover the four steps to create a top-notch training program. Plus, access more helpful tips and resources by downloading the Complete Guide to Interview Training.

How to build a winning interview training program

1. Invest time in research

Before you map out your interview training program, take the time to research a few key areas that will inform your approach:

  • Candidate experience: Gather candidates’ feedback to find opportunities for improvement. If you don’t currently collect input from candidates, this is a great time to start. This can be as simple as creating a short, easy survey to send to candidates after they complete the hiring process.
  • Unconscious biases: Identify and acknowledge common biases that can occur in interviews – like confirmation bias and memory bias – and explore how interviewers can avoid them. (Hint: check out our Interview Bias Tool Kit for more details about possible biases and how to work against them!)
  • Hiring process gaps: Meet with your teammates (including recruiters and hiring managers) to understand where there are pain points you can address in your interview process.

2. Teach critical skills with real interview moments

If your company has access to interview recordings, select key moments as examples to help interviewers and recruiters spot good answers, prepare for difficult questions, and share a consistent and informative company story. Include conversations with candidates who are top performers and conversations with red flags to help interviewers spot instances of each.

Need help selecting the best interview moments to share during your interview training? Check out the Complete Guide to Interview Training for helpful guidance.

3. Design a program that meets your company’s needs

Interview training programs aren’t one-size-fits-all; they vary based on your company. Review your company’s overall hiring and growth goals to design an interview training program that addresses your specific needs.

4. Set up a feedback loop

Your interview training should not be static; it should evolve as your company does. Track the impact of your program and make adjustments by looking at a few key indicators:

  • Review candidate happiness by checking metrics like Net Promoter Scores and Glassdoor Reviews.
  • Measure the confidence of interviewers and recruiters by surveying them before and after completing your training program.
  • Keep a pulse on how supported recruiters feel. Regularly check in with recruiters to understand trends they’re noticing and gaps that you can help improve.

Find out how to open the lines of communication with interviewers, plus access the metrics you should track to measure your interview training program’s success in the Complete Guide to Interview Training.

What are the benefits of an interview training program?

A solid interview training program will help you: 

  • Hire employees faster, especially in a market where time is of the essence to win top talent.
  • Expand your internal pool of interviewers, so anyone in your company can walk into an interview with the confidence and skills to assess quality talent.
  • Counter biases and increase equity by teaching interviewers to assess what matters: a candidate’s qualifications. This can help avoid knee-jerk decisions, so they don’t fall into the trap of knowing whether to hire someone in the first 90 seconds, like 33% of interviewers.
  • Provide a positive experience for every candidate, so they leave each interview knowing your company is a welcoming place to work. Data shows that companies that invest in the candidate experience see a 70% increase in the quality of their hires.

“Establishing an interview training program makes an organization a more attractive place to work. The optimal state for any business is to increase its overall hiring capacity. In other words, everyone becomes a recruiter of sorts and is able to participate in the acquisition of talent and skills. If recruiting and interviewing is everyone’s job, I think that makes a business more inclusive.”

Hung Lee, Curator at Recruiting Brainfood

Transform your interview training program with BrightHire

We know that great interview training programs aren’t built overnight, and we’re here to help every step of the way. BrightHire’s Complete Guide to Interview Training is a comprehensive guide that includes even more detailed information, expert insights, and tips to help you build a solid interview training program that fits your company’s hiring needs.

Check out the full guide, including cheat sheets and checklists to fast-track your success!

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