Identifying the right fit for a job title/requirement is time-consuming. From candidate screening to assessment, recruiters go through multiple processes to identify and shortlist the best possible fit for a job role. A recruiter’s role is to churn out top-notch candidates with the help of a meticulous candidate screening process. In this blog, let us discover what goes on in identifying the right fit for your organization.
Candidate Screening
The initial step in the overall hiring process is candidate screening. It is a process to shortlist a candidate to appear for an interview, based on their skills, expertise, and experience. It is a process of reviewing and scanning the resumes of candidates and selecting those who match the job role. This is not an easy process as many times the recruiters get hundreds and thousands of resumes to select from.
The ultimate goal is to identify the best candidate. This process is not simply selecting the candidates based on the details mentioned in their resumes. This process has few intricate methods that include resume reviewing, video interviews, skills testing, and trial projects or work assignments.
Let us discuss the methods one by one that helps recruiters to make the candidate evaluation process smoother.
Resume reviewing –
Resume reviewing involves roughly reading the resumes to match the skills of the candidates according to the job description. Some candidates provide false information or decorate their resumes in such a way that gives an over glorified image of their profile to the recruiter. Recruiters should not make the mistake of hiring the wrong candidates solely based on the information provided in their resumes.. Thus, a resume screening of the candidate is not enough to move ahead in the hiring process. A better way is a skill assessment of the candidates which gives better clarity about them.
Cover letters –
Cover letters are an additional document that candidates share along with their resume when they want to display some additional skills and experience. Sharing a cover letter shows the interest of a candidate for the particular job role. Moreover, sharing a cover letter demonstrates whether a candidate is the right fit for the job role with adequate skills.
Video interviews –
To ensure video security, interviewers use platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, or Skype to conduct remote candidate interviews. Some other formats for video interviews are video resumes and pre-recorded videos.
Phone screening –
Did you know that recruiters tend to spend most of their time phone-calling candidates? Approximatley, 3-5 hours a day are spent on phone screening. According to statistics by Vervoe, a recruiter spends atleast 78,352 on phone calls to screen candidates each year. Phone screening is the most common way through which recruiters get to know about the general personality of a candidate. The main aspects considered are the candidates having the ability to speak professionally and relevant experience for the job role. Thus, phone screening is considered a better way of screening candidates in comparison to resume screening.
Social media screening –
Recruiters have started using social media for reaching out to the candidates. They check the social media profiles of the candidate to see how they present themselves professionally. A study says -keeping your social media profiles professional is key to securing a job. This is because most of the recruiters tend to check out a candidate’s social media profile to better assess them. According to a survey, it is predicted that 70% of recruiters believe screening the social media profiles of candidates. This helps in an effective screening of candidates. The most common social media platforms recruiters look out for are Linkedin, Twitter, and Facebook. With LinkedIn being the most relevant social media platform for talent hunting.
Skill testing –
Skill testing is an unbiased process of candidate selection based on their skill set and their ability to perform a certain task. There might be several candidates who make their resume stand out by mentioning their skills in their resumes. But their actual authenticity and ability to perform is assessed when they are exposed to skill testing assignments.
According to research, it has been observed that skills tests are the best way of evaluating candidates. Skill testing helps the recruiters to shortlist candidates which makes the hiring process much more efficient. This is because skills testing leaves room for a smaller number of competing candidates.
Trial projects or work assignments –
In addition to the points mentioned above, the selection criteria that recruiters use is making the candidates work on trial projects or assignments. These assignments are a way to test the candidate’s problem-solving skills, domain knowledge, and contextual understanding. The candidate is to work on an assignment or project and complete it in a specific timeframe.
Mentioned above were some of the methods and processes that recruiters follow for successful candidate screening and assessment. These methods of candidate assessment or talent evaluation assess candidates step by step to check their suitability for the job role.
What are some of the common recruitment strategies that recruiters use?
Some of the common recruitment strategies that hiring recruiters use to find out the most suitable candidates are:
- Developing employer brands to attract candidates.
- Writing the job requirements clearly and professionally so that candidates show a high interest in the job opening.
- Investing in an applicant tracking system.
- Revisiting databases to screen out past candidates.
- Making interview processes effective.
The Concept of Talent Acquisition
Talent Acquisition is often confused with recruitment. The concept of talent acquisition is similar to candidate screening and assessment but is more like hiring talent. A talent that serves an organization for the long term. The steps are recruiting, attracting, interviewing, and assessing the candidates who have a niche profile in a particular industry. It is an ongoing process to find candidates for specialized roles.
Conclusion
Candidate screening and assessment is a way that helps recruiters in churning out the most suitable candidates for the specified job role. With systematic ways of establishing your recruitment strategies, you can ace finding the best candidates. Therefore, finding the right candidate who aligns to be a cultural and organizational fit for your company is an important aspect. Interviewing the candidate, assessing qualifications, and skill testing them are the main steps to remember for effective recruitment.
If you are someone trying to find the right candidates for a particular job role, InstantServeLLC is here for you. With a decade of experience in recruitment and staffing in the Asian and US markets, we cater to a range of services to our clients. Our staffing services include healthcare, IT, and Non-IT, professional, and contingent staffing services. Being a client-centric provider, we offer cost-effective and reliable solutions. If you want to take your business to the next level – Contact us Today!
References –
https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/2377-social-media-hiring.html
https://www.freshworks.com/hrms/recruitment/candidate-screening/
https://www.freshworks.com/hrms/recruitment/candidate-screening/