Mastering Candidate Engagement: The Key to Better Hiring Decisions

Sometimes, we just need to be honest: It’s not always the candidates who perform poorly. Sometimes the interview itself goes off track. At times, clients view interviews as one-sided evaluations where the candidate must prove themselves. But we often forget that, as interviewers, we hold significant responsibility to guide the process and give candidates the space to showcase their best.

A strict realignment of the interview process can help bring clarity, not just for the candidate but also for ourselves. How often do we realise, 20 minutes in, that things aren’t progressing or the chemistry just isn’t there? Sometimes, it’s not just about the candidate's preparation but also about us not setting the right framework.

Here are our ten most important things to keep in mind during any of these encounters, regardless of the seniority level. This is purely based on our experience and observation as both a candidate and a consultant who has sat through many of these sessions. 

1. It’s Not an Interview, It’s a Discussion Among Equals

The first mindset shift is understanding that the candidate isn’t sitting for an interview but rather entering into a high-level discussion. In most cases, they were actively approached by an executive search firm and are likely content in their current role. This means they are not coming into the room with a sense of obligation or desperation to prove themselves. Both sides need to feel mutual attraction, and the responsibility to impress lies equally with the company as much as with the candidate.

A key way to set the right tone is to start with a proper introduction. In the first 15 minutes, the company (i.e. my client) should be “selling” themselves: Who are we? What role are we offering? What is our vision, culture, and purpose? Sure, it’s challenging to distil all that into a 15-minute elevator pitch, but it’s crucial to nail this part of the conversation. Too many clients fail in the first 15 minutes, rushing through a 3-minute introduction and diving into a classic interview sentiment. Frankly, it’s not compelling, and great candidates might soon lose interest. 

2. Set Clear Structure and Actively Guide the Process

As the conversation progresses, it’s essential to create clear structures and guide the candidate through the process in a very active manner. What do I mean by this? We need to give the candidate clear boundaries and expectations. For instance, providing a 20-minute window for them to describe their career. However, it’s crucial to be explicit about what we want to hear.

In this case, the candidate should receive clear instructions to (e.g.) focus only on their last two roles or mandates. They should dive deep into specifics, explaining what their mission was in these roles, what challenges they faced, how they solved them, and most importantly, what conclusions and insights they gained from addressing those challenges.

What many clients fail to recognise is that different candidates will take varying amounts of time for this first phase of the interview, and this naturally disrupts any comparability between them. It’s important to understand that this variation is due to personality differences. Some candidates are more talkative, others less so. But this doesn’t make them any less competent; it’s simply a personality trait that we must accept.

We can address this by implementing a structured process and clearly stating what we want to focus on. If the candidate doesn’t stick to those guidelines or address the specifics we’ve asked for, that in itself is telling and provides us with insight. But at least we’ve set our expectations upfront.

3. Prepare Targeted Questions to Assess the Candidate’s Fit

After the first two parts of the interview, where the company has properly introduced itself and the candidate has presented their career, we may have used up around 30-45 minutes. Now it’s critical to use the remaining 30-45 minutes to assess the candidate’s fit for the role with targeted, pre-planned questions. These questions should never be spontaneous or improvised based on the flow of the conversation. They must be carefully selected and curated in advance.

A strong consulting process involves us, the advising firm, proposing specific questions to our client based on the competency profile our client has provided. We don’t just suggest the questions; we also recommend that these questions be asked by the consultant during the conversation, allowing the client to focus on the candidate’s answers, take notes, and score each response. This ensures the assessment is structured and measurable.

For example, we may identify ten essential questions to determine whether the candidate is the right leadership fit for the company. We could break these down into behavioural and situational questions from three key areas: leadership-focused questions, achievement-based questions, and questions addressing the cultural-fit.

Each candidate should be asked the same set of questions, ensuring consistency and comparability. We would then implement a scoring system on a scale of 1-10, where 1 indicates a poor answer and 10 an excellent one. To ensure fairness, we should align on what constitutes a ‘poor’ or ‘excellent’ answer before the interview. This upfront discussion might take some time, but in the end, it will make the process far more efficient and objective.

4. Embrace the Active Role of the Consultant

It’s highly recommended to accept and leverage the active role of the consultant. If I, as a client, pay five or six figures for a recruitment, and the consultant is genuinely invested in the process, why wouldn’t I take full advantage of the expertise of someone who has spent decades doing nothing but recruiting?

Clients should feel empowered to actively engage their consultant. Every consultant is glad when their client is demanding and takes the interview process seriously.

I’d even go so far as to suggest that the consultant takes on a more involved role in the interview itself. Not entirely, but at least partially during the third segment of the interview as described above. 

5. Prioritize Open-Ended Questions

One of the most important aspects of any “question-answer play” is the use of open-ended questions. In a structured conversation, the questions are typically pre-determined, so while they may be delivered in a somewhat free-flowing manner, they follow a clear structure. Open-ended questions are key in allowing candidates the space to provide deeper, more thoughtful answers.

What do I mean by open-ended? A closed question might be something like: “Is X and Y the reason you left company ABC?” This leads to a simple yes or no response. In contrast, an open-ended question would be: “What were the reasons that led you to leave company ABC?” This prompts the candidate to offer a more comprehensive explanation and opens up room for further exploration.

It’s also important to note that it’s perfectly fine to ask a question more than once, perhaps phrased differently. Repetition can be a stylistic tool to test the candidate’s consistency. Even asking the same question a second or third time can reveal whether the candidate maintains their story or provides new insights upon reflection.

6. Clearly Set Expectations When Asking Questions

Another crucial point to keep in mind is that during an interview, it’s perfectly acceptable to share your expectations with the candidate. When asking a question, make it clear what your expectation is for the response. For example, if you ask the candidate a detailed question about their career and they respond with a 15-minute explanation when you were expecting just 3 minutes, it’s not fair to penalise them for that. You need to set the boundaries up front.

As interviewers, we have the responsibility to moderate the discussion. That means we need to frame our open question clearly. For instance, you could say: “I’m interested in this aspect of your career, but I’d like you to keep it brief. I just want a high-level overview of how you tackled this challenge. We can dive into the details later, but for now, just give me the big picture.” This is a fair way to guide the conversation.

If we don’t provide a framework, we leave the candidate guessing about the depth of the question. They won’t know if a particular question is important to us or just a minor point. In a virtual world, especially with video interviews, this becomes even more critical. Candidates can’t always pick up on non-verbal cues that might indicate whether they’re on the right track. There are many social cues, through body language, that candidates would normally pick up on in person but miss in a virtual setting. Setting clear expectations helps mitigate that.

7. Incorporate Real Business Scenarios into the Questions

There’s absolutely no reason why you can’t integrate real, current business challenges into your interview questions. In fact, it can be incredibly insightful to confront the candidate with an acute problem your company is currently facing and ask for their input.

For example, you could say: “You’ve been a CFO for 15 years, and we’re currently facing a specific challenge. Have you encountered something like this in your career? How would you, as my CFO, help solve this problem? What advice would you give me, and how could we work together to overcome it? Could you provide a 5-minute, high-level summary while keeping our company’s vision and culture in mind?”

This type of question is invaluable. Not only does it assess the candidate’s problem-solving abilities and how they would fit within your company’s culture, but it also provides you with practical insights. Plus, you’ll likely get five different perspectives from five different CFOs. With a bit of preparation, incorporating real scenarios into the interview can offer a wealth of actionable information.

8. Charisma is Key…For Both Sides

Candidates don’t just change jobs for money. Of course, money is a crucial factor - let’s be honest, we all operate in an economic world, and there’s no point pretending otherwise. But working with someone who exudes charisma, energy, and positivity is just as, if not more, important.

We want to work with people who leave us with a positive feeling. A resonance that goes beyond just their qualifications. If, as a client, I sit in a video interview with a serious expression, making them feel like they’re on trial without any warmth or charisma, I can’t expect to get the best out of them. That simply doesn’t work.

Here’s the reality, and I can say this from over ten years of experience: very few people truly possess charisma. Many leaders are competent, even excellent, but they lack charisma. And that’s the point…your interview panel doesn’t always need to be made up of the most senior members.

Sometimes, it’s worth bringing in someone who radiates positive energy and can showcase the fact that your company is full of great, dynamic people. It’s about showing the candidate that your workplace has life and enthusiasm, not just seniority and seriousness.

As an interviewer, I need to bring charisma into the room as well. Share a story, make a joke, engage the candidate beyond just ticking off qualifications on a list. If we expect potential candidates to showcase their best selves, we need to create an environment where they feel comfortable doing so. And if a company feels like it’s struggling with this, send in the right mix of people. 

9. Meet Every Candidate at Least Twice – Really? Yes, Really!

Yes, you read that right. Meet every candidate at least twice. Why? Because we are, and always will be, human. People wake up one day feeling great, and the next day they wake up feeling off, with everything in between. When you meet a candidate for just one 60 to 90-minute session, you might be able to tell if they’re an absolute "no-no-go”, but you certainly won’t know if they are or will be the right fit just based on a single, middle-of-the-road performance.

We need to engage with candidates at least two, preferably three times, to eliminate the randomness and fluctuations of daily performance. Ideally, these should be 45-60 minute slots, spread out, focusing on different aspects in each session. This same principle applies to the interview panel as well. The people on the panel are human, too. They wake up with their own problems: whether it's dealing with a car that won’t start, a forgotten tax return, or even personal issues like a divorce. These factors influence their perception on any given day. By meeting a candidate multiple times, you also reduce the impact of these subjective, day-to-day variances within the panel.

10. The Most Important Point: Your Perception Will Deceive You!

This is by far the most critical point I need to emphasise, and one I must repeat over and over: your perception will deceive you in many cases. We are humans with certain past experiences, biases, and emotional baggage. Even the most experienced CEO, who’s conducted 2,500 interviews, can get it wrong.

Why? Because they might meet a candidate who reminds them of their preschool bully or speaks like an old competitor who once pushed them out of a role. These associations, often subconscious, will inevitably skew their perception.

That’s why it’s absolutely vital to follow the previous points and structure the interview process in a way that minimises random, subjective biases and flawed perceptions. The more structure you bring into the process, the more you mitigate these errors. Structure reduces randomness, eliminates bias, and helps you focus on what really matters.

And if you still don’t believe this, I’d strongly recommend reading Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. It’s packed with scientifically backed research that demonstrates how human perception is often far from reliable. Once you’ve read it, you’ll have a deeper reflection on yourself and a clear understanding of just how biased we can be, even when we don’t realise it. And this is something we must continuously fight against.

In Summary: At the end of the day, the most important takeaway is to engage deeply with your consultant and to demand that they take an active role in the process. This includes taking ownership of key aspects such as structuring the questions, moderating the interviews, and ensuring that there is a clear agenda and structure in place, which should be communicated to the candidates in advance. The consultant’s expertise in these areas is invaluable, and it’s essential to rely on them to guide the process.

At the same time, as a client, it’s crucial to remain humble and recognise that we are all human and prone to errors, especially in perception and decision-making. No matter how much experience we may have, we are not immune to biases or mistakes in judgment. That’s why it’s vital to stick to a structured process that minimises these errors.

I’ve seen it time and time again: many senior leaders have an immense level of confidence when it comes to making selection decisions, which is often incomparable to any other industry or decision-making process. However, this overconfidence can be dangerous, … and costly.

By following a structured, consultant-led process and staying open to the idea that we, too, can make mistakes, we can significantly improve the quality of our hiring decisions and ensure that we’re making the best choices for our teams and our businesses.