Video “first touch” At Zinc, the first round of screening is a video interview set and recorded by the hiring manager, which gives a glimpse of the candidate’s personality and their skills early on. Look internally If it makes sense for the role, opening it up internally first can be a great way to find qualified candidates who are already a known quantity. At Zinc, 6 out of 59 hires in 2025 were internal moves (and big successes).
Run parallel assessments
With the right automations, you can test skills, have initial screening calls, and run hiring manager interviews in overlapping stages to keep candidates engaged. Just be sure you’re not asking them for too much, though, so they’re not overwhelmed.
Consider paid assessments Kristina Alexander, Onboarding & HR Manager at BPP, pitched us on giving candidates a task, a deadline, and paying them for it. “This can eliminate endless interviews, because the hiring team can see what the candidate is capable of when they don’t have pressure,” she said. Where to make up the cost? Saving the time of stakeholders who don’t have to block out their calendars for interviews.
Get really, really transparent
Publish salary ranges, interview steps, and decision timelines upfront. As soon as anything changes, let candidates know, to eliminate drop- off and set expectations.
“Really cross-examine and continue to revisit those parts of the process that have the highest amount of repeated tasks. There are lots of hidden time-saving gems.”
Gamify your employee referrals Most companies offer £££ in return for successful referrals. But what about other perks? If you can’t afford to hand out cash, consider extra vacation days, charity donations, or other fun perks.
Train your team Have a cross-functional pool of interviewers from teams across the business who can jump in when the hiring manager isn’t free and keep the process moving along. Be sure to provide training and support so they’re not going in blind.
Don’t wait for the debrief
Schedule time immediately following each interview for a 15-minute debrief to get interviewer feedback right away — not in 48 hours.
CHARLOTTE EGAN, TALENT ACQUISITION OPTIMISATION & DATA MANAGER AT JOHN LEWIS PARTNERS
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