Bright Recruiter: Articles

How much time do you spend screening candidates? A whole day can be spent reviewing resumes to create a shortlist, followed by 30 minutes per candidate on a phone screen, and then 1 hour or more per candidate for a first round interview.

This webinar recording from SocialTalent shows you how to shorten the screening process so you have more face time with your most qualified candidates.

They review:

• Bright’s CV screening tool: This tool helps you save time on screening resumes - simply add your job description and upload resumes, and the Bright Score Calculator will rank each candidate against the job description you've entered, in minutes - rather than hours. Each candidate will receive a score between 0-100, and those with the highest score are best suited to move on to the next step in the recruitment process.

• SurveyMonkey questionnaires: Once you've identified your shortlist from Bright, send them a short qualification survey instead of scheduling a phone screen. This saves you time, and offers the candidate more flexibility in terms of scheduling. You can set up a 10 question survey for free, set a deadline for completion and quickly sort through the results to bring forward only your best, and most qualified, candidates.

• Sonru’s automated video interviewing tool: To save time on your first round interviews, try using this automated and recorded video interview tool. This allows candidates to answer your preliminary questions on their own schedule, and gives each a more consistent experience. You can then quickly review the candidates on your own schedule as well, and bring in only the most qualified for an in-person interview.

For more specifics, watch the webinar:

I can't even keep track of how often I get recruited for positions in business development and sales, but it’s gotten to the point where I don’t even want to respond anymore. Sure, the required skill sets are similar to mine, and I could probably be successful in them if I were to make a career move. But my entire work history is in marketing. I love marketing, and anyone who spent the time to look over my background would notice that.

So, when a recruiter reaches out to me for something that’s irrelevant, I realize that they probably didn’t take the time to research my background and what kind of position I’d be interested in. Actually, the only reason I email them back is to let them know that they can find someone who may actually be interested by using Bright Recruiter. (For those of you unfamiliar with Bright, we’ve developed an algorithm that matches your job description to the millions of candidates that have signed up on our site. That way, you know the job candidates are qualified AND interested in hearing from you.)

Regardless of where you find your candidates, you should at least make sure that your opportunity is in line with their career progression.

A Linkedin poll revealed that about half of the 14,000 respondents didn’t mind getting InMails from recruiters, while the other half didn’t mind as long as they were relevant. To put it another way, half of the respondents would be bothered by receiving an irrelevant offer.

This causes candidates to think less of you, and your company - and reduces the chances that they'll respond to your message now, and in the future. You'll also miss out on the more qualified and interested candidates that they may refer to you.

Instead, do a little research before reaching out so that you’re not being completely irrelevant. Then, ask the candidate what they would consider a great opportunity, to ensure that their goals align with your position, and your company.

Just because you think someone may be interested in your opportunity because their career progression would make sense to you, they may have other plans in mind. So, never assume that you know what a relevant opportunity for any given candidate is. You may find that they’re not interested in the opportunity you’re currently working on, but at least they’ll respond so you can get to know them and place them in a better role for their background and interests.

And here’s a quick bonus tip: Be genuine when you reach out to candidates - you will build their trust, have a higher response rate, and potentially place them and their referrals.

By the time you've created a compelling job description, posted said job description, proactively sourced candidates, screened candidates, assessed each candidate's skills and qualifications and/or checked references, you've invested too much time and energy creating a shortlist to lose them now. But it happens all the time - you lose your best candidates to another company, the candidate realizes that your opportunity isn't the best fit for them, or the candidate simply gives up because your process it too tedious. Now you've wasted your time, and theirs.

Here are some quick tips to prevent this from happening:

1. Understand what your candidate is looking for

During your initial meeting (usually a phone screen), or before, make sure you understand what your candidate is looking for in their next opportunity. Much of the time, the first conversation revolves around what the job entails, what the employer is looking for, and whether the candidate is a good fit - which is important, but the recruitment process can't be treated like a one-way street. The candidate must also feel that your company and opportunity are the right fit for them. Ask what their pain points are in their current, or last, position so you can really get a feel for what they're looking for. Use open-ended questions, such as, "If you could change a few things about your current position, what would they be?" and, "What are your career goals?" Make sure you come up with interview questions that dig into your candidate's passion and drive to ensure a mutual connection.

2. Explain your interview process upfront

Also during your initial meeting, or before, let the candidate know what your entire interview process usually looks like. It can be frustrating for the candidate to go through a 30 minute phone screen with the recruiter, another 30 minute phone screen with the hiring manager, and an hour and a half long in-person interview with the hiring manager - only to find out later that they also need to do an hour long presentation, and then spend another 2 hours meeting with the head of the department and other key players. The candidate knows that they will not necessarily make it through every stage in your interview process, and all they really want is to be informed of what to expect, and when, so that they can allow time for it in their schedule. This leaves fewer surprises for people that move on, so they don't drop out later in the process because of scheduling conflicts or burnout.

3. Be flexible with scheduling

Once you let the candidate know about your interview process, make sure your candidate is comfortable with the scheduling of the interviews. Ask them what is the best way for them to interview with you. Candidates may have other job interviews scheduled, possibly on top of their current job - which they don't want to put in jeopardy. You should be flexible to allow for both larger blocks of time where they can complete the entire interview process at one time (or over fewer days than usual), or smaller blocks of time spread out over a week or two. You should also provide afterhours times that you are available – perhaps staying late once per week or offering a weekend time to meet. This prevents you from scaring off your employed candidates, as well as those with other obligations. You may also want to consider a more casual environment to meet your team, such as a lunch or happy hour – where everyone can make sure the candidate is a good cultural fit.

4. Ask where they are in their job search

At each point in the interview process, ask I where each candidate is in their job search. Some may only be considering your company (score!), but others could be close to closing an offer, so you’ll want to move more quickly for those. Also ask that they keep you informed on any changes, and stay flexible on moving interviews around to accommodate your more active job seekers (as well as your passive candidates that may have schedule changes due to their current job!).

With all of the candidates you’ve likely found through your job postings, referrals and proactive sourcing methods, it may be a daunting task to try to communicate with all of them. But effective communication is key to keeping your top talent interested, while not hurting your employer brand by ignoring the unqualified candidates. Anyone that applies for a job at your company, or speaks to you regarding a new opportunity, wants to know what to expect next. And, with all the technology available today, it’s simply unacceptable not to communicate. The good news is, technology has made it really easy to communicate next steps to each and every one of your candidates.

While larger companies generally have an ATS to send automated messages, smaller companies also have some great, free or low cost options, such as SmartRecruiters. These tools are great because they allow you to keep all of your candidates in one place (versus some in CareerBuilder, others on Linkedin, and even more still in your email inbox), and message all of them from one place. From each stage in your recruitment process, you'll need to use these tools to communicate what the candidate should expect next. So quickly take note of each step in your process, figure out how long you spend in each step, and decide what comes next. Most processes look something like this:

Step 1: Post job and collect applications. Proactively source candidates. Ask for employee referrals.

Best practice: Upon resume submission, send an email to let the candidate know that it was received and that you will be reviewing resumes until [date]. This time period should be under 1 week, or you will risk losing your top candidates. Since passive candidates that come from proactive sourcing or referrals likely won't submit a resume, communicate the next steps during your initial phone call. Make sure you follow up with everyone on, or before, that date to let them know whether they are moving on to the next step.

At the very least, make sure the job description says that you will be reviewing resumes until [date] and only candidates that are under consideration will be contacted. However, you should still personally follow up with candidates that were found by you or your employees.

Step 2: Phone Screen(s).

Best practice: As mentioned above, try to pick your shortlist of candidates and get to the next phase of the recruiting process within a week (shorter time period is better). You should call or send an email to your shortlist to schedule a time to speak, while also sending emails to all other candidates to let them know they are no longer under consideration.

At the end of the phone screen, let candidates know the next step (usually an in-person interview, or a second phone screen with the hiring manager) and timing. Make sure to ask the candidate if they are currently considering any other offers, and speed up your process for that candidate, if necessary.

Step 3: In-person interview(s).

Best practice: Move to this step as quickly as possible, you don't want to lose the top candidates you've already worked so hard to attract. At the end of the interview process, let the candidate know when they should expect to hear back from you with a decision. This should be within a few days, tops - which will give you the opportunity to check references and discuss with your team.

Step 4: Offer.

This is perhaps the hardest part of the recruitment process, especially if you've done everything right and have only top candidates to consider. However, this is not the time to slow down. Top candidates may be considering other offers and you want to make sure you get the pick of the litter.

Once you make your decision, every single person you interviewed should be personally followed up with, either via phone or email - you don't want to leave anyone hanging, especially after they've invested so much of their time and energy into interviewing with your company. This is particularly important for your employment brand because anyone that's gotten this far in your recruitment process is likely very interested in working for your company.

By providing a great candidate experience, not only to these people - but also to those didn't get this far - you are able to grow a talent pool from which to recruit for future positions, as well as creating an advocate for your company.