Improve the Interview Experience and Recruit Better Talent
Updated July 8, 2026
Anyone who’s recruited for open sales roles already knows that posting a list of job openings alongside a graphic of your company’s values is easy. Demonstrating those values is the real challenge.
There’s an attitude on both sides of the interview table that can leave the hiring and selection process flat, disconnected, and cold. Here are four ways to keep it engaging, efficient, and worth remembering.
Tip 1: Keep the Online Application Process Quick and Easy
Every day a sales opening goes unfilled costs you revenue, and a clunky application process is one of the easiest ways to lose candidates before the interview even starts.
LinkedIn’s quick apply has made that first step easier. But some of our best clients take it further: they save the full application for the end of the process, not the beginning. A candidate who’s already met the team and is excited about the role will gladly fill out paperwork. A candidate who hasn’t met anyone yet has little reason to push through a long form, and every reason to abandon it halfway through.
Tip 2: Make the Interview Interesting for Both of You
Asking the same questions every time bores everyone involved. One of our clients runs an exercise worth borrowing: she gives sales candidates a list of words and asks them to pick the five that describe them best, then walks through the choices together in the interview.
One candidate grew frustrated that he could only pick five. He wanted room to explain himself with more nuance than the exercise allowed. But by the end, every candidate she’s run it with has enjoyed the conversation. It gives candidates a way to connect with the hiring manager on more than their resume, on how they see themselves.
Tip 3: Don’t Over-Automate the Interview Process
Scheduling tools and automated interview platforms are efficient. They’re also, by design, a little mechanical.
Some of our largest clients have leaned hard into automation, turning what should be a chance to get to know a candidate into more of a processing line. It’s efficient. It also costs them talent. Candidates can tell the difference between a process and a person, and it’s hard to get excited about joining a company that never let you connect.
Tip 4: Provide Timely and Balanced Feedback
Interviewees appreciate understanding the process in full and how seriously they’re being considered. Researching a company, prepping for an interview, and taking time off from a full-time job all take hours, just to show up for one meeting.
Some of our clients are excellent about this. Feedback comes fast, and their pipeline keeps moving. Others struggle to make a decision, and it costs them. Candidates, especially your best ones, are having other conversations at the same time, and slow feedback is often what costs you the offer.
Better the Experience, Better the Brand
It’s easy to forget what it feels like to interview at another company. Step back and look at the process through a candidate’s eyes, and the improvements become obvious.
Use these ideas, brainstorm more with your team, and keep the ones that move your recruiting goals forward. Then watch the results and keep adjusting.
