I spend a vast amount of time interviewing candidates that I approach with opportunities. The key point here is that I "approach them". Generally speaking they are not looking for a job, it is therefore essential they are considered with this in mind.
However I think the general approaches that I outline here are the same if you want to secure any preferred candidate.
The war for talent is not over, the austere times we are in have not changed this. It has instead shifted. Beth Axelrod's book that first popularised this concept was anchored on the fact that economies were booming and the skills base was not keeping up. Now we have shifted to slow growth and/or recession so the war for talent has shifted and the best candidates are move nervous to move. The challenge is further exaggerated by the fact that there has been a boom in the demand for niche skills each creating its own gaps. Moreover, no matter what the market conditions there are always a limited number of outstanding candidates. When you add to this the importance of cultural fit to a business if you find a great person who also has the skills then you need to fight to secure them.
The best employers know that you can not interview any candidate with the mindset of "why should I hire you", chances are they might think of you as arrogant as they don't yet know if they want the job. The interview is a chance for you to sell your company and an opportunity to attract them. Seems obvious doesn't it? Yet so many companies get this wrong. Candidates are assessing employers too and your attitude and/or interview process tells them a lot about the culture and how you treat people generally. Candidates will steer clear very fast if they test the temperature and find it wanting.
Right from the 1st point of contact you want everything to be positive and welcoming to candidates. Make sure all your correspondence is warm and welcoming and that the people who front your recruitment are friendly and positive. An attitude that gives any impression that the business is an unhappy or negative place to be will put people off. I am sure you don't have a surly receptionist but if this is even a slight problem get your best person front of house on interview day.
When you meet with a candidate for the 1st time make sure there is a clearly agreed agenda in place with all interviewees. Plan out what you want to achieve and who are the best people to deliver the messages. Use the recruiter / HR's notes to plan out what the candidate will need to know. A good recruiter should also be able to coach you on the candidate's emotional hot buttons or the things personal to them that they will need to know or see. If the candidate is very visual in their thinking prepare a presentation with lots of images and graphs, if they are detailed and analytic get numbers together in a spreadsheet in advance and so forth.
The meeting needs to start with an appropriate introduction to the business, the main selling points - as if you are pitching to a prospective client - include the things you are most proud of.
Then it should move to more detail of the role, the vision you have for that role if it performs and what you expect of the future. Only after this point should you then move to questioning the candidate and this should be done by check backs "how does this sound to you?", "is this vision aligned to what you want" and then progressively move towards more probing questions such as "help me understand when in your career to date you have solved a similar issue" or "how does that resemble your skills"?
Assuming you handle this right and get the balance between selling yourself and assessing them - then you will have the best candidates willing themselves to do well so they can join your team. But go in under prepared and open with "so tell me about yourself and why you would be good in this role" will make the candidate double take, draw in a depth breath and flounder because they haven't a clue what you need or if they want to tell you, resulting in a missed opportunity for you both.
Sounds simple but it is remarkable how many great candidates I have sent to interview who come back and when I ask if they want the job say "I don't know".
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