{"id":4679,"date":"2014-04-03T08:26:48","date_gmt":"2014-04-03T15:26:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/recruitloop.wpengine.com\/?p=4679"},"modified":"2023-05-15T10:51:15","modified_gmt":"2023-05-15T17:51:15","slug":"case-study-a-consultancys-innovative-interview-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/case-study-a-consultancys-innovative-interview-process\/","title":{"rendered":"Case Study: A Consultancy\u2019s Innovative Interview Process"},"content":{"rendered":"

Innovative and effective interview processes are both the holy grail and John Cleese of recruitment; we know they can work if done right, but mostly it just seems like a bit of time-wasting fluff. \u00a0If you\u2019ve ever tried to implement a different way of sifting through your organization\u2019s potential recruits, you\u2019ll understand the difficulty in working out how to effectively utilize the many different ways of screening an applicant. Here\u2019s an example of how one company managed to do it very effectively.<\/p>\n

Recently, I\u2019ve been doing the deed that is searching for a job after returning home from travel. While it\u2019s certainly had its ups and downs<\/a>, one organization\u2019s interview process has particularly stood out. \u00a0Their novel approach to each stage of the process highlights the way that stepping outside of basic one-one-one conversations can cut through the usual drag that is resume scanning to draw out a person\u2019s truly relevant skills.<\/p>\n

Stage 1: Real Job Description<\/h2>\n

The company posted a job description that included words like \u2018Superstar!\u2019 and phrases like \u2018We love macbooks!\u2019. It\u2019s the little things that give clues to your organization\u2019s culture. Just as an applicant who lists \u2018team player\u2019 as a characteristic on their resume makes you want to roll your eyes, listing \u2018fun, dynamic work environment\u2019 makes a candidate roll their eyes. Ask what makes your organization unique and don\u2019t be afraid to be a little quirky and proud in the way you describe who you are and what you are looking for.<\/p>\n

Stage 2: 100 Word Cover Letter + Resum\u00e9<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re sick and tired of mining out the relevant information in a cover letter, request candidates to reduce it to 100 words. As an applicant, I really had to think, \u2018What exactly is it about me that will make me stand out for this particular job?\u2019 A great paragraph shows an applicant\u2019s ability to a) follow instructions and b) communicate efficiently. It also demonstrates that they care about the role; it\u2019s unlikely they will have a \u2018standard\u2019 100-word paragraph ready to go so they\u2019ll have to spend a bit of time working on it. As an even bigger bonus, scanning 100 (original!) words is much easier and more entertaining than standard, boring cover letters.<\/p>\n

Stage 3: Group Interview<\/h2>\n

There\u2019s a lot of controversy around the group interview process and you need to think about whether it\u2019s right for your business. This organization were looking for someone who constantly presented in front of people and facilitated group activities \u2013 seeing how they reacted in a slightly-pressured, group environment was a smart move. It also meant that they could be a little relaxed in who they let through to the second round. Sixteen candidates were invited for the group interview \u2013 while it would normally have taken at least three days to get through a first interview for that many applicants, they did it in just two hours.<\/p>\n

The group interview consisted of two team challenges, one of which was the marshmallow challenge, and a final 2-minute presentation on something we learned from the day\u2019s activities. While using the marshmallow challenge wasn\u2019t exactly innovative, I was surprised to see how quickly certain candidates stood out when it came time to present. That 5-minute exercise told them more about each person\u2019s ability to do the job than any amount of conversation or reference checking could possibly do. The real value in a group interview process is not just confirming they can work in a team but giving them a 5-minute challenge to test them in the job.<\/p>\n

In my opinion, a glimpse into the culture and team dynamic of an organisation can\u2019t be revealed too early. This was given during a question and answer exercise at the end with three of the company\u2019s employees (including the managing director).<\/p>\n

Stage 4: Mock Presentation<\/h2>\n

Successful candidates were provided a brief to prepare a 20-minute presentation. If you\u2019re wanting to implement innovative interview techniques in your own organization, this is where you would insert an opportunity for the interviewee to have a crack at the real tasks they will be performing day to day; design a website, clean up a spreadsheet, answer a cranky customer call. Don\u2019t be afraid to recruit a couple of your staff in as actors if you need to! We had a lot of fun with four of the staff members pretending to be my audience. Their interactions again gave me insight into how they related to each other.<\/p>\n

The mock job trial was finalized with a round of strong questioning, both on my side and theirs. It was our first opportunity to really have a straightforward conversation about my suitability for the job.<\/p>\n

Stage 4a: Call from Managing Director with Feedback<\/h3>\n

The Managing Director rang to confirm they would like to progress me and provided me with feedback about the sorts of queries that would be asked in the final interview. I had time to think about my response and formulate an honest answer, rather than grappling on the spot.<\/p>\n

Stage 5: Conversation with the employees the candidate is working with<\/h2>\n

I cannot express how amazing it was to have a real conversation with the people I\u2019d be working with on a day-to-day basis without the looming presence of a Managing Director, particularly for a small company. Granted, the employees were in more senior roles, but I was also given full clearance to call another employee at the same level I would be entering to ask any question I wanted to.<\/p>\n

Stage 6: Offer<\/h2>\n

This discussion highlighted an area of non-fit on my behalf for this time of my life and after 48 hours and another discussion, it was clear that this wasn\u2019t the right role. In all, that may be the only piece of the process I would change \u2013 not having an opportunity to really delve deep into who the organization was and their plans for the future meant that I ended up turning down the role at the final stage. An in-depth discussion prior to the mock job interview may have saved both me spending two days on preparing a presentation and their discomfort at someone declining an offer.<\/p>\n

Aside from that, the process was exhilarating, informative, challenging and interesting. I have the highest level of respect for this organization as a result of that interview process and believe that such an open, interactive process built the foundation for a future connection if both parties were interested.<\/p>\n

From the company\u2019s side, the process saved them time and energy up front and allowed them to discover people who they were sure would excel at the job.<\/p>\n

If you need some other ideas as to how you could incorporate innovative processes in your process, check out \u201c11 Innovative Interview Techniques<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n

Image courtesy of IDEO.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Innovative and effective interview processes are both the holy grail and John Cleese of recruitment; we know they can work if done right, but mostly it just seems like a bit of time-wasting fluff. If you\u2019ve ever tried to implement a different way of sifting through your organization\u2019s potential recruits you\u2019ll understand the difficulty in working out how to effectively utilize the many different ways of screening an applicant. Here\u2019s an example of how one company managed to do it very effectively.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":286,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[99],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nCase Study: A Consultancy\u2019s Innovative Interview Process<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you\u2019ve ever tried to implement a different way of sifting through your organization\u2019s potential recruits, you understand how tough it is.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/case-study-a-consultancys-innovative-interview-process\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Case Study: A Consultancy\u2019s Innovative Interview Process\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you\u2019ve ever tried to implement a different way of sifting through your organization\u2019s potential recruits, you understand how tough it is.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/case-study-a-consultancys-innovative-interview-process\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Zippia For Employers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Zippia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-04-03T15:26:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-05-15T17:51:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Conor McMahon\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ZippiaInc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ZippiaInc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Conor McMahon\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/case-study-a-consultancys-innovative-interview-process\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/case-study-a-consultancys-innovative-interview-process\/\",\"name\":\"Case Study: A Consultancy\u2019s Innovative Interview Process\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-04-03T15:26:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-05-15T17:51:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#\/schema\/person\/050bfa1f507f590fe29b1b9e504251c5\"},\"description\":\"If you\u2019ve ever tried to implement a different way of sifting through your organization\u2019s potential recruits, you understand how tough it is.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/case-study-a-consultancys-innovative-interview-process\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/case-study-a-consultancys-innovative-interview-process\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/case-study-a-consultancys-innovative-interview-process\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Case Study: A Consultancy\u2019s Innovative Interview Process\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/\",\"name\":\"Zippia For Employers\",\"description\":\"How to find the best employees.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#\/schema\/person\/050bfa1f507f590fe29b1b9e504251c5\",\"name\":\"Conor McMahon\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c88081bbcf24d84456fde80f8d82fb7b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c88081bbcf24d84456fde80f8d82fb7b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Conor McMahon\"},\"description\":\"Conor McMahon is a writer for Zippia, with previous experience in the nonprofit, customer service, and technical support industries. 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