Julia WeeksAs a recruiter, one of our number one responsibilities is to ensure that we are providing top quality candidates with a sense of urgency. In order to go above and beyond, we should always be searching for new tools and processes that will help us to be better at what we do.
If you are solely relying on phone screens in your recruiting process, you are missing several key ingredients to ensuring a successful placement. There are three reasons your phone screens are slowing down and creating an inefficient recruiting process:
1. Impersonal
When you rely only on phone communication during the recruiting process, you are creating more of an impersonal relationship with candidates. Sure, phone screens are an excellent way to initially begin the interview process, but eventually there comes a time when you need to step it up a notch and initiate some form of face-to-face interaction with a candidate in order to truly be able to screen properly.
When a candidate has the opportunity to visually see you, whether through video or in person, you become more of a real person to that candidate. This allows you the opportunity to build a stronger relationship with the candidate, thereby encouraging more of a transparent and personal business relationship.
Creating a stronger relationship with your candidates is one of the key pieces to ensuring the right fit between a candidate and client.
2. Unable to truly read the candidate
Phone screens are extremely limiting when it comes to reading and really understanding a candidate’s personality and desires. Over the phone, you could be missing cringes or eye rolls after asking tough interview questions. When you are able to visually see the candidate’s facial expression, you are able to read more meaning into their answers to your questions.
The ability to read and understand a candidate’s personality and passion is a huge part of successful recruiting.
3. Lack of thoroughness
Obviously, if you are unable to read your candidates, your interview will be lacking in thoroughness. This can kill the deal when it comes to final interview stages.
As recruiters, we are expected to be experts at what we do. This is why companies come to us for help with their hiring and we should do our absolute best to hold ourselves accountable when it comes to our attention to detail and overall thoroughness during the interview process.
Phone screens are simply not strong enough to give us that ability to be thorough experts in recruiting. Yes, phone screens are still an important piece of the recruiting process. However, they should not be the only piece of the process.
When you lack the value of visual interaction with candidates, you are not only slowing down your recruiting process but you are also not ensuring high quality candidates to your clients.
What other ways might phone screens be slowing you down in providing top talent to your clients? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
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