Here are 9 tips to help you make your recruiting process faster and easier than you ever thought possible.
1. Improve your job descriptions
One way to make sure only right candidates apply for your vacancies is writing clear job descriptions that accurately depict key daily responsibilities of the position. It's not worth to sketch a candidate profile using words like “dedicated” or “hardworking” – the right candidates are already like that and the wrong ones won't turn away just because you pointed out their shortcomings.
Be specific and on point. Use a personal tone and avoid depicting the position in terms of a small role in a large and uncaring corporate system. Show the value of the job and describe which departments of the company it aims to support. Check how other recruiters tackle job descriptions for positions you'd like to cover on online job boards like Gumtree.
2. Source candidates on social media
Your top online destination should be LinkedIn – you can search candidates, post job ads, join relevant groups and promote your organization as an interesting employer in the sector. Depending on what industry you're hiring for, you might want to take a look at Facebook. Recruiters approach this social network with a dose of skepticism, but it's still a social media giant and cannot be ignored in recruitment. You can target your job ads to specific groups of users and join communities of professionals in relevant sectors. This is how you ensure that right candidates pay attention to your offer.
3. Optimize your screening process
How to improve your resume screening process? Most importantly by marketing your position to a small audience of prospective employees. You don't want to splash your job ad on every online board and wait for thousands of applications to make it your way. It's impossible to accurately review each and every resume if you're facing this kind of numbers.
If you think that the more candidates see your ad, the more talents you'll have to choose from, you're making a huge mistake. The thing about talented employees is that they're most often passive candidates who need to be engaged in places they actually hang out – for instance, LinkedIn.
4. Employ video interviews
You know the drill. If you've interviewed more than a handful of candidates in person, you have probably experienced this. Within 5 minutes, you already know that they're not the right fit for the job, but you're forced to continue the interview to avoid being rude.
This is where video interviews can solve your problem and help save time on unproductive meetings with candidates. You can settle for a live interview via Skype – that's how you avoid the hassle of presenting the office and company to candidates. Another smart idea is specialized software which helps candidates to record videos of themselves responding to questions appearing on the screen.
5. Try psychometric testing
If you're recruiting for positions which require specific behavioral, leadership or decision-making traits, you might benefit from psychometric testing as a form of early candidate screening. It used to be quite expensive, but today you can choose from affordable online solutions like Rightpeople or Peoplogica. Naturally, a psychometric test cannot become the foundation for your hiring decision – treat it as a data point and make sure that your provider offers solid interpretation of test results, preferably prepared by a qualified psychologist.
6. Consider the timing
This is an excellent strategy to accelerate your hiring process. Change your standard response times for each point of recruitment and you're bound to build a tactic that makes hiring much more efficient. If you post a job ad, make sure that candidates who apply get a response within 3 business days. Once you do that, you've got approximately 4 days to get back to them.
After a telephone or face-to-face interview, take another 4 days to let each candidate know their status and inform them about the next steps. Once you’re close to extending a job offer, you need an HR officer available to keep in touch with the candidate. It's key that your responses are prompt here – don’t take more than 24 hours to respond.
7. Develop an interview protocol
Interviewing candidates takes lots of time, so optimize it by developing a smart interviewing protocol. No more questions like “What’s your greatest weakness?”, please. Instead, make it a relaxed conversation about specific business problems and solutions. This is how you make the most from your time.
8. Eliminate the salary problem
Another way to waste everyone's time is to make job applicants guess what your openings pay. Just solve the problem by putting a pay range in your job ads. It's none of your business how much candidates were earning in the past – asking for salary information is simply bad taste.
9. Be accountable
Even if you have no senior-level person responsible for making sure that your recruiting practices are top-notch, you need to develop a sense of accountability for the success of your hiring process. Instead of pushing the responsibility to someone else, own the process and work together with your HR department to solve any organizational or communication problems.
Follow these 9 steps to develop an efficient and cost-effective recruiting strategy that brings in heaps of new talent and builds the public image of your organization into a strong employer brand.
Hannah Dickins is part of the team behind DirectorStats.co.uk. With a huge interest in writing and startup industry, she works as a Community Manager. She’s keen on new helpful online tools and productivity hacks.