The Best and the Brightest
Identifying and Hiring Star Candidates
Two forces, declining growth of individuals entering the work force and an increase of jobs necessary to fill have led to a shortage of workers. Organizations have attempted to meet the challenge by using the internet to reach more applicants. The goal has been to find more candidates. Quantity however does not equate to quality. It is a necessity to employ accurate screening tools to weed out those applicants who are not qualified. The following characteristics are qualities your preliminary screening tools should embody to ensure a streamlined hiring process. Traditional schematics of the hiring process devoted an entire segment solely to testing. Testing must now be included as a part of the interview process. In this fast paced market recruiters must act fast or lose a candidate.
The new model for the hiring process necessitates a stringent preliminary screening. The testing phase should parallel the interview. Through the application of a prudent screening process, time and money are saved. The applicant pool is made up of only the most serious candidates.
Independent of what tests are used, do not place the tests at or as the initial stage in the hiring process immediately following the resume/application screening. Instead combine them as the second step of the focused assessment. This will guard against candidates fleeing the process due to their perception that the screening process is lengthy and too great an investment of their time.
Accurate and Reliable – The tools employed throughout the process must identify the most qualified individuals. Qualification should take into account the full range of requirements including behavioral, technical, and degree of motivation. They must compile a short checklist to save you unnecessary time with unqualified candidates.
Speed - They must require little time to take and to process. If they are arduous to take, you can lose candidates and if they are equally time consuming for the recruiter to process it will slow down the selection process.
Candidate Acceptability - Candidates should view the process as necessary and fair. In the event the candidate views the tools as simply red tape, they will be apt to move on to the next recruiter or, if the tools contain seemingly irrelevant questions, you may inherit legal confrontation.
Straightforward - The tools should be straightforward to use and quantify. This will ensure that the minimum staff is necessary to implement them and that accepting applications from a large group will be easy.
Seamless Integration - The tools should not be a reiteration of similar requirements mentioned in another segment of the hiring process. They should instead focus on different requirements and integrate nicely into the entire process.