Every recruiter uses different methods to find the best candidate for the position. Recruiting, training, and replacing new employees can be quite costly. In this economy it is important to pick the best candidates possible before going through the rest of the hiring process. The best candidate will help the company to be successful and grow into the future.
Using technology can be advantageous to the recruiting process on several levels. First, it increases the proficiency of the recruiter by saving them valuable time while searching through hundreds or even thousands of resumes. Second, technology allows a recruiter to store applicant information for future reference. Third, through the use of technology a recruiter can promote an open position (and the business) across many platforms, reaching many more potential candidates than ever before, especially mobile users. Fourth, technology allows for interviews like never before using programs like Skype.
1: Company-Hosted Site
A company hosted career site where applicants can setup a profile, attach their resume, and apply for positions quickly is ideal. With a company-hosted career site the company has the ability to modify and customize the site, the information requested, and the way the information is stored. Customization could give recruiters the ability to sort through potentially thousands of resumes for keywords or phrases that would save a great deal of time. The applicant profile can be saved for future open positions for a specified period of time (usually 90 days). Also, using a username and password, the applicant can log into the site and update their resume, experience, education, and contact information.
2: Third-Party Job Posting Sites
When a company-hosted site is not realistic (at least in the short-term), a company can use third-party recruiting sites, such as Career Builder, LinkedIn, or the like. I recommend using these sites along side the company-hosted site to draw applicants to your site to apply. If a company-hosted site is not available, I recommend having a separate email to have all applications sent to; otherwise, your email will fill up quickly, impeding your ability to sort through and answer the important business emails you receive. Posting job ads on third-party sites does cost and generally depends on the package you purchase from the company.
3: Candidate Research
Before calling down to the 263 applicants that look like they could be right for the position, using technology to research the individuals can help narrow that list down a great deal. Everyone knows (or should know, at least) that their lives are completely public if they are posting anything on social media, and this includes all of them – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, LinkedIn, etc. Searching for an applicants name can reveal quite a bit about them, but be sure it is their social media accounts before making a judgment. Be sure to look at blogs as well to get a well-rounded picture of the individual.
4: Interviews
Technology is being used more and more for interviewing potential candidates. Most interviewers like to see the applicant’s faces, especially to judge body language and facial expressions. I still recommend making the first interview, or the ‘weeding out interview,’ as I like to call it, to be a phone interview. This saves a great deal of time and resources. However, using apps like Skype can make the first or second interview so much easier, and saves the applicant money by not having to drive to the business for the interview. Although, I still recommend that at least the final interview be in person.
5: Pre-Employment Tests
If your industry requires pre-employment tests the quickest and easiest way to administer them is through the use of technology. This way they can be scored automatically and results can be sent to the appropriate individuals quickly. I have seen a multitude of companies use various ways and programs to administer these tests. One thing I haven’t seen yet is the use of apps to administer these tests, which I believe would appeal to the tech-savvy smartphone users. Obviously, having web-based tests available would be wise, but giving the applicant the option of using an app would increase the user experience of those coming into the workforce today.
6: New-Hire Documents
There are some new-hire documents that will, for obvious reasons, need to remain as printed documents. However, using technology to disseminate employee handbooks and the like would be helpful in becoming or remaining a green company. Even storing signatures on some employee documents is possible through the use of technology.
Technology is not going away anytime soon, so make the most of it. Definitely stay up on the trends of technology and continue to update your systems and the way you recruit for your next perfect employee.