July 31st, 2019 | Updated on June 28th, 2022
Finding competent candidates can be quite an undertaking regardless of the size of your company. Though some of the aggravation is a result of escalating competition for prime candidates, access to more candidates due to the Internet, and weaknesses in the recruiting process, recruiting problems are not insolvable.
To begin with, upping your recruitment game comes down to talent acquisition, especially in terms of recruitment formalities. Meticulous execution is essential in order to attract the best applicants that are not only well-qualified but flexible with a superb disposition to boot.
Perhaps your organization is great at selecting suitable candidates and simply need to reprioritize. The world of business is continuously shifting and what was requisite yesterday, may no longer be compulsory today.
Various software, including SaaS software giants like Salesforce, ZenDesk, and Dropbox have compelled companies into searching for qualified candidates with additional skills that would normally not be required in order to qualify for the position.
Nowadays, even administrative service managers are mandated to have some knowledge of assorted tech software in order to oversee a streamlined office.
Using Software In The Recruitment Process
Yes, headhunting software has infiltrated the recruitment industry. This development should come as no surprise considering computer code is used in nearly everything from time-checking remote workers to payroll.
The process of recruitment since the introduction of software programming has revamped the entire hiring process. Compare how the onset of iTunes changed the world of music.
The same narrative is indicative of how the process of recruitment has been modified by sophisticated and innovative software.
Apps can now maximize communication and make the entire approach to maintaining data regarding potential employees airtight.
Still, there are some guidelines that you should give thought to before, during, and after the recruiting process.
As head of your company’s recruiting sector, it is your responsibility to ensure that each-and-every step goes according to plan as much as is achievable.
By refining your recruitment process, more relaxed and pleasant experience for both the potential employee and your hiring team will be the result.
Put another way, honing your team’s recruitment skills will bring out the best in your candidate and as an added bonus, your hiring team will feel more confident about their decisions.
How To Boost Your Recruiting Process
Here are the seven steps that can assist you with advancing your recruitment process:
1. Come Up With A Mastermind Job Description
A proper job description is the initial and perhaps the most important step during a successful recruitment campaign. You should provide accurate and clear information about the job requirements, the skill set needed, and salary information.
Insufficient job description details will inundate you with the wrong candidates and possibly hinder the entire hiring process! In fact, you may lose out on qualified candidates altogether, especially if you place your job adverts online.
Many online job sites display the number of clicks a job ad receives. If any of those clicks are from misguided candidates, you could end up wasting a lot of time ciphering through what can be called “junk applications.”
For example, instead of saying “5 years of IT experience required,” write “5 years of experience data programming and managing all aspects of the networking platform,” or “5 years of experience troubleshooting network and system issues and monitoring network and server infrastructure.” You need to be precise and literal.
2. Strengthen Your Recruitment Expertise
Improving your recruitment process involves equitable screening methods that will help you select the ideal candidate. This can be accomplished by:
- Assessing previous work assignments in each candidate’s portfolio.
- Organizing a test designed around the specific job you advertised. If you’re employing a medical writer, create a writing exercise to check how well they use and if they are familiar with medical terminology.
- Don’t try to “improvise” an interview. Have a framework to follow that allows a little flexibility.
3. Check References
This is not always a foolproof means of validating a candidate’s qualifications or worthiness for a job. Unfortunately today, corporate politics plays an important role in how a former employee is measured.
On top of that, you’ll have to use your instincts. Check references but take them with a grain of salt.
For instance, if a reference claims that the applicant was “always on time and detail-oriented,” but they arrive at the interview 15 minutes late and have no clue about the fine points of the job, you might want to squash that particular reference.
Some companies check social media profiles and niche platforms like Boolean search and Reddit. Boolean search helps you find potential candidates resumes by explicitly searching for qualifications for a specific job.
The key is to incorporate present-day standards of referencing and sync them with your company’s candidate screening process.
For good measure, invest in your hiring team by sending them to a body language course. This will surely enhance the know-how of your recruiters and the quality of your hires.
4. Asking The Right Questions
Asking the right questions is imperative as the process will discern a candidate’s talents and potential while simultaneously divulging a wealth of information.
Be cautious as some questions are actually illegal to ask such as the age of a candidate’s children or how long they plan to work before they retire.
If you are a company in the United States, this guideline will assist you with questions that are illegal to ask.
On the other hand, in order to steer clear of untimely decisions for or against a particular aspirant, it’s crucial to prepare the right questions in order to make the right choice.
5. Take Advantage Of Recruitment Software
As mentioned earlier in this piece, utilizing recruitment software will make you better prepared and organized.
Top-rated recruitment software should also offer recruiting CRM candidate relationship management to help your company foster relationships with candidates, increase opportunities, and keep track of applicants, their work history, and communication activity.
6. Encourage Candidates Feedback
The recruitment industry is full of competition; therefore, the interaction between recruiters and applicants is critical. Ways to accomplish this is to:
- Carry out monthly surveys.
- Place comment cards in the interview area.
- If your company has a social media page on Twitter, LinkedIn, or any other social media network, encourage applicants to leave feedback. Moreover, make sure recruiters frequently encourage candidates to do so.
Getting feedback from candidates will provide you with ideas for improving your company’s recruiting process and enable recruiters to make better choices.
7. Stay In Touch And Keep Channels Open
You have probably grasped by now that social media networking helps tremendously with recruiting candidates, encouraging feedback, and keeping communication channels open with previous applicants.
Why would you want to stay in touch with former applicants? Future prospects of course! You will have a list of potential employees right in front of you at the click of a mouse.
In addition, it’s a means of staying connected with a pool of professionals. Whether former staff members or not, maintaining a connection is a way to stay on top of available talent in case of future job opening.
Author Bio: Maria Espie Vidal writes for Timedoctor.com, a productivity app that helps remote talents work anytime, anywhere.
