How does Open Interview Works

Turing Staff
•6 min read
- Hiring vetted talent
Many people would agree that open job interviews are like a hit-or-miss opportunity. Unlike But what exactly is an open job interview? How does it work? Let's get to all of it.
As per Forbes, on average, just 20% of applicants make it to the interview round. This low average selection rate can be attributed to talent management software that screens resumes and rejects about 50% of resumes by itself. Open job interviews help recruiters to do things differently.
What is an open interview?
Open interviews, also known as walk-in interviews, are open events for candidates to meet the hiring manager for interview screening. The hiring manager or employer interviews all the candidates who walk into their premises for an appointment. Most employers reveal the interview results after conducting all the interviews.
Open interviews reduce the hiring time and help offer equal opportunity to all job candidates. The hiring manager may shortlist candidates from the open interview session and conduct another round to choose the final candidates.
How does it work?
Open job interviews save much time otherwise spent on hiring, favoring both employers and candidates. Employers conduct job interviews at business premises, a job fair, or a related event.
Open interview at the business location
Mostly, businesses conduct open interviews at their business location. This type of interview is initiated by employers when they want to fill multiple positions altogether.
For example, a new hotel that will soon open in your city may conduct open interviews for various roles related to hospitality, servicing, and cooking. This is a great way find more candidates in a restricted period of time to meet the business needs.
Open interview at the job fair
Job fairs are big events that are conducted to recruit the workforce. Various companies participate in job fairs to find ideal candidates through open interviews. Job fairs are an ideal place to find a large pool of talent.
Companies take up a booth or table for interviewing candidates to leverage the benefit of this talent coward. If a company is hiring for multiple positions, it can have multiple booths at which representatives can interview candidates simultaneously.
Open interview at a selected location
It isn’t necessary to conduct open interviews at your business location or job fair. You can also choose to conduct it at any other location, like a hotel conference room or any other venue sufficient to accommodate all the interviewees.
However, in such a situation make sure that you advertise the interview correctly and various suitable candidates get to know about the interview and appear for it.
Things to check for in an open job interview
When you conduct an open job interview, you skip the resume and document screening process. That is why it is important to check for the following things when you conduct an open job interview.
Personal information
When you begin the recruitment process by inviting job applications, you get ample time to check for candidates’ personal information. In the case of an open job interview, this step is eliminated. So make sure to begin the open job interview by going through the following information:
- Contact details: You need to check for the candidate’s full name, contact number, address, and email ID. Make sure to collect all this information from each candidate before you begin the interview.
- Career history: Checking for career history is important when conducting open job interviews. Once you go through the candidate’s experience, look for the employer's and supervisors' names and note their contact numbers.
- Education background: Another thing to check before you begin the interview session is to check the educational background of every candidate. Make sure to have a quick look at their educational degree and level of education completed for the job you are hiring them.
- Certifications: Certifications tell a lot about a candidate’s proficiencies and abilities. So, if a candidate has certifications check for the certifying body, date of expiration if applicable, and certification number.
- Run an identity check: Recruiters often interview a large pool of candidates during the open interview. In such a case, it is important to check all the applicants' ID and record it. You can choose from their government-issued ID, driver’s license, work visa if they are from a different country, etc.
- Candidate references: It isn’t enough to just review a candidate’s references and note their contact number. You should also try to call some references and verify the candidate’s information, experience level, and skills.
Keep a copy of the candidate’s resume
Although you will go through all the candidate information when you go through the candidate’s information, keeping a copy of each candidate’s resume is still advisable. This is because you can go through the resumes of all the candidates later and make the final selection.
Pay attention to body language
Every candidate presents themselves as the ideal fit for the job, but not all possess the capability they say they have. So the best way to screen a candidate is to look for body language cues in all their responses.
Conduct a group interview
Many times recruiters get an overwhelming response for open interviews. In such a case, it becomes difficult for a single interviewer to interview all the candidates. The best way to deal with such a situation is to conduct group interviews.
With the group interview technique you can interview various candidates simultaneously and conduct more interviews in the same time frame.
The open interview process
The open interview cannot be conducted without a pool of candidates willing to work in your company. To attract this pool of candidates, you will need to promote, demonstrate and interview candidates for the position.
- Promote: As stated, for interviewing a pool of candidates, you must promote the open interview event among potential candidates. To do that, leverage online platforms like LinkedIn. This way, you can spread the word about the open interview that your company will conduct. You can also advertise the open interview in the newspaper to reach a large pool of candidates to visit your office. If you run a small company, you can even invite candidates to your office premises and give them a chance to take an office tour to be more sure about your company.
- Demonstrate your products and services: Another great way to attract a large pool of talent is to demonstrate your company's products and services. You can try creative and fun ways to offer a hands-on experience with your services or products. Such initiatives make a huge difference in candidates’ attitudes. It can help drive candidates’ interest and make them know why they should work for you.
- Conducting open interviews: Open interviews are a great way of getting in touch with candidates actively looking for a job. With quick open interviews, you can screen various applicants. If the number of candidates appearing for the interview exceeds your expectations, you can carry on the process for the next day and give a chance to all the applicants.
One important thing to consider is interviewing candidates whose professional background matches the job role you are hiring for. For instance, you cannot hire a social media manager to handle sales.
Final words
Open interviews serve as an excellent method for drawing in a broad spectrum of candidates, especially when you aim to hire remote developers. However, their true potential may remain untapped if not meticulously planned and executed with a strategic vision.
To optimize the outcome of your open interview initiative, it's crucial to grasp the mechanics of how open interviews function and to master the art of conducting these interviews effectively.
In this endeavor, Turing emerges as your trusted partner, simplifying and streamlining your processes to ensure you can effortlessly identify and onboard the best remote developers.
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Author
Turing Staff