As part of your company’s interviewing team, you want to bring aboard high-quality new hires in as short a time as possible. This saves both time and money and increases the likelihood of hiring your first-choice applicants. As a result, you should be limiting your number of interviews to maximize efficiency. The more you narrow down your applicant pool, the more quickly you can interview and bring aboard the best candidate for the job.

Follow these guidelines to determine the number of interviews you should schedule to fill a job opening.

Narrow Your Number of Applicants Interviewed

A general guideline is to meet with three to five applicants during your first round of interviews and two to three applicants during your second round of interviews. If you meet with more applicants than this, you may not be sufficiently qualifying them before deciding who to interview.

Keep in mind that there is no set formula to determine the exact number of applicants to interview. Some roles attract a wider applicant pool than others. Your quality of applicants can vary as well. These factors may impact the number of applicants you interview to find the best hire.

Determine Which Applicants to Interview

Keep in mind which skill set you are hiring for. The applicants you decide to meet with need to have the essential skills to perform the work. Also, consider the level of training you are willing to provide. The applicants who have the essential competencies can be ranked by the number of desirable skills they possess. Then, you can use the first round of interviews to judge each applicant’s cultural fit and personality.

You might want to use pre-screening methods to further narrow your number of applicants for interviews. This may include aptitude tests or personality profiles. You could check references, qualifications, and criminal background activity as well.

Talk with a Staffing Agency  

Involve a recruiter from a staffing agency in your hiring process. They can preselect applicants based on your qualifications and expectations. You can interview each applicant, decide which is the best fit, and work with the recruiter to negotiate a job offer. This helps you get top talent working for you in a short amount of time.

Partner with Morris Bixby Group

Work with a recruiter from Morris Bixby Group to add agricultural hires to your team. Talk with us today.