Are you behind on your hires? We might just have the perfect hack to expedite things! Last week we did a different kind of hiring event with a client of ours, and we would like to share our experiences.
It all started when we sent a few cool profiles from Istanbul over to the client’s team. As the candidates progressed, it was clear that the technical level of developers in Istanbul is quite satisfying for what our client needs. Seems easy peasy; 2 calls, 1 test, 1 face-to-face interview.
However, there had to be a catch. Coming to Berlin from Turkey for an interview would require a visa and thus, 6 weeks. This got us thinking, how can we do the onsite interviews but not have to wait for visas for each candidate?
Thanks to our client being flexible with procedures, we found a solution. We decided, if the candidates cannot come to us, we bring the interviews to them! So, there we were in Istanbul last week interviewing candidates over 2 days. There are a few aspects of this trip that we learnt from that we believe should be shared to change the way some things are done.
1. Showing Candidates they Matter
When we told candidates, the client’s team will come to their city to meet them for the final round, every single one of them were touched by the fact that the team was willing to put their hands under the stone for potential hires. This fueled their perspective on the company’s culture and team relations. We attained a 100% response rate and created a pipeline of 7 candidates who did 1st calls with us, the 1st interviews with the client & submitted a tech task within a week.
2. Having Intentful Meetings
Of course, we would expect no guarantees of hiring but one cannot deny the intentfulness of a company travelling to meet potential hires. This required, being precise with what you need and making sure you have candidates that could cover that need.
If you are able to pick the best option out of a dedicated talent pool that meets all your criteria, we guarantee success will be more tangible right from the start. Not to mention, the confidence these interviews gave the candidates. We have observed a level of comfort in each candidate and they explained it quite similarly: the fact that the Head of Technology came here to meet me shows I must have done some things right already.
3. Having Contentful Interviews
Since these interviews would be hard to repeat if something was forgotten, a more curious eye was cast on each candidate. We have seen some of the most structured and detailed technical discussions in these interviews.
Firstly, the team sent out and collected technical solutions to be discussed in the interviews. This and a structured agenda, allowed them to go in and get through their checklist without exceptions.
Secondly, the candidates knew this was their one chance to impress, so they did not skip a beat when talking about their solutions and experiences.
4. Enabling New Sources
Before moving interviews to Istanbul, we were about to stop sourcing in countries that would require visas for candidates to come to face-to-face meetings. Meaning, we would mainly focus on Europe and countries that don’t require tourist visas. That would be limiting for us considering the response rate in Europe. On the other hand, now we can source and find candidates anywhere in the world.
Having a hard time getting budget justified for such a trip? Reach out to us and we will tell you about our experience and the resources we have saved!
5. Time Saving
We always move according to the timeline of our clients but we know that when you have to juggle the daily business, and interviews, the interviews will be scheduled when the business allows. However, when you plan such a trip like this one, the interviews become the business.
In just two weeks, we found and processed 15 candidates, interviewed 12 of them, put 9 of them through the second interview and test stages, to finally have 7 qualified final round applicants. Now, people in recruitment will know; when you want to make multiple hires in a short amount of time, it’s hard to top these numbers.
Do you like the idea but don’t have the capacity in your HR department to plan and execute the details of such a trip? Feel free to reach out to us at sayhello@zartis.com – we would be happy to help your IT department reach its full potential.
