The 5 Stages of the Hiring Process

Hiring professional services to fix a leaky faucet or install new doors can be like hiring employees – both require careful screening, evaluation, and negotiations.

Recruiters can assist hiring managers by keeping them from becoming tunnel visioned during the screening phase with gamified assessments and keeping interview questions pertinent to job roles while checking for any biases in candidate selection.

1. Screening

The screening stage of the employee selection process entails eliminating applicants who don’t meet essential criteria for an employment position; for instance, those convicted of a sexual offense are unlikely to be cut for a nursing home job, and those with poor credit scores shouldn’t handle company finances. It saves both time and resources by eliminating unnecessary interviewees who will never make the grade.

At this phase of the hiring process, recruiters often conduct phone or video interviews with applicants to assess if they are suitable candidates and should proceed. In these interviews, recruiters ask questions to assess applicants’ skills and experience, personality fit, and suitability to the company or organization. It also serves as an excellent opportunity for recruiters to check in with hiring managers to remind them not to become too focused on one candidate and consider other possibilities.

Once the screening stage has concluded, recruitment teams will draw up a shortlist of promising candidates and invite them for further assessment. Assessments typically consist of written or online tests and practical skill assessments to measure each candidate’s capabilities in typing speed, data entry capabilities, and memory; all assessments must be administered uniformly to ensure fairness and consistency.

Once assessment results have been received, recruiters will debrief and advise hiring managers about each candidate they have interviewed. They also use this opportunity to identify any possible bias, such as personal preferences of hiring managers or relationships between candidates and hiring managers.

2. Assessment

A practical assessment can uncover talents a candidate might not display during an interview or their resume. By conducting assessments at this stage, assessments can help shortlist applicants more quickly by interviewing only those most promising applicants; additionally, assessments provide more objective data than interviews which helps reduce bias caused by human judgment.

Assessments aim to establish whether candidates will be suitable for your job and can fulfill it effectively. While a resume can provide insight, assessments can measure specific areas that can be harder to assess in a resume alone, such as technical skills or creative projects (for writing and design positions). By employing these tests, you can compare candidates equally rather than solely basing their assessment on an interview response.

Companies are increasingly turning to assessments early in their hiring processes – as either an initial screen or after screening interviews – to streamline and expedite the hiring process. One primary reason is that many recent graduates and people making career changes may lack an extensive work history, which may cause them to be missed in the initial filtering processes. Assessments also help evaluate people with gaps or frequent job changes and gaps on their resumes.

Establish a standard, structured assessment process that every manager adheres to conduct accurate assessments of every applicant and create an accurate picture of them as candidates. Doing this also reduces time wasted interviewing those who may not be suitable, thus saving both parties valuable resources spent interviewing or reinterviewing candidates who don’t cut.

3. Interview

Interviewing candidates is an integral step in the hiring process. Your team should use it to evaluate candidates and assess whether or not they fit with your company culture and how well they interact with team members.

Interviews should take place either in person or over the phone and offer you an excellent way to assess a candidate’s personality, professionalism, work history, and skill set – not forgetting if they’re interested in joining your company and your role in particular.

As part of an interview process, small talk must be kept to a minimum, and probing questions about experiences and motivations are asked. Asking probing questions such as “Why did you leave your last job?” and “What characteristics make a good employee?” will provide valuable insights into candidate personalities and whether they might fit with your company culture.

As part of an interview you must provide clear and transparent salary and benefits information during an interview. Doing this will attract qualified applicants and deter candidates from ghosting your organization. According to a 2022 Protocol report, compensation is the top reason candidates leave companies unexpectedly. Using this opportunity also presents the chance to discuss start date negotiations as well as negotiability agreements; should a candidate not fit the role, notify them promptly so they don’t lose interest in your organization.

4. Reference Check

Interviewing candidates is an invaluable way of learning about their experience, skills, and work history. Still, it may be hard to gain a complete picture without first talking to their references. While there are no standard reference check questions, it’s wise to prepare a list specifically designed to meet the applicant’s role and provide some context for answers. This will enable more accurate responses from references and help provide accurate data.

Candidates often list family, friends, and informal employers (a neighbor whose lawn they mowed or their parent’s coworker) as references for themselves. Although this practice cannot be stopped entirely, reference sources must know well enough the candidate to provide an impartial viewpoint of their workplace performance.

References can be an invaluable asset when making the best hiring decision. In contrast, bad references can completely derail your recruitment process if they don’t match up with the applicant’s resume and job application information. Instances where comments don’t coincide may indicate embellishing qualifications or hiding professional skeletons within their closet.

When contacting references, always request permission and verify a good time and place for speaking. Be sure to take notes! Providing context for your inquiries may be helpful; be prepared to answer queries about strengths and weaknesses. Upon completing a reference check, you should know the applicant’s abilities and suitability for your business.

5. Offer

Once your candidate pool has been narrowed, it’s time to choose. Recruiters typically work closely with hiring managers in making this critical decision; additionally, recruiters may conduct further interviews or act as tie-breakers should one candidate stand out above others – offering recruiters another chance to sell company culture while creating positive candidate experiences.

At this stage of the selection process, it’s an excellent opportunity to discuss employment terms and conditions – salary, bonuses, working hours, and other considerations can often be deal-breakers, so early discussion may save both parties time. Furthermore, any contingencies which must be fulfilled before hiring are worth noting, such as background checks, drug tests, reference checks, or proof of legal right to work in the US.

Once all successful candidates have been interviewed and selected (such as on account of salary or culture fit considerations), an offer letter should be distributed. It should clearly state the job title, expected start date, employment classification (full-time/part-time), office location and supervisor name/description, along with an employment contract that outlines any benefits such as health insurance and vacation days provided by the company.

An effective job offer letter will also include details regarding at-will employment, termination procedures, and intellectual property rights. A closing line with contact information so candidates may reach out with any inquiries should also be included; and, should they accept the offer, they must sign and date their acceptance letter.