7 Reasons Why Recruiters Should Hold Multiple Rounds of Interviews While Hiring

HR shouldn’t base hiring decisions on their first introduction

For any candidate, the stretch of time between the final interview and the organization’s decision can be stressful. On one hand, candidates are singularly focused on whether they got the job or not, yet the organization doesn’t share the same sense of urgency.  

Recruiters have plenty of other things to deal with besides making the hiring decision. There are more interviews to conduct, more candidates to screen for different roles that were advertised, and more consultations among themselves over who would be the best fit for each role.

Perhaps what’s more surprising to applicants is when they receive invitations to several rounds of interviews, as they don’t see the need for further cross-examination if the first round went well.

In theory, if HR finds a strong candidate for the role, they should receive a job offer after a maximum of three rounds of interviews. However, there’s no hard and fast rule as to how many rounds of interviews are considered acceptable because this varies from one organization to another.

Should recruiters hold multiple rounds of interviews while hiring? Based on our experience, we’ll share the reasons why we think HR shouldn’t base hiring decisions on their first introduction.

You’d hardly find hiring managers deciding on a particular candidate after just one meeting. A great deal of time is needed, especially where there are lots of applicants for the same position before they can find their perfect fit.

On top of that, there are different stages of the interview process all designed to find out different pieces of information about the candidate. In larger companies, the process may take longer because several people need to agree before they can reach a decision.

The interview process isn’t just about getting an invitation, being screened and then getting the job offer. In most cases, it’s a complex process that involves multiple types of interviews.

Here’s a little insight into the types of interviews and what recruiters expect to achieve with each one.

The telephone interview is designed to weed out unsuitable candidates when recruiting for any role based on fundamental requirements. This type of interview also brings out potential deal-breakers and ascertains whether or not the candidate’s skills stack up to what’s on their resume.

After the telephone interview, successful applicants receive invitations to a face-to-face interview. At this phase, the company is interested in giving the candidate a job, but the onus is on the candidate to prove the recruiters right and convince them that they deserve a job offer.

Face-to-face meetings help recruiters ascertain certain verbal and non-verbal cues about the candidate without asking questions. Such cues include things like punctuality, confidence, organization skills, and how confident they are that they can get the job done.

Recruiters can also ask questions that determine whether the candidate is a good culture fit and how bad they want the job.

The behavioral interview assesses how candidates have handled specific situations in their previous jobs, which will help recruiters evaluate future performance. The scenarios recruiters select to come up with behavior-based interview questions are similar to the ones the candidate will be encountering in the role they’re interviewing for.

Recruiters use the case interview to assess the candidate’s skills for the position. The candidate will be given a scenario, which they’ll probably encounter when working for the organization, and asked how they’d manage it or solve a business problem.

While there’s no single approach to solving the case, recruiters are simply looking for an effectively communicated approach and gain insight even where there’s no obvious way to resolve the problem.

As its name suggests, a stress interview helps recruiters assess how the candidate responds in certain stressful situations at work. Questions at this stage range from distressing to aggressive, sometimes confrontational and even inappropriate.

Structured or competency-based interviews are used to assess a candidate's interpersonal competencies and soft skills, which vary depending on the role they’re interviewing for. Such competencies and skills may include leadership, teamwork, decisiveness, resilience and communication.

Recruiters may sometimes use group interviews to assess multiple candidates simultaneously especially when hiring for multiple positions.

The panel interview involves multiple interviewers from the same company or an external organization. The questions may vary depending on the role and the company, but the main aim is to minimize the risk of a bad hire.

Lunch interviews take place over a meal and the recruiter’s main aim is to assess how the candidate interacts with the host, how they address serving staff and others in the restaurant. Such interviews are more casual than the office setting interview and involve a lot of observation of body language, mannerisms and small talk.

Reasons Why Recruiters Should Have Further Rounds of Interviews

As you can see, there’s an astonishing amount of information that recruiters glean from and learn through different types of interviews.

But is it still necessary to have further rounds of interviews? There are many reasons for this, but we’ve outlined the primary ones below.

As a recruiter, you’ve probably had initial positive impressions from the telephone and face-to-face interviews about the candidate’s skills, competencies and potential cultural fit. However, it’s important to confirm your first impressions before offering them a job just to rule out any concerts and get a closer look at the person.

In most cases, the recruiter may be alone when meeting the candidate for the first time, whether on phone, via video call (here are some video conferencing tools) or face to face. Introducing coworkers to the hiring process allows them to add their input into vetting the candidate’s qualifications and interacting with them as they’ll be invested in the potential employee’s success once hired.

Multiple rounds of interviews, especially after a successful and impressive first round helps recruiters assess whether the candidate remains the same all through or they’re just putting up an appearance. Plus, you get a new level of insight into the candidate’s interpersonal interaction skills, social competence and manners.

By the second interview, the candidate knows a little more about the company, employees and more. Recruiters also have different expectations of the candidate and holding further rounds of interviews helps them see whether the candidate will rise to the challenge. On top of that, the candidate, at this point, should be able to share ideas for the position and what they can contribute if picked for the position.

Multiple interviews also give recruiters a chance to put the candidate to work and hear or see the results of their efforts. You can assess the candidate’s experience, creativity, thoroughness, follow-through, personal and professional traits.

Recruiters can leverage interviews to market the organization to the candidate and demonstrate what it’s like to work there. Coworkers can also share their stories about the organization to provide a sense of the expectations and challenges of the work environment and illuminate the culture. Chatbot platforms are a great way to introduce people to your organization and answer some of the frequently asked questions.

Another reason why recruiters should hold multiple rounds of interviews is that the candidate may have applied for one job, but the recruiters thought they would fit another. If the recruiters like the person and their qualifications, they may prefer to place him or her in a position other than the one they’re interviewing for.

It used to be that companies would progress shortlisted candidates through a three-round interviewing system to find the best fit for the position. Today, recruiters structure interview schedules with specific intent and unique purpose, with each stage serving a critical role in determining which candidate has the most potential to shine.