An overview of common employment selection processes

Employers have been shifting their strategies over the last decade to make applying for a position more interactive and engaging. The introduction of electronic skill tests, video interviews and remote work has been necessary to keep up with the advancement of new technologies. The days of on-the-spot interviews and filling out applications in person are not as popular because most employers handle their screening processes over the internet.

Keeping all of this in mind, the steps that you need to go through your employment selection processes are still quite similar to traditional methods. You need to make your job posting accessible, narrow your field of candidates and conduct interviews to create your final list. Then you need to make sure that your final offer is attractive enough to convince your desired candidates to accept.

The job listing

Nobody likes wasted time, so your job listing itself can be used to vet potential candidates. You should be upfront about the qualifications someone needs to have to apply, what the expectations are for the role and what forms of compensation you offer. Job seekers want to know what types of benefits you offer, for example, and if the job falls under their desired pay range.

However, it’s important not to be too stringent with your requirements. You might miss out on candidates that are fresh out of school and have the talent you’re looking for if you’re too rigid on experience or education requirements. Some people may also have work experience that’s just as valuable as a college degree in their field.

When crafting your job listing, state what your ideal candidate can do for your company. Include the needed skills, intangible assets and personality type that you’re looking for.

Learn more: How to Post a Job on Indeed

The application

The application can be used to narrow your field of candidates by using qualifying and disqualifying questions. For example, you can ask yes and no questions that automatically eliminate candidates based on their responses. Using this strategy saves you a lot of time because some listings receive hundreds of applicants. If you eliminate the people who give disqualifying answers from the beginning, you can focus your efforts on those who have the talent you need.

Try to be careful not to make your application too complicated or excessively long. You do want potential applicants to fill out the entire application and submit it, so try not to make them feel burdened. Focus on the most important skills and traits you’re looking for.

A current trend in employment selection processes is to use gamification. Applicants can play games that double as skill tests so that their results reveal how skilled they’re at specific tasks they’d need to complete on the job. This is a great way to preview how well some candidates will complete the tasks you assign them, allowing applicants with little to no real experience to prove themselves.

Application review process

Once you’ve eliminated the candidates who were disqualified during the initial application, you can review each remaining application to see how well they’d fit the role. Pay attention to their cover letters and resumes, because they reveal important information.

You can usually tell if your candidate has great sales or communication skills by how they sell themselves in a resume, while skilled graphics designers might stun you with the visual appeal of their resumes or portfolios.

Read more: How to Read an Applicant Resume: Resume Review Tips

Reaching out to candidates

This is a vital step because potential new hires may not have just applied to a job at your company. They may have already moved on and accepted another job or simply don’t have the exact requirements you’re looking for. You can confirm that they’re still interested in the role and ask some more qualifying questions when you give them the initial screening call.

If you think that they check the right boxes, you can arrange a video interview or in-person meeting. Many employers introduce an additional step between the first phone call and the interview — the assessment test.

Qualification testing process

If you’ve gamified the application process, you may already know how well your candidate performs at common tasks for the job. You might want to follow this up with a more formal skill assessment. It’s important that the test showcases the exact skills you’re looking for in the right person.

If you’re hiring someone whose role requires a lot of written communication, a typing test is an appropriate skill assessment. Salespeople don’t always need excellent typing skills but need to be persuasive and good at understanding customers’ needs. Having them display a product pitch is a perfect way to evaluate their experience and skill.

Candidates that can actually support the claims in their applications will stand out during their assessments, while others that lack the needed skills can be easily eliminated from your pool.

The interview

Arguably the most important step in the selection process is the in-person interview. Alternatively, you may conduct these interviews over video chat, especially if the role involves remote work. You want to ask open-ended questions that address the skills and intangible traits you’re seeking, how the candidate would address common challenges and questions that assess their behavior in the workplace.

This is also an opportunity to learn more about a candidate’s career goals, how flexible they are and if they’re better on a team or their own. If the role requires leadership skills, you can ask specific questions to see how they’d inspire and lead others on a common project. Before you reach this step, you should carefully craft your interview questions and then stick to them. It’s important that every interviewee answers the same questions so that you can compare notes effectively and avoid unconscious bias.

Read more: 20 Opening and Closing Interview Questions

Performing background checks

Most employers require background checks to protect their businesses. The most important thing a background check does for you is reveal whether the candidate has been truthful throughout the hiring process. You can check for criminal records, citizenship status, driving violations and drug use. All this information can tell you how a candidate may perform on the job.

Background checks cost money, so you should wait to perform them until you’ve narrowed your list of candidates to the final group. The next step can give you a shortlist of people you’d feel great offering the job to.

Learn more: How to Conduct Employee Background Checks

See what others have to say

References are valuable because they reveal information about your candidates from a different point of view. Your candidates might use previous employers, past clients and leaders of volunteer organizations as references to boost their qualifications. They might also provide a reference from their previous coworkers.

The best way to approach references is to have a carefully crafted list of questions prepared beforehand that assesses whether the candidate is being honest, how they behave and how much experience they possess.

Craft your job offer

Once you’re sold on the perfect new hire, you need to sell them on why they should join your company. Hopefully, at this point, you’ve already discussed things such as salary, benefits and the expected schedule. If the candidate has indicated they’re okay with these aspects, you can give them a call to let them know you’d like to hire them. This call can save you time because the candidate will either express they’re ready to work with you or that they’re no longer interested.

At this point, you need to make sure that management is aware of your decision so that you can prepare the formal job offer and get HR ready for the onboarding process. It’s a good idea to keep any higher-level stakeholders in the loop and also to let any team leaders working with the new hire know what’s going on. This prepares your entire company so that onboarding is a streamlined process and your employee feels welcome in your organization.

Learn more: Onboarding Guide

The bottom line

You may feel that finding the perfect talent for your business is a daunting task. How you handle your employment selection processes can save you some headaches along the way and keep you from wasting the time of applicants who may not be a right fit. Before you begin posting job listings to fill needed roles, create your blueprint and follow it until you’ve landed on the right people to fill your needs. Once you have your plan, execute it without deviating from it so that you don’t miss out on potential assets to your business.