Gone are the days where you could just hire the next person who sets foot into your office building. With the competitive retail and business marketplace, you need to select the right employee for the job. It is far from simple but if you end up with the wrong person in a position that requires certain skills, it can be an expensive mistake. Not only can the wrong person be costly to the work environment, but that person can also become a time-consuming project that would be best rectified by hiring someone else. When your company is searching for suitable candidates to fill a job position, this skills assessment test here is worth trying to weed out the best applicants you are needing!

But what exactly should you be looking for in a new employee? Are you ready to streamline your company’s hiring process? Keep reading to learn how an applicant tracking system can help you find qualified candidates faster. Here are some tips to help you hire the right person for that position.

1. Have the Job Clearly Defined

This is a little bit like a job description, but it goes quite a bit further than that. With a job analysis, you can pull together information that will outline the duties, responsibilities, required skills, expected outcomes and work environment of a specific job. The job analysis will assist in creating the job description and a good job description will make your recruiting strategy better.

2. Plan That Recruiting Strategy

With a job description now available, a meeting with the hiring or recruiting team would be the next thing to do. A hiring manager is your quarterback because that person plays a vital role in strategic planning. Once your plan is developed, then it is time to execute it. This does not have to be a long process, but it does help to have a plausible, workable strategy.

3. Use a Checklist

It may sound old-school, but when you go through the hiring process, one way to keep track of the recruiting efforts is with a checklist. It can also be a valuable tool in sorting out who has what skills or abilities compared to others that have been interviewed. The checklist is also your tool to communicate to the rest of the recruiting team the progress being made and how.

4. Seek the Right Candidates First

Qualified candidates are different from just potential candidates. If you are hiring an employee for a job that requires specific skills, your recruitment strategy has to draw candidates with those skills from the talent pool. It not only improves the chances of hiring the right person for the job, it helps to weed out candidates that may be good, but are not as qualified as others.

5. Review Credentials Closely

A well-defined job description should make the work of reviewing cover letters, job applications and resumes much easier. With a list of qualifications in the job description, you only have to screen the applicants against that. Plus, the time you spend doing this will be with the best qualified of the potential candidates which will be time well spent.

6. Prescreen Candidates

Although a candidate may look great on paper, a pre-screening interview will save everybody time. Prescreening may also involve a cognitive ability test. It is in the pre-screening process where you will be able to determine if the candidate, their qualifications and expectations are a good fit for the job and your company. If your business has a specific culture, the prescreening will also let you see if the candidate will fit into it.

7. Ask the Right Questions

The job interview is going to have the most impact on whether or not an employee gets hired. It is probably the most important tool used by employers in the hiring process but the questions are important. They will help you to find qualified candidates from average candidates. Plus, the right questions will magnify the power of the job interview in the hiring process.

8. Check Backgrounds and References

Just because the candidates hand you a resume that outlines that they have incredible credentials, outstanding skills, and key references, you still have to verify that these are factual. The background check is to verify educational credentials, work references, jobs held and even criminal history. You can find a third-party criminal background checker who can provide pre-employment background check solutions to save time and resources and fast-track the hiring process. Companies like Checkr may also help you conduct a pre-employment drug and health testing. These are crucial to ensure the candidate is who they say they are.

9. Something to Think About Before Hiring

It may be tempting to hire someone who you feel closely resembles you or your particular work style. It’s an easy trap to fall into and is one reason why the hiring process is best handled by a hiring team rather than just one person. An employee who is similar to you may sound attractive but unless you are constantly coming up with new ideas for the company, steer clear of that.

10. Make a Job Offer

Once you and your hiring team have narrowed down your list of potential candidates to just one, your next step is to offer that candidate the job. Depending on the position, there may be a series of negotiations to work out the finer details and then a contract drawn up with those details to be reviewed and signed by both parties. Or you can go the handshake route.

In Conclusion

It is difficult enough to find work in the current economy that is riddled with lay-offs due to corporate restructuring and downsizing. However, there are still employers who require qualified employees to keep their businesses and companies relevant and competitive. This is why it is so very important to conduct a professional and complete recruitment program.

With a proper job description, hiring strategy, and hiring team, the task of filling a position in your organization will be much easier than just posting the job and seeing who responds. With prescreening, you will end up interviewing only the best candidates for the job. Not only does this speed up the overall process, it gives qualified candidates a chance to compete against peers rather than against candidates who do not have the skills but need a job. Regardless of the size of your organization and the type of job you are hiring for, the ten tips listed above will give you a guide to follow and show you why it is better to hire with a plan than without one.