Informal interviews
Informal interviews are casual conversations between an interviewer and a candidate. Unlike structured interviews, these are designed to assess a candidate’s personality, interests, and alignment with the company values rather than focusing solely on technical or job-specific skills. Discussions can range from personal interests to the candidate’s career goals, often creating a more relaxed and open dialogue.
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Benefits and considerations of informal interviews
Benefits
- Comfort for candidates: The informal nature can create a more relaxed environment for neurodivergent candidates. However, the unstructured nature means there is a greater reliance on interpersonal skills, which may not align with the strengths of all neurodivergent individuals, particularly autistic candidates.
- Building rapport: Helps in creating a friendly connection that can make the candidate more open and communicative.
- Understanding the person: Allows a deeper understanding of the candidate’s personality, interests, and potential value alignment within the company.
- Efficiency: Acts as an effective screening tool to quickly gauge if a candidate should be advanced to more formal interview stages.
Considerations and solutions
- Prepare and guide the conversation: The unstructured nature can lead to missing key discussion points.
- Solution: Interviewers should use prompts to guide the conversation to cover job-relevant topics.
- Reliance on interpersonal skills: The unstructured nature means there is a greater reliance on interpersonal skills, which may not align with the strengths of all neurodivergent individuals, particularly autistic candidates.
- Solution: Adjust the interview format to include structured elements that can help showcase a candidate’s skills more effectively.
- Ensuring unbiased evaluation: The casual nature of the interaction can sometimes lead to unconscious biases affecting the assessment.
- Solution: Train interviewers on bias awareness and ensure evaluations are based on predefined criteria that directly relate to job performance.
- Maintain professionalism and balance: The informal setting may lead to oversharing or discussions on irrelevant topics, and there’s a risk of the discussion veering too far from professional topics.
- Solution: Both parties should maintain a professional demeanour, focusing on topics related to the candidate’s role or aspirations, while ensuring the conversation aligns with the job’s requirements yet retains its relaxed tone.
What informal interviews are suited for
- Attributes showcased: Informal interviews are particularly beneficial in roles where value alignment and emotional intelligence are as important as technical skills.
- Roles and industries: Well-suited for start-ups where collaborative team dynamics are essential, as well as creative industries that require frequent teamwork. Effective for customer-facing roles that emphasise interpersonal skills. Particularly useful for roles such as museum curators, creative writers, and animal caretakers, and applicable in industries like non-profits, media, and cultural sectors, where alignment with the organisation’s mission and values is highly valued.
Example: A start-up founder conducting an informal chat with a candidate for a marketing coordinator role might ask about the candidate’s favourite campaigns, hobbies, or recent books they’ve enjoyed. The conversation could naturally progress to discussing how the candidate approaches creative problem-solving. This approach helps the founder gauge the candidate’s personality, creativity, and potential fit within the start-up’s collaborative and dynamic environment.
Conducting neuro-inclusive informal interviews
Informal interviews can provide a relaxed and conversational environment, making it easier for some candidates to showcase their personality and alignment with the company values. By incorporating neuro-inclusive practices, employers can make these interviews are accessible, equitable, and supportive for neurodivergent candidates.
Pre-interview preparation
Informal interviews may lack the structure neurodivergent candidates often prefer, leading to stress or uncertainty about expectations. Additionally, candidates may focus heavily on certain areas while overlooking others, or many over share personal interests, which can make it difficult for the interviewer to gain a comprehensive understanding of their skills and attributes.
Neuro-inclusive strategies
- Neurodivergent awareness training: Ensure all interviewers understand common neurodivergent characteristics and how they may impact in the context of the informal interview.
- Detailed interview information: Share clear details about the interview process in advance, including:
- The time, duration, and location (or virtual platform details).
- A photograph of the person conducting the interview.
- The casual nature of the interview.
- General topics of discussion, such as personal interests, career goals, or aspirations.
- Contact details of a dedicated support person from the organising to answer any questions or queries.
- Accommodations and adjustments: Encourage candidates to request specific accommodations, such as when the interview takes place, avoiding peak-hour times or adjustable lighting during interviews.
- Set expectations: Clearly explain the purpose of the informal interview, such as exploring value alignment or getting to know the candidate’s personality.
- Questions: Provide information on general topics of discussion, such as personal interests, career goals, or aspirations.
Preparing the interview environment
A casual setting can introduce unexpected variables, such as noise or distractions, that may distract candidates.
Neuro-inclusive strategies
- Select an appropriate location: Choose a quiet and comfortable venue for the meeting. If considering cafes or public places, opt for locations that are quieter or times of day when they are less busy. Avoid busy or noisy spaces such as bustling cafes or open-plan office.
- Provide venue details: Share specifics about the venue in advance, including:
- Accessibility features.
- Parking or transport options.
- Seating arrangements or the layout of the space
- Create a welcoming atmosphere: Maintain professionalism while fostering a relaxed tone.
During the interview
Informal interviews rely heavily on unstructured conversation, which may not be a strength for some neurodivergent candidates, such as autistic candidates who often prefer direct and clear communication.
Neuro-inclusive strategies
- Add structure: While informal, provide a brief outline of topics to be discussed, so the candidate knows what to expect.
- Encourage clarification: Let candidates know they can ask for clarification if a question feels unclear or open-ended.
- Keep questions simple and specific: Avoid vague or overly broad questions like “Tell me about yourself.” Instead, ask targeted questions such as:
- “What do you enjoy most about collaborating with others?”
- “What are some career goals you’re passionate about?”
- Allow processing time: Give candidates time to think and respond thoughtfully. Avoid rapid-fire or overly casual transitions that may cause confusion.
- Minimise small talk pressure: Avoid excessive small talk, which can feel overwhelming or irrelevant. Focus on professional and meaningful topics while keeping a conversational tone.
After the interview
Candidates may feel uncertain about next steps or unclear on how their performance was perceived in a less structured setting.
Neuro-inclusive strategies
- Communicate timelines: Clearly state when candidates can expect to hear back and what the next steps will be.
- Provide constructive feedback: Share specific feedback highlighting strengths and areas for improvement. For example:
- “Your enthusiasm for team collaboration really stood out, and we’d love to explore how your skills align with our projects.”
- Evaluate with care: Use a checklist or criteria to ensure informal conversations do not rely solely on subjective impressions, reducing bias in candidate evaluations.
Example of a neuro-inclusive informal interview
Scenario: A start-up conducts an informal interview with a candidate for an animal care role.
Actions taken:
- Informing the candidate: The candidate is informed in advance that the meeting will be casual, with no formal dress code required.
- Setting: The meeting takes place in a quiet space with comfortable seating.
- Interview flow: The interviewer begins by discussing shared professional interests, gradually introducing questions about the candidate’s goals and experience in animal care.
- Supportive measures: The candidate is encouraged to take notes and refer to them while responding.
Outcome: The relaxed, yet structured setting enables the candidate to confidently express their passion and alignment with the company’s mission, ensuring a fair and supportive interview process.
By providing clear information upfront, choosing an appropriate environment, and structuring the conversation to accommodate different needs, the informal interview process becomes more accessible and equitable. Such practices not only help candidates to perform at their best but also ensure that the organisation benefits from a diverse range of talents, ultimately fostering a more inclusive workplace culture.
