You have invested your time in learning how to advertise a job and now you have lots of applicants. Not only do you want to select the best candidates but you want to make sure they will actually turn up for their interview.

There are 3 simple steps you can take to maximise the chances of getting all of those invited candidates to turn up for their interviews.

Visit our interviews hub to find interviewing advice and resources.

Here we explore the benefits of getting it right.

1. Job Pitch

It starts with how the job is pitched. From your first conversation on the phone make sure you get their attention, this is your chance to create interest in the position? What is the importance of the role and what impact will it have on the company?

You need to convey the right message about the company, be positive about its workforce, career prospects and the industry.

Pay attention to how you come across. What detail are you providing and is that information enough to make your job look favourable, when compared to other jobs in the market? This will not only help secure meetings, but it will make offers easy to close and often for a lower salary, later in the process.

DO IT RIGHT NOW AND YOU ARE SAVING MONEY AND TIME!

Explain why the position is live and give a positive impression about the company – it’s down to you to make sure you are knowledgeable and able to answer any questions that candidates might have.

If you aren’t convinced that the candidate is interested, you should start to subtly challenge the candidate to help you establish whether this person is really a candidate that you want to interview.

If you have conveyed information about the job with enthusiasm and passion, you should have this candidate’s attention. If so, you should move on to address other points such as location, salary, hours and holiday etc.

2. Their Credentials

So, you have their attention – great! Now it is time to qualify the candidate’s suitability. Make sure they tell you why they’re a good fit and why they are interested – you’re interviewing them now!

Are they motivated? Do they fit the company culture? Continue forming an opinion and be mindful that how you engage and question them now, will impact on the quality and substance of the interview.

GO INTO DETAIL ABOUT:

• Duties of the role, their current/previous job and why their skill set is applicable for this role.
• Understand what their current circumstances are & why they’re looking to move jobs.
• How do other positions and companies that the candidate is considering compare to your role and your company? What stages are they at with other companies, and are they likely to take an offer?  Asking these types of questions at this stage will help you to gauge the candidate’s interest and stop you wasting your time.

Don’t be afraid to challenge their interests in the job and their motivations about working for your company. Suggest that their other job opportunities sound preferable to see how they react.

Remember, you want to control this process; you want to make sure you have 3 interested candidates when you hold interviews so you’d rather have people drop out now!

3. The power of 3

Throughout the call, keep checking why they’re interested, ask them to be specific about certain points including their motivational reasons. Re-visit these at least 3 times so you know they have a clear understanding about the position and you can understand why they’re interested.

This all contributes to establishing a candidate’s commitment.

Confirm, reaffirm and check again that they have a free diary, that they’re interested and that they definitely don’t have any other commitments that day.

Go into detail about how they will get there, how long it takes & what method of transport they’ll use.

By being thorough at the first stage you will be able to reduce any doubt that they might have about the job and subsequently, you will have increased the chances substantially of them turning up and delivering a good interview.