How can you use multiple candidate selection methods to improve your hiring process?

Resume screening is a great first approach but you can miss out on a great candidate. I cannot tell you how many candidates I have worked with were “ideal” for a role and they were overlooked. Review their LinkedIn profile. How do they present their personal brand? What skills do they offer that are transferable to the role? Do they share content relevant to the industry? If this candidate appears to have a pulse on the industry and/or represents himself/herself well on LinkedIn and their skills align well with the role, interview them.

Resume screening is an important part of the process when recruiting for specific types of candidates that may require a specialist degree or certification for a particular role. At first glance, you can assess if the candidate has the basic qualifications. However, a resume is only part of the story and it should only be used as part of the screening process. If someone doesn't have the qualification but has relevant on the job work experience, then they're always worth speaking with to gain more information. This is an important step and recruiters, on the whole, are very good at quickly assessing a candidates initial suitability through looking at the resume.

L'utilisation de différentes méthodes de sélection peut grandement améliorer le processus d'embauche et permettre un meilleur ciblage des CVs. En utilisant des entretiens structurés, les évaluateurs peuvent poser des questions spécifiques qui permettent d'évaluer les compétences et l'expérience des candidats. Les tests pratiques peuvent également être utilisés pour évaluer les compétences techniques des candidats et garantir qu'ils sont qualifiés pour le poste. Les références professionnelles peuvent fournir des informations supplémentaires sur les performances passées des candidats. L'utilisation de panels d'évaluation comprenant plusieurs évaluateurs peut garantir une évaluation plus objective des candidats.

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Things have changed since 2020 and various processes had to change with the developing situation of COVID. This has allowed a more flexible approach to interviewing and meeting with candidates within recruitment, which a lot of companies have continued with. It makes it easier to schedule time with candidates who are perhaps currently working full time as it allows them to speak/virtually meet on lunch breaks etc. Although technology does play a big part in the recruitment processes in the present day, meeting with someone face-to-face allows you to get to know them better and build stronger working relationships.

I offer a role-specific skills assessment to my clients. Since the candidates are generally HR execs I use a variety of methods, depending on what the role requires, and what works for my client. -->One example: A biotech client likes to do a case interview as the final interview. The candidate is given a case to work on for 45 minutes prior to presenting their thoughts to the panel over Zoom The panel usually comprises 7-8 people. It is pretty intense for some candidates, and I definitely prep them for what to expect.

When it comes to multiple candidates it is always advisable to have a plan in place so as not to overwhelm you and also not be tiresome to the candidates. Assessments especially with a pass grade always does the trick for me as those who do not meet the criteria receive rejection emails. The remaining, one can always create time and have either virtual or physical interviews to select the preferred one.

A behavioral interview is a technique that prompts candidates to narrate their past performance and behavior, aiming to predict future actions. In this style of interview, the interviewer poses questions about the candidate's conduct in situations akin to those encountered in the role. For instance, instead of inquiring, "How would you handle ___?", the emphasis is on "How did you handle ___?" Behavioral interviewing relies on the belief that past performance serves as a reliable indicator of future behavior. This approach offers a more objective foundation for making employment decisions compared to other interview methods.

In-person interviews are always effective to 5 or less candidates. This helps you to evaluate each candidate extensively without time constraints when you compare to having more than 10 candidates and the interviews have to end by COB.

In my experience, these are normally part of the latter stages of the interview process. It will be sad to ask for referees during the first step and not hire the candidate. Most employees consider themselves successful once you ask for referees and it will be wise to thread on the reference check carefully.

In my experience, reference checks can be a hit or a miss. It wholly depends on the relationship that the candidate had with their manager and also how the company is taking the person leaving the business. Personally, I've only had a couple of references where the managers biases have been obvious. I have found that references from previous employers can be more relevant and truthful on the candidates true worth as a member of the team. However, as I said, it can be a hit or a miss. First impressions and gut feelings are generally what my clients will rely on most.

It’s all very well having efficient processes in play and of course it’s important but we must remember to put the fact we’re dealing with human beings so let’s not waste anyone’s time, a 30 minute chat over whichever video call software you prefer, see if there’s a personality fit from both sides and then bring the candidate in to visit site so they can see the company’s culture with a further discussion to see if it’s a match. Anything more than that just prolongs the whole process in my opinion.

I think that most recruiters will employ various methods in selecting and attracting candidates. We're in the business of headhunting and finding the right people for our clients, so we would be mad not to utilise various methods etc. to allow us to do this fully. It's all about managing the expectations of clients and candidates accordingly and keeping them updated throughout the entire process.