The next event you have to organize is quite unusual: your objective is to plan a recruitment day. In just a few hours, your mission is to see as many candidates as possible in order to recruit the future talents of your team.
But rather than organizing simple chain interviews, the organization of a recruitment day allows you to put your candidates in conditions and especially create a healthy atmosphere of emulation, more than a real competition.
How to organize this type of event and what kinds of activities to set up to attract candidates from the beginning of the day? Eventdrive tells you its secrets for the organization of the perfect recruitment day.
The course of a recruitment day
A recruitment session that takes place over a day must be particularly focused, because the event goes by very quickly and the stakes are high. It is important to determine each step carefully beforehand in order to avoid chaos on D-Day.
A welcoming time
The time you welcome candidates is important, because your brand image is already at stake. You entered the seduction phase when you summoned them, but everything becomes very real when they arrive on the scene and as they say, the first impression is often the best! Welcome your guests with a good breakfast that will make them feel comfortable while putting them in shape.
An individual presentation of the candidates
After spending a little time eating, you can start to get to know your candidates. The goal here is to go a little deeper by asking rather original questions rather than the banal “What’s your name?” or “Where are you from? ».
You have two choices: either put them in condition directly by asking questions to which you expect an immediate answer, or send them a list of 4 or 5 questions that they will have to prepare in advance. For example, you can ask what is the object that most describes them, what they would bring if they could only take 3 things on a desert island or to tell you a little joke.
This presentation time should only last a few minutes per candidate, but is very important for the recruiter, as it allows him/her to define the personalities. And the bonus is that it helps to create a relaxing atmosphere. 😉
A group challenge
Then follow with a group test. Here, of course, your goal is to analyze how candidates work as a team and how they solve a problem under pressure.
To do this, you must have chosen a place that allows the creation of small work areas and make available all the equipment you would have offered to your own team. Again, your brand image is at stake and must show candidates how they would have to work if they were to collaborate with you.
Discover our invitation email templates!
A moment of relaxation
Before continuing the selections, it may be interesting to include a little moment of relaxation. A break with a snack is of course essential, but why not go further in the idea? For example, you could show the offices, pictures of your latest team-building or introduce some members of your team. All this in a very informal way!
A written test
Depending on your needs, you can continue the recruitment day with a written test. It can be a language test if you need bilingual employees or data analysis if you are looking for marketing professionals. Regardless of the content of the test, it will be necessary to be able to offer a seat to all the candidates you receive to allow them to work under the best possible conditions.
A group meal
To close the morning, invite your candidates to eat a good meal. The easiest way to do this is to set up a buffet with sandwiches and sweets. This meal time will allow your team to make a choice among the candidates based on the morning’s results and select the candidates they preferred for the individual interviews in the afternoon. Whether you like it or not, a certain competitive atmosphere will have been created since the morning. By offering candidates lunch together, you allow everyone to relax and think about something else. It is also a way of thanking them for having made the trip and especially those who will not be selected for the afternoon.
Individual interviews
After the meal, it is necessary to continue with the phase of individual interviews. Don’t forget that your candidates have already been working all morning, so make sure you give it a more informal tone. It is also a way to discover a little more about the candidate, his professional background and above all to see how he expresses himself when he is alone. From an organizational point of view, make sure you have enough meeting rooms and human resources to accommodate all the selected candidates. The goal is not to keep them waiting all afternoon and cause stress to rise for no reason.
The results announcement
Finally, after debriefing with your teams and selecting the best candidates, the rule is to announce the results the same evening. It has been an intense day for your candidates, so the least you can do is to give them a quick feedback on their performance.
5 things to remember before organizing your recruitment day
Ensure that the whole process is well defined.
The day will be stressful for candidates, no need to add unnecessary stress because they can’t find the room where they need to go to.
Make sure that the workshops are adapted to the proposed position.
Even if this is a group interview, it is important to put them in real working conditions by making them work on a real case study that they could have dealt with in their daily job.
Do not neglect the stage of individual interviews.
This step remains the basis of recruitment and allows you to clearly identify your candidate’s potential, so don’t forget to spend some time on it.
Don’t forget the relaxation times.
Put yourself in the shoes of your candidates and imagine the state they are in. A little break in the whole process won’t hurt anyone.😉
Give a quick feedback to candidates.
It will be an intense day for candidates. So your job is to do such a thorough job with a quick result.
Organizing a recruitment day is not easy. Usually, an event is designed to relax your guests, but you may be dealing with people under pressure. Don’t lose sight of your main objective: recruit one or more talents, but don’t forget to keep a little more fun in the thing. After all, working with you can also be fun, so why not show it to candidates?
