Improving your hiring process can lead to the perfect candidate!
As January comes to a close, most companies are finalizing numbers from last year, some will conclude they’re below headcount for 2018. Not a problem, let’s take a look at a few steps to ensure you’re finding the best candidate for your company.
While researching the best steps to take, Greg Kratz of FlexJobs does an excellent job of laying out several practices to use in your hiring process.
Tweak Job Descriptions
If you’re not seeing the right kinds of resumes, it’s possible that your job listings are part of the problem. First, make sure they don’t include words or phrases that might push away candidates of a particular gender. Then, if possible, stress the opportunities for flexibility that your position may offer. Finally, consider focusing more on what your company can do for the job candidate, and less on a long list of tasks and requirements she will have to fulfill.
Be Portable
In today’s digital world, it is extremely easy for candidates to shuffle through job openings and apply for different positions, and I’m not talking about from a laptop. Your company needs to be mobile ready. When a candidate looks at your company’s website from their mobile device, you want them to feel like you have put time, money, and effort into a layout and design for your mobile pages. Don’t forget social media! More and more candidates are looking for LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages for their new potential employer. Keep your social media fun and professional.
Flex your Flexibility Muscle
Do this in a variety of ways when you’re seeking top candidates. First, try to make your application and vetting process as comfortable as possible. That might mean offering opportunities for video interviews or being otherwise flexible with timing so you can fit into your candidate’s schedule. Also, consider providing flexible work options, and give applicants specific information about your flex policies, if you have them. Work flex isn’t a nice-to-have perk at this point. For many of the best and brightest job seekers, it’s a minimum requirement to consider a position.
Improve your Interviews
Whether you’re conducting an interview for a remote employee via videoconference or chatting with a candidate in one of your conference rooms, take the time to make the experience as worthwhile as possible, for both you and the interviewee. An article from ZipRecruiter suggests that you take a team approach to interviews. Also, try to avoid making quick decisions, as many hiring mistakes happen as a result of the first 30 minutes of an interview. Wait out that time “in a state of suspended judgment. Training your HR staff in this technique might help remove snap emotional reactions from the hiring process, which can help everyone involved make clear decisions from a place of reason.”
Looking into the future
The ZipRecruiter article advises treating every candidate as if they are going to spend their entire career with your company. “In practical terms, this means seriously thinking about what a certain role might look like in five or 10 years,” the article says. “Can any of the candidates you have for the job fill those needs now? How many of them seem like quick learners and innovators who can help you shape that position for the good of the business? While it may seem a lot to ask of someone you’ve only just met, these are considerations you should keep at the front of your mind throughout the hiring process.”
As an employer, you should know that Crawford Thomas Recruiting will take all of the stress and busy-work out of hiring. Our account managers will be here to assist with the interview process and our recruiters are here to source and work with candidates, so we’re able to screen, schedule, and prepare them for a great career at your company!
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Special thank you to FlexJobs and ZipRecruiter for some excellent information.