Interviews are a stressful for all involved, if you are a candidate you are worried if you are suitable for the job and if you are the interviewer you are generally worried if you will find the right candidate and that you won’t have just wasted the companies money.

After a few years in the recruitment industry I have found something that works well is, at the beginning of a second round interview is give the candidate a short tour around the office and introduce them to some people, not only is this good for the candidate to help them picture themselves in your office but it also allows you to get some feedback from other team members on the candidates and whether they feel the candidate is good or not.

So who should you introduce the candidate to besides the hiring manager and immediate supervisor who are generally conducting the interview:

The Receptionist – this is the first person that a candidate will meet when they come into the office and they will start to think if this is the right work environment for them from there. I think it is always important to let the receptionist know that you have someone coming in for an interview, it will make the candidate feel better knowing they are expected.

Peers – on your tour of the office introduce the candidate to a couple of people who work in similar roles or will be on the same level of the candidate this helps the candidate feel more relaxed and open up more in their interview, with this though make sure to choose someone who is in a good mood as the candidate will love being welcomed in by friendly people.

Their team members – if the candidates are applying for a management position introduce them to some of their potential team members.

Taking someone for a 15 minute office tour is a great thing to do and it helps the candidate picture themselves working with your company, it is also good for staff moral as your current staff will feel more involved in the decision making process.