Recruiters, like many professionals, are often plagued by a lack of time. They spend their office hours buried in resumes and applications — in between screenings and interviews, of course. Even more to the point, they have to spend their time filling out and filing essential candidate and new-hire paperwork. None of these things are avoidable. So, which time-sucking recruitment practices are avoidable?
Do You Really Need Another Interview?
No. The answer is no. Candidates who have made it through the screening process and a preliminary interview shouldn’t be subjected to several rounds. It reflects poorly on the organization and damages the employer brand. Within the first five minutes of the interview, 49% of hiring managers know if they will hire a candidate. Furthermore, 87% know within the first 15 minutes. So, why are companies wasting time with third-, fourth-, and fifth-rounds interviews? Going this far with the interview process reveals to candidates just how discombobulated your recruitment process is.
Solution: Streamline your hiring process. Collect a team of hiring-decision makers who are educated about what the position requires and what training and experience a candidate needs to have.
No One Is Perfect
Really. No one is perfect. As a recruiter or hiring manager, you’re not perfect. You might miss key body language during an interview or scan over important information on a resume. Whichever way you look at it, you’re bound to make a mistake eventually. With that said, your candidates aren’t going to be perfect, either. You have to leave room for candidates who have made mistakes in the past or who lack the training or experience you’d prefer. Wasting time looking for that perfect candidate is just that – a waste of time. Purple squirrels simply don’t exist.
Solution: There is nothing wrong with conceptualizing an ideal candidate. That’s not the problem. The issue is when recruiters and hiring managers take every quality of the ideal candidate as a necessity, instead of a recommendation. Truly evaluate what your company needs. Then use that information to construct a base for evaluating your talent pool. Lance Haun, editor of SourceCon.com, said:
“When you can’t float out a job opening forever, it forces all parties to understand the capacity of a recruiting department as well as what are the highest impact positions you should be hiring for. This exercise is about planning and preparing for the best realistic talent acquisition outcomes. Even if you can’t live in this ideal, you can better understand your situation to aim for more realistic candidate expectations.”
Where Are Your Tools?
You can’t be a carpenter without a tool belt. Likewise, you can’t recruit effectively without the right tools. Applicant tracking systems save recruiters from the daunting task of filtering every single candidate. An ATS will filter candidates via keywords and key phrases in their resumes. The ATS then gives recruiters the applicants that best fit the position and the organization for review. Only 26% of employers use applicant tracking systems to manage their hiring process. So what are the other 74% of employers missing out on?
Solution: Search for tools like ATSs or video interviewing platforms with the capabilities your organization needs. However, you can’t just evaluate the user interface from the back end. It is critical to also pay attention to how user-friendly it is for your candidates. Maren Hogan, chief marketing brain at Red Branch Media, said:
“You should also consider these tools on the candidate’s end. Ensure that your online application system is simple and user-friendly. And you career site should be easy to navigate and update frequently.”
Read on at Recruiter.com
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