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February 9th, 2023
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Are face-to-face interviews REALLY necessary for contractors?
Good contractors can be hard to come by, and making sure you hire someone who can complete the work on time and fit the company culture can be a challenge. To do this you may have a demanding recruitment process for both permanent and contract staff, but sometimes a different approach is needed for contractors.
Having worked in the data and analytics industry for several years I have come across plenty of contractors who struggle to meet the demands of a face-to-face interview.
Unless a contractor is already at the end of their contract, going to a face-to-face interview means taking time off work and losing a whole day’s rate. And for many contractors this is a big commitment, especially when going forward for shorter three-month contracts.
I believe that there are good, and sometime better alternatives to a face-to-face interview when hiring a contractor.
In many cases a good CV can speak for itself, and asks the question if face-to-face is really necessary? While wanting someone who can fit in with the company culture is important, the skills of contractor should tell the story. As an employer, there are several questions you should ask yourself about the contractor:
- How long have previous contracts been?
- Have any contracts been extended more than once?
- Have they jumped around a lot or been in one place for a while?
I believe the answers to these questions will tell you a lot of what you would find out in a face-to-face interview.
However, you may still feel like some sort of interview is necessary, and I agree, but there are other ways to conduct an interview.
If your contract is urgent you may not have time to conduct a face-to-face interview, and as I mentioned above the contractor won’t want to lose a day’s pay. Many of these interviews can be done over Skype or the phone, and this will give you a chance to find out more about previous contracts and about personality fits.
While face-to-face interviews have a purpose, when hiring data and analytics contractors I think finding someone with the right skills quickly and efficiently is more important.
Do you think face-to-face interviews are necessary for contractors? Do you have experience of hiring without an interview?
KDR Recruitment is the home of the best Information Management and Data Analytics jobs. For more hiring advice and opinions check out the KDR blog or follow KDR on LinkedIn.
