Julia WeeksAs a recruiter in today’s job and candidate market, it is important to have a sense of urgency and act fast. When we drag our feet and avoid time-saving tools we are allowing another recruiter the opportunity to beat us to the punch and win the placement.
Today, there are many different ways we can speed up the recruiting process by uncovering candidates quickly.
1. Plan a Recruiting Schedule
First, we must have a plan surrounding our recruiting strategy. Take a moment to sit down and think about your recruiting process and write it down. Think about ways you can adjust the process in order to work more efficiently.
Determine how long you will need to identify and submit candidates. Establish anticipated interview dates that you will need to meet in order to have the most success at getting the right candidate hired by your client.
Once you have a mapped out plan of how you will conduct your recruiting process and strategy, it’s important that you stick to the plan. Of course, there will be times when you have to adjust in certain areas based on changes with a client or a certain candidate pool. However, the important thing is to always use this plan and do your best to stick to it.
2. Outsource a Candidate Sourcer
Sourcing can be a time consuming task in a recruiter’s schedule. Consider hiring a candidate sourcer to help you weed through the numerous candidates on the job boards.
In the past, I utilized a sourcing team in another country. Before leaving for work each day, I would put together search strings based on my hot job openings, emailing them to the sourcing team along with instructions and notes about the types of candidates we needed to focus on. The next morning, I had a pipeline full of sourced candidates to quickly review and reach out to.
3. Accept Video Resumes
If you haven’t started accepting video resumes, I suggest you seriously consider this format of application from candidates. Not only will a video resume give you better insight to a candidate’s personality and cultural fit, but it will also save you loads of time when it comes to identifying the best candidate for the job.
Rather than weeding through long and boring resumes, you will have the option to watch quick resume clips from candidates before determining who you would like to follow up with.
4. One-Way Video Interviews
Not only should you consider accepting video resumes in order to save some time, but you should also think about implementing one-way video interviews into your initial screening process.
Rather than spend hour after hour calling candidates and chasing them down for their availability for a phone conversation, consider sending them a request to complete a one-way video interview at their most convenient time. Not only will this save you many hours of dialing, but it is a quick way for you to present your initial questions to candidates in order to determine if they are truly a fit for the job.
Candidates can complete the interview during a time that works best for them and you receive a video clip of their responses that you can view at a time that works best for you. It’s a win-win for everyone!
5. Live Video Interviews
Another important time-saving method that should be integrated into your recruiting process is live video interviewing. Once you have determined that you have a candidate who fits the bill, consider setting them up with a live video interview with yourself before you present the candidate to your client.
If you are recruiting remotely, implementing this tool into your recruiting process can save you a lot of headache and wasted time. Think about the times in the past when you interviewed a candidate without having the option to meet the candidate face-to-face. I’m sure that there was at least one time when a candidate showed up for your client interview and did not quite measure up to your client’s expectations.
By video interviewing your candidates before submitting them to your client, you are allowing the opportunity to assess and advise your candidates on what your client is expecting. For example, some business environments do not allow excessive piercings or displays of tattoos. This is something that your candidates should be coached on, and if there is a problem with this it is something that you must take into consideration before presenting the candidate to your client.
Of course, you must be careful when video interviewing candidates to only take into consideration things that are pertinent to the job requirements and cultural environment.
What are some other strategies that you use to help identify candidates faster?
Image: Jakub Jirsak/BigStock.com
Josh Tolan
