Hiring a meeting room to interview candidates for your organisation is a good idea if your workplace isn’t suitable. Maybe you work from home and need a neutral space to conduct your interviews, or you might need to interview candidates in another part of the country.
Setting up a room for an interview is an important part of creating the right environment for an effective interview- for both the interviewer and the interviewee.
Step 1: Choose the right venue
The venue for your interviews will set the tone for your relationship with your new employee. The exact size and location of the room you hire will depend on your specific needs, but try to choose somewhere that will reflect the ethos of your organisation’s work culture.
The space should be large enough to accommodate everybody, without being too large. If you have no other option than to use a big room, rearrange the furniture to create a more intimate zone within it.
Consider whether you will you need facilities such as:
Flipcharts,
TV screens,
Wi-Fi access,
Refreshments, or
A separate desk to conduct a skills test.
Step 2: Make some changes to the room
Once you have chosen the best venue for the interview, if necessary, make some small changes to the room. You could:
Remove, or cover, any distractions
Make sure that you can see the time, without having to look at your watch
If you have no other option than to use a big room, rearrange the furniture to create a more intimate zone within it
Think about the positioning of the chairs, about 1.5 metres apart is usually ideal
Think about whether having a desk between you and candidate is appropriate, it isn’t always. Objects like this can create a barrier that hides body language
Step 3: Consider your approach
You will need to think about scheduling and how long you will need to hire the room for. It may be best to schedule all interviews for the same day, to save you money on hiring the room.
Prepare your questions in advance, and don’t settle for cliché questions!
What else can you do to make the candidate feel comfortable and calm? For example, let them know if you need them to prepare anything well in advance.
Contact us at Able Meeting Rooms today to discuss your meeting room requirements:
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