I often tell the interviewers I’m training, “it’s a relationship, not a transaction.” Understanding and embracing this is critical to the recruiting process and the candidate experience.

First, both parties have given up some of their time to participate in an initial interview; they’ve made an investment. Yes, the candidate is looking for a job and the employer is looking to make a hire; but, this is just step one! Why not set the expectations at a more reasonable level.

For candidates, look to learn something about the company, their structure, methodologies they employ, cultural values, etc. Learning and thinking about that will help you make better decisions about your career as you’ll learn what you like, don’t like, and where you fit best.

For interviewers, at the very least look to build out your network. But even more that that, seek to learn something from the candidate. I’ve learned all about new frameworks, interesting new tools, and personal productivity hacks. But, I’ve also gained so much insight into how different organizations work; what makes a good company (and thereby trains good people) and what contributes to low-quality businesses; and, I’ve learned about people and how they navigate life.

This initial relationship, formed over a 30 minute (or so) interview, is an amazing thing. Most likely won’t last beyond the interview, but some will. And regardless, both sides have the opportunity to learn from each other, making the time spent worthwhile for both parties.

I say this is critical to the candidate experience when practicing Open Recruiting because I believe that your perspective will come out in your speech. If you approach it as a transaction, the candidate will know that you’re only interested in making a deal. For most candidates, a new job is a major event, not just a deal, and so treating the interview as the start of relationship is appropriate for them given the magnitude of the potential outcome, a new job. They will appreciate the recruiters same level of respect.