The hiring process consists of everything from creating a job description to extending the job offer. The typical interview process focuses on the portion of the hiring process devoted to speaking with candidates. After you source candidates and gather applicant resumes, you need to narrow down your pool. For example, you could receive hundreds of resumes, but you won’t interview all those people. Here are the basic steps of the interview process. You or your client might choose to add more depending on their business needs. Telephone screening (recruiter) Telephone interview (client) Face-to-face interview (client and recruiter) Reviewing notes and discussing candidates (recruiter and client) Conducting reference checks (recruiter) Small Talk Information Gathering Question/Answer Wrapping Up