How to impress your Supply Chain and Operations Candidates

Candidates aren’t the only ones that need to make a good impression during an interview. In today’s competitive Supply Chain & Operations recruiting market, it is critical that a company not only has a strong value proposition, but creates a positive interview experience for the candidates.

Creating a positive experience really comes down to focusing on 3 key areas – Consensus, Process, and Communication.

The quickest turn-off for a candidate is when they see a lack of consensus from the interview team. Before kicking off interviews for a role, the stakeholders should ensure that the hiring team has a clear understanding of the particular role, how it fits into the organization, and what key things they need for the candidate to be able to contribute.

During the consensus phase, interview teams should also formalize the interview process—defining the who/what/when of interview steps and what they should be assessing. By formalizing the process beforehand the total time and travel will be minimized for the candidates, and time and travel expense will be minimized for your organization as well. Skype or other video conferencing tools are a great supplement to an interview process, and can limit candidate traveling and expenses particularly for follow-up interviews or for interviewers based at other locations.

At least 3 days prior to an on-site interview, aim to provide the candidates an agenda which includes times, locations, and names and job titles of the interviewers. Share what interview format they should expect and if it will include any type of plant tour, personality analysis, or skills assessment. The candidates should be informed of any specific directions around parking or entrances, who to ask for upon arrival, if they need to wear any specific attire or bring safety gear, and have a contact’s phone number in case of travel issues or other circumstances.

Most importantly, maintain regularly communication to keep the candidates engaged. While coordination and feedback can be a slower process due to heavy travel schedules and busyness of the interviewers, maintain the priority of keeping candidates warm. A quick e-mail (even if it is “Still Waiting”) goes a long way in keeping a candidate engaged. Whether you move forward with a candidate or not, providing prompt and constructive feedback is important at every stage. Feedback is incredibly appreciated and leaves them with a positive impression of your organization.

If you aren’t already, aim to focus on these few areas when you kick of your next search. And remember, your Supply Chain & Operations Recruiting firm is a great resource to lean on to facilitate this process and keep communication flowing with your prospective candidates.

Interested to learn more about how SCOPE Recruiting can ensure your Supply Chain & Operations candidates have a positive interview experience?