Q&A with an Insider recruiter: How we transitioned to remote recruiting during the COVID-19 pandemic
Job recruiting and interviewing can be time consuming, stressful, and unpredictable in the best of times. When the pandemic hit in March, many businesses were forced to rethink and digitize their traditional recruiting processes to accommodate a newly remote workforce. Old traditions like multi-day interview sessions and handshakes were replaced by Zoom calls and virtual team meet and greets.
We sat down with a recruiter at Insider— Melenee Suarez Burns — to understand how her job has changed since March, what she misses most about in person recruiting, and what remote recruiting techniques she thinks are here to stay.
(Melenee Suarez Burns)
Please introduce yourself! How did you get started at Insider? What’s your role at the company? What team do you work on?
I’m Melenee Suarez Burns and I’ve been a recruiter for almost 20 years. I applied to a job posted on LinkedIn, so I’m proof that we DO read resumes that come through our Applicant Tracking System (ATS). I started at Insider in October 2019 as a Tech and Product contract recruiter and have been lucky enough to join Insider as a Full time employee as of Oct 2020.
My passion and specialty is in Tech / IT recruitment and Diversity of person and mind.
What was the recruiting process at Insider like before COVID-19, and what is it like now? How did your day-to-day routine change as Insider moved employees out of physical offices and into remote work?
Pre-COVID, there was a lot of interpersonal interaction - of course - and it was encouraged! We were all in an open welcoming office, so if you had a question, needed an update, required permission, you could just mosey on up to someone and “get it done.”
Hiring candidates to work remotely has been a bit interesting... I miss a good handshake and an engaging eye-to-eye conversation.
Post-COVID, I’ve noticed the one major change is how constantly I’m on the computer. The amount of time I spend on the internet, checking emails, and keeping an eye on several Slack channels has jumped exponentially since the office went remote in March. Also interviewing via video seems to be much more taxing on the candidate - now we add breaks when a candidate has a “virtual on-site” with several managers.
Somehow I have reduced my need to print things! I’m also much less stressed – I don’t have to shake off my morning commute or arm myself back up at the end of the day to face a ride on the NYC subway.
What are the benefits of remote recruiting?
I feel like I have the ability to spend more time on-task. Sometimes you had to run across the office or up a flight of stairs for your next meeting or interview… When I was working out of the physical office, I would book rooms for 30-minute spots, which meant I needed to get all of my interview questions in during that time frame. Now that we are remote, there’s less pressure to get all the questions asked quickly, and I can spend more time with each candidate as needed.
Also, it has been great to be able to hire people who are remote. The tech talent that is available these days has been the best I have ever seen (albeit often for sad reasons related to the economy and layoffs). Plus, there’s a new pool of talent available that we might not have been able to consider before. For instance, I feel being able to hire people from the 19 states we are registered in has added and enhanced our D,E,&I initiatives and efforts.
What are the drawbacks?
Not being to meet people – even after they are hired. I miss being able to chat with someone I helped hire - in the kitchen, elevator or hallways - during their first week at work. Another drawback is I have lost my ability to learn by osmosis… I no longer get to listen to Engineers and Product managers discuss projects or witness a UX Designer find the perfect layout. There is such a positive formidable learning environment at Insider.
When employees start going back into offices, do you think that the recruiting process will return to the way it was before the pandemic, or will some (or all) of the new practices stay?
Yes, I think we will and should go back to our former interview process, but I do think it will be a while still before we go back to shaking hands! However, I do like the number of video interviews we do now. I am hoping that we continue with a blended version of the current interview process — and I hope we continue to hire people who prefer remote work.
What can other companies learn from how Insider is handling remote recruiting?
The importance of communication, communication, and more communication. Also, understanding that our new processes are just as foreign, uncertain, and stressful for our applicants and candidates as they are for us. Being flexible and willing to turn on a dime at times is crucial to continuous improvement.