There are a lot of articles about what applicants can do to improve their appeal to hiring managers. These unprecedented times have caused many people to be out of work, and while there are people out there who are hiring, there are a massive amount of applicants coming their way. Obviously, hiring managers want the best applicants for their open positions, but are you really going to attract them? Have you recently considered the efficacy of your hiring process? If not, consider these things when you start hiring for your next job opening.
Are Your Timed Skill Assessments Necessary?
Think about the position you are hiring for. Is a timed typing test going to make a difference when hiring a Marketing Manager? Are you going to require someone do math without a calculator for an Event Coordinator position? Just because someone isn’t great at math doesn’t mean they can’t do the job. It’s necessary to weed people out, but if a great applicant has already applied to 50 places, do you think they feel like taking a timed test for number 51? This could mean all the difference when attracting a good candidate for the position you need to fill.
Resume Scanners Aren’t All They’re Cracked Up To Be
Resume scanners may help cut down the time it takes to go through resumes, but they aren’t humans, meaning, they aren’t going to see the interesting transferable skills that could potentially give you a great candidate. They may cut out perfectly wonderful candidates just because they put “organize” instead of “organized” on their resume.
Auto Rejection Letters
If you make your applicant jump through a ton of hoops to get noticed, auto rejection letters are, I hate to say it, a slap in the face. It’s understandable that hiring managers have a big job, but if an applicant has to go through a lot just to get their application noticed or moved to the next level, the least they can do is write a simple email letting them know they aren’t the person they are looking for.
Are Your Interviews Long Enough
Not every job requires a 2-hour interview, but if you’ve already interviewed that person a couple of times, is the third and fourth interview long enough for you to really get to know them? Give your interviewees enough time to talk about why they are interested and what they can bring to the team.
Give The Applicant Feedback
Can you imagine going through seven different interviews with an organization to then not get hired? That’s a lot of time and stress spent on their part. It’s on the cruel side of things to not tell them why you didn’t hire them. Maybe you feel like the simplicity of “we just liked the other guy” should be enough, but it’s important that your applicant be told the little nuances they lacked so they can use your feedback in their next interview. After all, you liked them enough to interview them seven times! Was their answer to question 4 underwhelming? Was their demeanor too aggressive or meek? They deserve to know so they can improve.
I get it, hiring is a lot of work, and sometimes it’s super painful when you get an interview that turns out to be, well, ridiculous. But, if you aren’t even giving applicants a chance to shine, you aren’t going to find a good fit for your company. Take the time to reassess your hiring methods and try to be more understanding for those wanting to apply to the job you are looking to fill.
Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash