How To Stop Looking Out Over Great Candidates in 2020

Pinpointing the most qualified candidate for a job opening can be a challenging job to find great candidates.

While fear of missing out probably plays a part in your hiring process, the issue may lie. First, candidates have their Resumes checked and cover letters based on the number of keywords they’ve packed in there. And those with minor Resume errors are being weeded out easily. They are then interviewed via phone calls or in-person interviewed where the process is often unstructured or inconsistent.

Even if you’re seeking candidates that can do the job, the great candidates that have joined your pipeline might be losing out.

Resumes, cover letters, and screening interviews don’t always truthfully represent the candidates ‘ skills in their daily work. In any of these, the applicants may change the information to give some impression that might deceive prospective employers. That is something to be expected. As we all use the same questions, candidates have answered them a thousand times and will likely get answers rehearsed in advance.

Ways to find great candidates If you’re trying to discover the future top stars and suits ideal culture, the recruitment process needs to change something.

1. Add screening questions to request

Ask all applicants to answer a set of questions, in addition to their Resumes, when they apply. This lengthy, thorough survey serves as an upfront filter for filtering out candidates who don’t want to invest the time. On top of that, these questions are structured to show what the candidates really are looking for.

Don’t ask: How many years have you gained experience? Ask situational and responsive questions to see a candidate’s way of thinking, and how to cope with a crisis. Great candidates will expand on the reasons behind their responses, while others will google Wikipedia and copy-paste it.

2. Invite candidates to a trial day

Trial days, or work trials, can be a handy tool in finding the great candidates in your midst. Take a small piece of the work that the applicants are applying for, and ask them to do it within a time frame. Keep track of their progress and performance in the assessment portion of your talent acquisition process. This way, in a final interview or when making a final selection of candidates you can refer back to their results.

Several employers offer to make up for trial days. This may help facilitate specialized or in-demand skill sets during trial days. It can also help to promote a message that your organization respects the time it takes for its candidates.

Trial days can sound simple but a lot of preparation is needed. Make sure your team gets on board to provide the best experience and help them get to know your applicants and maybe their future colleague. For prospective applicants, a trial day program can be reused and super successful in finding candidates who are a good fit for your team, or who have the potential to be top performers.

On training days, several businesses have been helping to weed out less able applicants. Truly testing a candidate’s skills from just their Resumes can be difficult. Using test days to test hard technical competencies and communication skills. This will give you a better idea if they will be a good fit for the job or not!

3. Prepare unexpected questions that reflect the corporate culture

What are your strengths and weaknesses anybody can practice? Issue. Give the candidates a question that will surprise them and tell them a little more.

One of our personal favorites is this: If provided, what other position will you take over this one? It’s unexpected and encourages the candidate to be brutally honest but, preferably, polite at the same time. It can also gauge their level of interest in the position.

There are a few great questions which will reveal a good culture that suits your company. Make sure you keep track of which ones you’re using and continue to regularly use them to ensure that every candidate has a chance to prove themselves!

4. Engage the entire team in the recruiting process

Get everyone involved in various hiring phases, especially the ones that the potential recruit will communicate with. See how candidates communicate and take notes of them. Use interview scorecards, have each team member weigh-in and assess the candidates. With more people involved in employee interviews, implicit bias can be leveled.

Conclusion: Great candidates are worth the wait

Quite often easy to find good candidates. These are the applicants who have the right qualifications to get the job. But it’s where the struggle really starts to find big candidates. These are the people who can do the job but will also contribute to your corporate culture as well as drive success. If you are merely looking for good candidates, you may miss the great ones.

And, as with all good things, it takes time and investment to find candidates that are going to be top performers.