Job interview | How can HR help nervous candidates to relax?

Scouring through reels of candidate applications and CVs may allow hiring managers to gauge a candidate’s skillset and experience levels, but often this doesn’t provide employers with enough concrete information to base a recruitment decision.

If the hiring manager is impressed by the individual’s application, it is likely that the candidate will be invited in for a face-to-face interview. The interview will give the hirer further insights into the candidate’s interpersonal skills, give them an opportunity to delve into the candidate’s career history and see whether the individual is a good character match for the company. And to be able to properly see the candidate’s personality in its entirety, it’s important that interviewees feel relaxed. But how can HR achieve this?

Alex Arundale, Group HR Director at Advanced told HR Grapevine that it is HR’s responsibility to get the best out of a candidate and create an atmosphere that allows candidates to fully be themselves. She explained:

“Interviews can feel overwhelming and stressful, with the wish to impress, and so my approach is to bring humility and humour from the first moment."