The Recruitment Process – A Professional Approach
By Dawn Robson
Recruitment is a two-way process. Your applicants will be evaluating you as a potential employer at the same time as you are evaluating them for their skills and fit. Ensure that you put your best foot forward!
A successful recruitment process starts with clarity about the job you need to fill. What are the core responsibilities of the job? What kind of employee are you are seeking (e.g., leader, manager, customer service)? How does the position fit into the overall structure of your organization? What kind of challenges will the new employee face? What traits will they need to bring to the organization to ensure personal, departmental or organizational success? Are their minimum educational and experiential requirements of the position? Is there opportunity for growth within the position?
When you’ve answered the above questions, you will in a better position to create a job posting that effectively describes the opportunity and outlines the skills and attributes needed to be successful in the position. Once the job posting has been created and distributed, following are a number of things that you can do to ensure that subsequent recruitment activities are conducted as professionally as possible.
- Respond to every application received: This can be as easy as setting up an auto-response functionality, as part of the application email address. The auto-response should confirm that the application was received and will be considered. It should also clarify your policy regarding when and if the applicant will hear from you; for example, will you contact all applicants, or only those who you wish to interview? If you use an applicant tracking system to manage your applications, such systems normally include an auto-response function.
- Telephone screening: The initial screening of candidates is usually done via a phone conversation. When you reach out to a candidate, schedule a mutually agreeable time when the two of you can speak uninterrupted. At the end of the call, ensure that you let the candidate know when they can expect to hear from you again, or if they will not be proceeding to the next step.
- Assignment or technical test: An assignment or technical test can be done either before or after the in-person interview. You should ensure that you provide suitable time for the candidate to complete the assessment and then evaluate the results based on the requisite skills that you have identified for the position.
- Setting up the in-person interview: When you are setting up the in-person interview, ensure that you provide the candidate with the following information which will help them prepare for the interview and set a professional tone for the interview process.
- Date and location
- Type of interview (one-on-one, panel, group)
- Anticipated length of interview
- Interviewer’s name and position
- Any preliminary information that may be relevant to the process.
- Prepare for the interview: As the employer it is important that you are well prepared for the interview. Familiarize yourself with the candidate’s résumé/cover letter as well as the interview questions that will be used for all candidates. Hold the interview in a private area where you can speak without disturbance. Ensure cell phones are turned off and that you can commit your full attention to the process. Make an effort to help the candidate feel at ease. This can involve beginning the interview with a bit of small talk to assist everyone to relax (as interviews can be stressful for both parties). Remember to document answers during or immediately after the interview as this will help you remain objective and enable you to properly evaluate and compare the candidates once all the interviews are completed. At the end of the interview, tell your applicant what they can expect regarding the next steps in the process – and then follow through.
The professionalism that you demonstrate during the overall recruitment process will influence the impression the candidate has of the available position, your company and you or your management team. You have the opportunity to ensure this impression is a positive one!