Plans to Hire in 2020? How to Meet Your Hiring Needs Despite Coronavirus

Your company has serious goals to hire more employees in 2020, but with Coronavirus looming, you’re feeling hesitant. Should you hire now? Or wait for this disease to dissipate? And even if you decided to move forward with hiring, how would you properly interview candidates given most of us are in quarantine? In this article, we outline exactly how you can interview and hire despite coronavirus, some helpful tips to do so, and why you should start your hiring process today if you haven’t already.

It’s Time to Adapt: Hiring Virtually

With quarantine in full effect, you and your company may be working from home. However, just because you are working from home and practicing social distancing, that doesn’t mean you need to halt your hiring processes altogether. In fact, in order to move forward with your hiring goals for 2020, there is one hiring strategy that is completely possible despite COVID-19: hiring virtually. Hiring virtually is very much the same as hiring in-person with the only difference being you don’t get to meet the candidate in person before making them an offer. You can, however, still see and interview the candidate via video. We know what you’re thinking: Won’t virtual interviews be a little different than an in-person, in-office interview? The answer is yes. But we also know that virtual interviews are, have been, and will continue to be effective in helping companies worldwide acquire top talent – especially now.

Tips for Interviewing and Hiring Virtually

If you do not currently have video chat software at your company, two popular platforms you can download are Skype or Zoom (though there are many others out there). Both Skype and Zoom have free options and offer even more helpful features for a price (links to both can be found at the bottom of this article).

Once you acquire the necessary video chat software, you can begin to conduct interviews with your candidates virtually. Here are a few tips to help ensure your virtual interviews run smoothly:

Test your internet connectivity beforehand: Adequate internet connection is imperative for a successful virtual interview. Be sure to check your internet connection prior to any virtual interviews.

Try a test call first: If you are new to virtual interviewing, do a test call with a coworker before the interview. By doing a test call first, you can ensure your video operates as expected when it comes time to interview.

Adjust the lighting: Pay special attention to the lighting of the room you’re in. Make sure your lighting isn’t blindingly bright or too dark to the point where the person on the other end has trouble seeing you.

Simplify your surroundings: Your background should be plain and simple and if anything is in the background it should be clean and organized.

Limit background noise: If you can, set up your computer in a quiet area and do your best to prepare for and limit any distractions during the interview.

Dress professionally: Dress as you would for an in-person interview at the office.

Prepare as normal: Prepare for virtual interviews just as you would if you were conducting them in person. Come prepared with an introduction, some questions for the interviewee and whatever else has helped you conduct effective interviews in the past.

Why You Should Start Your Virtual Interviews Today

According to an article by LinkedIn, you should count on your hiring process to take “90 days from kick-off to start-date”. This same article notes that “Clockwork Recruiting, a firm providing executive search software, identified that manager searches tend to take over 80 days to fill, and executive searches take over 120 days”. What kind of employees are you looking to hire? Managers? Executives? Whatever your hiring needs may be, it is important to take these timelines into consideration.

Here’s why: Let’s say you start your hiring process virtually today. If in a few weeks or months quarantines are lifted and our work lives return to normal, your company will be on track to hire as planned. You may have even onboarded some employees already! On the other hand, if you hold off on hiring until things return to normal, you’ll be starting from square one and you will have spent many weeks or months not making any progress in pursuit of your hiring goals.

Coronavirus may be in full swing, but there is no shortage of great candidates looking for a job right now. If you’re having trouble finding candidates or if your hiring processes have fallen on the back burner due to COVID-19, Omada Search can help. Reach out to us if you need help sourcing top talent for your open positions.

About Omada Search

Omada Search is a boutique executive recruiting firm dedicated to serving middle market manufacturing and distribution clients in the Carolinas. Omada specializes in Accounting, Finance and Operations. For further information on Omada, please visit www.OmadaSearch.com .