Should a Recruiter Prepare for an interview ???

I have witnessed many cases wherein there are long queues of candidates waiting to be interviewed and they keep on preparing for the questions and the best answers for them. In counselling session even they ask for the attitude, dress code, etiquettes, body posture and so on. Where there is a tough competition to be in the shortlisted ones, I feel the heat on the other side of the desk. Sitting in the interviewers place brings a sense of responsibility and I feel the recruiter must be prepared to face the challenge and pressure. Should he or shouldn’t he???

Well in the age of internet where there is ample ways to learn the interview skills why not the recruiter get trained???

Candidates prepare on Communication Skills, Behavioural skills, Soft Skills, attitude etc etc. these skills where make the candidate eligible in turn it makes the recruiter’s job tougher day by day. Where many recruiters in the IT industry are not from the IT background they are confined to screen the skills other than the technical skill. Now where the Engineering grads get out of college most colleges now provide interviewing skills to them and even they get mock interviews to crack it. With so much investment in time, effort and money where the candidates bring in their best to the interview table, Interviewer must have to have the correct skills to interview.

First of all a recruiter in interviewing to Select and not to reject so the purpose has to be met “Best available candidate Selected”

Most common and serious complaints about a recruiter are

•         Recruiter was not aware of the schedule
•         Recruiter was in a casual mood.
•         Asked silly and illogical questions  
•         No thought process.
•         Dint go through the CV/Resume
•         Recruiter was pre decided about the fate of the interview etc etc

HR Experts always talk of different modes and methods of interviewing Candidates and there has been many research papers and methods experimented on the entire recruitment process. But talks of getting the recruiter prepared are less in discussion.

Well do you think a recruiter too should be prepared for the interview? In my opinion yes a recruiter must prepare for it. A bit of seriousness and conscious effort would save many man hours to close a position which will definitely save revenue. A Recruiter must do the following a standard procedure for a successful recruitment process. Following are few points a recruiters must follow

·         Read the Position details thoroughly and understand the requirement.

• Screen the resumes and if required discuss the position over phone to shortlist the prospective candidates.
• Schedule interview with all the pre-requisites and with all the parties involved and block calendar.
• Show courtesy and appreciate efforts for the interview.
• Ask to the point questions and listen carefully.
• Share a serious and positive attitude.
• Conduct the interview without any interference and obstructions.
• Enquire about the availability for next rounds of interview if you shortlist.
• Share a written feedback and other manuscripts if any with the next level or round and coordinate for the schedule.
• Follow up for the feedback from different departments and convey the result to the candidates. 

SSo next time you attend an interview just note these things in a recruiter and well rate them and the company they represent or work for.