For many recruiters, the way they are approaching the entire hiring process could use a bit of innovation. The toughest area remains the interview portion. Most of the recruitment questionnaires that recruiters rely on are tired and lack creativity.
Add a little spark to your hiring process by moving forward with more creative interview and screening questions.
Whether you’re trying to spice up the actual interview, the initial online pre-screening, or your work personality questionnaire, injecting a little bit of creativity will have your candidates thinking outside of the box.
This will give you better insights into what they are likely to bring to the table.
First, we’ll explore a few ways you can attract candidates to applying. Then we’ll look at some creative ways of engaging candidates after they have completed a custom questionnaire.
Easy to implement ideas to attract qualified candidates
Add a talent questionnaire link to your LinkedIn profile
Add a link to your pre-employment assessment right to your company LinkedIn profile. Anyone interested in your company can go ahead, leave their CV, and take it.
You can continually add people to your recruitment pool with very little effort.
It also allows you to hone in on the people that show real interest in your available position as they are doing all the work in starting the assessment process.
Advertise in your email signature
Whether you have empty roles to fill or not, it is always a good idea to have a few outstanding candidates on stand by. You never know when your employment needs may change.
And when you have the mindset that you are always searching, you will never panic when you do actually have empty slots on your team.
Put some recruitment information and the link to your questionnaire in your email signature. You never have to mention it in the body of your email.
But it will definitely stand out to all those you communicate with. You never know when someone may be unsatisfied with their current position and will take advantage of your advertisement.
Post-questionnaire: Narrowing down your candidates
When you have positions available, you’ll have a group of pre-assessed applicants that have shown real interest in your company that can be moved along to the next stage of the selection process.
There is no reason why your creativity has to be thrown out the window in the next phases after candidates have filled out your questionnaire. There are plenty of creative interview processes that can be implemented with the candidates chosen through the pre-assessment questionnaire, such as:
Holding an open house
There is no better selection process than self-selection because many of your potential candidates will simply remove themselves from the pool. This creative process would work a bit like a real estate open house.
All of your potential applicants can simply attend the group event. You can send out email invites or do something broader like run social media ads. You will find that many applicants won’t bother showing up to your event recruitment open house, which is a litmus test for who really wants a position with your company.
Utilize VR
Virtual reality is all the buzz at the moment. So, why not show your potential employees that your company is on the cutting edge by allowing them to experience a virtual day at your office?
This is a good way to allow candidates to experience your company culture and see if it is right for them. You may find that a few of your potentials drop out of the race, but it is better that it happens sooner rather than after you have hired them.
Hold group interviews
Having your talent meet in a group setting will give you a good look at everyone’s communication styles. You will also be able to see who is comfortable putting their ideas forward, and who is more likely to take a back seat role.
You can run these group interviews in a speed-dating style or as a big group therapy session. Either way, you will get valuable data about your employees, and you will be able to gauge interest in the position.
Conduct text interviews
There is no doubt that the world is becoming more and more reliant on mobile devices. This is true in all aspects of life, so why should recruitment and hiring processes be any different?
You can easily start the recruitment process using Chatbots or mass texts. They are easy to schedule, and your candidates can easily decline if they are no longer interested.
Video answers
Another feature your ATS should have within their questionnaires is the ability to have your applicants record video answers to your screening questions. Utilizing this feature will help you get a good feel for the applicant’s personality without having to arrange your schedule for an in-person interview. Plus, it is especially helpful when hiring for remote positions.
Recruitment questionnaires, the heart of candidate qualification
It’s important to engage candidates before and after they apply. But making sure that your recruitment questionnaire is both strong and creative is an important step to qualify the right candidates.
For those really want to harness creativity and flexibility in their hiring process, customizable questionnaires and assessments are a must-have in your ATS.
These will allow hiring managers to customize their assessments in order to add all of their most creative questions and get creative answers in return.
Added bonus, the recruiter won’t be the only one responsible for qualifying great talent.
How to customize your hiring questionnaires
Recruitee’s questionnaires allow you to receive your answers in various different forms, and they can be mixed and matched however you see fit. You can have:
- Video Answers: where the candidate must create a short video response to your question.
- Text boxes: where the applicant must write an answer in their own words.
- Yes or No responses: for those questions that are simple and direct.
- Multiple Choice responses: for questions that don’t require any expounding.
- Drop Down answers: that allow you to add a lot of choices without cluttering up your assessment page.
- Scale Rating: that requires your candidates to rate how they feel or think about a statement.
Setting up questionnaires is intuitive, and it is one of the most easily customizable screening tools available to recruiters and hiring managers.
How to get creative with your recruitment questionnaires
Now that you have a way to create your ideal assessment and you have broadened your applicant pool with creative recruiting techniques, you will need to fill it with in-depth and intriguing questions.
The following ideas will keep your candidates on their toes and offer you a better look into their psyche before you interview! Add a couple in addition to your screening questions- they’ll be bound to tell you more about your candidates than a cover letter!
#1 Tell me about a situation where you felt defeated and how you responded to that defeat?
Best for: Text box reponse
This type of question will show you a potential employee will react when they do not feel totally in control of a situation they are placed in. It will show you how they do or do not stand up in the face of adversity.
It is safe to assume that there will be a point in the candidate’s career that things will be falling apart around them, but they need to be able to problem-solve and salvage the situation as much as possible.
#2 How would you make money with an ice-cream stand?
Best for: Video answer response
This question was created by a tech guru, Yasmin Gren, and she uses it to asses how creative a potential employee is. Plus, it also tells the interviewer if the candidate is able to think on their feet.
It is an odd question, and it will likely catch your potential employee off guard. This is a good thing because it makes them start thinking outside the box.
#3 Which one of our company values do you relate with the most?
Best for: Drop down response
This is great for getting a good indicator of what your candidates most value in relation to your organization and company culture. If you want to get extra tricky (and ensure your candidates have done their homework), add an extra value that doesn’t belong.
#4 What was the most energizing aspect of your last position?
Best for: Multiple choice reponse
This creative interview question is a good way to assess what makes the candidate tick. It will also give you a good measure of insight into whether they will be a good fit with your company culture.
If they give an answer that is the exact opposite of the vibe or style of management within your company, then you will know that the applicant’s work personality won’t jive well. Make sure to add diverse answers and focus on the great qualities (and not so great) of your office.
#5 What do you hope to do after you leave this company?
Best for: Video answer response
Most of the time, interviewers ask “where do you see yourself in X years?” This question allows the interviewee to simply make up some line about working here at XYZ company! While that is a cutesy answer, it is also super generic, but what can you expect when you ask a generic question?
Asking the candidate what they will do after your company is an entirely different ball game. The potential employee has to give careful consideration to the question, and the answer will likely be very telling about their actual life goals and plans.
Plus, it illustrates the fact that your company understands that people grow and their needs change. It shows that you embrace this fact and that you are willing to help your team members spread their wings.
#6 What is something you believe in that your friends and family do not?
This question may seem like it is a bit awkward, and it really may be for some people. However, it will also show you how strongly the candidate is able to hold on to their convictions.
It is difficult for anyone to stand up to adversity, and it is especially difficult to do so when it is your friends and families who disagree. However, there is a lot to be said for a person that is able to stay true to themselves.
#7 If I was able to grant you three work-related promises, what would you ask for?
Best for: Text box response
This is another question that will let you see whether or not the candidate will be a good fit for your company, and whether or not you will be able to meet their expectations.
If the person wants things that there is no hope of ever providing, they will probably become frustrated in their role at some point. While it seems a bit silly and fun, it is actually a good indication of their work personality.
Create a better hiring process
When hiring, you need to use all the tools in your arsenal. Keep things creative, and you are more likely to fill your positions with engaged employees that suit the overall vibe of your company, and that is a win-win for everyone.
