8 tips to improve your recruiting process

June 5, 2020

 

iCIMS Staff

5 min read

Recruiting methods and processes evolve. Hiring today is different from hiring 10 years ago and, with the pandemic, in some ways, hiring in June 2020 is already different from hiring in January 2020. The only thing that doesn’t change is the definition of successful hiring: finding the best match for a given position. Therefore, it is up to the recruiter to implement best practices throughout the recruiting cycle. Constantly improving the quality of recruitment means challenging your habits.

Here are our 8 tips to improve your recruitment process. Follow the guide!

#1. Analyze your recruitment process

Getting stuck in your comfort zone is tempting and often, you don’t realize you are in one if you don’t consciously take a step back.

Start by asking the right questions:

• What step(s) of the process can be improved? How to improve the quality of applications we receive? Or that of candidates we hire?
• What sourcing method and channel work best? Which ones attract the best candidates? You can measure and follow-up on this with the right KPIs.
• What skills are you looking for in your candidates and which are more important, and should you focus on? Do all stakeholders agree and share your vision?
• Are you using the most efficient tools to optimize your process?

The answers to these questions will form your road map to more qualitative recruiting.

#2. Employer branding is everything

First impressions can sometimes make or break a relationship. Same goes for your candidates with your company. The experience you offer them from the moment they enter your website, the content of your job ads or how you interact with them says a lot about your company culture. According to our last European Candidate Experience Report, companies around the continent still have work to do: it takes an average of 41 clicks to apply to an offer and in one case out of 4, candidates are asked to create an account to apply. Additionally, 60% of candidates say they have already dropped out of an application process they judged to be too long and tedious.

Discover the European Candidate Experience Report

However, companies have understood the importance of design and know how to present their business under the best light. To connect with candidates, video content is king. From employee interviews to 360 visits, what better way to show who you are and help candidates project themselves though virtual open doors?

#3. Write clear, specific, and easy to find job offers 

Writing a job offer is a first and crucial step to hire top talent. So much is communicated through job descriptions. For example, ask yourself if your requirements realistic? If you are looking to hire graduates with the corresponding compensation, should you ask for over 2 years of experience? Are the benefits you put forward adapted to the type of person that will apply to your ad? Should candidates already know how to perfectly use all the tools you list? Can’t they quickly learn once hired?

Moreover, according to the aforementioned Candidate Experience Report finding an offer on a career site should not be too long and require more than 3 clicks. A chatbot on your career site is an excellent way to guide them, to find out more about your company and the offers, and even to integrate them directly into the pre-selection process.

#4. Pre-select candidates on video

On top of saving time, energy and thus, money, the video interview is a great and easy way to quickly identify a candidate’s soft skills and know more about them through their personality and not just their CVs. This pre-selection method speeds up shortlisting and allows to see more candidates in less time. It also allows to involve all stakeholders in the recruiting process, including hiring manager who not always a part of the process, and facilitate communication.

Read more: Video interview: 10 tips for hiring managers

#5. Personalize and adapt how you communicate with candidates

Candidates understand corporate subtext. To attract top talent, free yourself of traditional speech and interview rituals. Stereotypes around the interview can irritate candidates, especially when the prior experience was not seamless. Instead, personalize your process, show candidates you care and that they are not one among a million. Build a relationship with talent, acknowledge their skills and their stories. Even if it doesn’t end in a successful hire, you can’t be sure what the future is made of and who can be assets for your company.

#6. Ask the right questions

This tip is closely related to the previous one. Personalizing the interview means asking relevant questions that lead to interesting answers.

Right questions are clear, pertinent, and straightforward and let you assess skills and essential criteria required for a position. Recruiters often ask the same questions out of habit. However, for each job its own set of questions. Including “trick” questions for instance can be useful to evaluate situational intelligence or a behavior for a consultant for example, but not for another job. Take time to ask yourself if all the questions you ask are objectively useful.

Read more: 12 common recruiter biaises to watch for

#7. Think  role play

Business cases are a great and efficient way to see how candidates act in real situations (taking calls, welcoming customers, cold calling etc.). It is easy to cheat on a resume, harder to fake skills when role playing.

Business cases also allow you to identify talents and abilities you would not have otherwise seen so soon, or simply through talking. How you choose to evaluate those skills is up to you, your brand, and the amount of creativity you can put in them.

Discover our online assessment creator

#8. Hire and onboard!

As you know, the recruitment process doesn’t stop once the new hire signed the contract. Successful recruitment is measured over time. After you can rightfully congratulate yourself for hiring a new talent, starts the retention phase where you make her want to stay for as long as possible.

Show her how happy you are to see her join the company, take care of her integration into the team, take the time to welcome her and give her time to settle in. It is up to you to make the most of this experience in order to improve the quality of your recruitments.