Including a defined set of steps in your recruitment and selection process makes everything simpler. It gets everyone on "the same page" and ensures that the same criteria are used to assess all job applicants. The basic steps in the hiring process can be divided into five main components or categories:

1. Planning & Preparation

2. Sourcing & Attracting Candidates

3. Screening & Evaluating Candidates

3. Interviewing Candidates

4. Making a Hiring Decision

Planning & Preparation:

This is the first step in any hiring process, and it typically involves a lot of planning. You need to determine exactly what you’re looking for in the ideal candidate and ensure that your job descriptions accurately reflect this. This can help you develop effective search terms for sourcing candidates, as well as attract the right candidates for the job. In addition, you should create a timeline and decide how many rounds of interviews are needed to find the right candidate.

Sourcing & Attracting Candidates:

This is often where we believe the recruitment/ hiring process begins and it involves finding and attracting potential job applicants. You can use traditional methods such as advertising in print media or online job boards, as well as more modern techniques such as social media and employee referrals. You should also create an attractive online presence for your company so that potential candidates can research you and learn more about why it’s a great place to work.

Screening & Evaluating Candidates:

Once you have identified some suitable applicants, you need to narrow down the list of candidates by screening them. This can be done by conducting telephone interviews or online assessments. You should also use an applicant tracking system to evaluate resumes and cover letters quickly and accurately.

Interviewing Candidates:

The best interview process involves several steps, including face-to-face interviews, group discussions, tests, and case studies. This allows you to assess a candidate’s qualifications, skills, and personality traits. You should also ask the right questions to determine if they’re a good fit for the role and company culture.

Making a Hiring Decision:

Once you have interviewed all of your candidates, it’s time to make a decision. Review each candidate carefully and compare their relative strengths and weaknesses against the job requirements. You should also consider their potential for growth and development in the role, as well as any additional skills or experiences that could be beneficial to your company. Once you have chosen a successful candidate, it’s time to make an offer of employment and begin onboarding.

At each stage in the hiring process, it's vital to have the right tools for the job. During the "sourcing and attracting phase," you'll need tools like digital assistants and AI sourcing, during the "screening and interview phase," you'll need solutions like video interview platforms and interview intelligence software. By using the right tools, you can ensure that your hiring processes are both efficient and effective.

Additionally, don't forget to review your process regularly to identify areas of improvement and ensure that it meets your needs. Keep an eye on feedback from candidates as well as internal stakeholders to assess how effective each part of the process is. This will help you make sure that you get the right people in the right roles within your organization.

Ultimately, by including a defined set of steps in your recruitment and selection process, you can save time and money while getting the best possible candidates for each role.

Hiring Process Steps

Once we've moved from the attracting phase into the screening and selection phase, it's important to have scorecards and defined selection process steps. This keeps everyone on the same page and ensures that all candidates are evaluated using the same criteria.

Think of this as a hiring process flowchart. What are the key triggers that move from one hiring process step to the next? If they meet the basic qualifications for the role, they move from screening into the interview phase. Once they've been interviewed by the hiring manager and a panel of their peers, what happens next?

Start by putting together scorecards so that you can quickly assess the initial eligibility of candidates. Make sure these include basic criteria such as education level, years of relevant experience, past performance requirements, and language proficiency. Once this is done, you can begin screening for additional qualifications such as problem-solving skills or knowledge of specific software, algorithms, or tools.

The next step is to do either personality testing or skills assessment tests. This enables you to get a good sense of what kind of person the candidate is and how their skills match up with the requirements for the role. Once these tests are done, you can move on to final interviews and group activities that help assess soft skills such as communication, teamwork, and leadership abilities.

Finally, after all the interviewing has been completed, it's time to make the final decision. Try to get feedback from all of your stakeholders and assess each candidate based on their overall fit for the role, team, and organization. We find that a candidate scorecard with the agreed-upon criteria is the best way to compare candidates side-by-side. Using objective criteria like, "has at least 7 years of Project Management experience," can make complex decisions simple.

By following a clearly defined set of hiring process steps, you can better ensure that the best possible candidates are selected for each role. This process helps to save time and money while also ensuring that the right people are in the right roles within your organization. Having a consistent and standardized recruitment process is essential for any successful business.

Then you can make an offer that meets their individual needs and provide onboarding support to ensure a smooth transition into their new job.

Best Interview Process

Contrary to what all the hiring gurus out there tell you, there is no "one-size-fits-all" hiring process. The best interview process for you is the one that gets the best results. But there are some best practices and guidelines that can make your life easier. The first is outlining a hiring process timeline.

A hiring process timeline is essential for any successful recruitment campaign. It outlines the various steps involved in finding and evaluating candidates, from job postings to onboarding. This timeline ensures that all stakeholders are on the same page, so everyone knows what to expect at each stage of the process. A hiring process timeline will also give you defined start and end dates, so you know how to break down each step.

As you're building your hiring process timeline, circulate a hiring process checklist that will become your candidate scorecard. Make sure that it includes objective skills and requirements that a candidate must possess to be world-class in the role. Beginning with the newest person on the team and circulating up the ranks through the hiring manager, make sure the entire team has seen the checklist and has an opportunity for input. This step is invaluable for ensuring that your team is on the same page when it comes to expectations for each role.

Once you've established a timeline and checklist, you can move forward with the actual screenings and interview process.

There are generally 4 phases of the interview process. There are generally four phases to this process: establishing rapport, gathering information, questioning skills/abilities, and evaluating responses. In the initial stage, you want to build trust with the candidate and get a sense of who they are. Ask questions about their interests, experiences, and career goals to get a better understanding of what makes them tick.

Once you've established a rapport, it's time to gather information. Ask the candidate general questions about their background and experience in order to gain a better understanding of how their skills and abilities match the job requirements. You can also ask questions to evaluate their problem-solving skills, communication style, and leadership potential.

Finally, you want to assess their responses to your questions so that you can make an informed decision about whether they are the right fit for the role. Evaluate each candidate using criteria from your scorecard and make sure that you are considering both individual skills as well as how the person would fit in with the team.

I know we've talked about a lot of steps in this article, hopefully, you've been able to see how each step requires forethought and space for ideation on your hiring process checklist.

Pillar was created to help you simplify the hiring process and make better hires. Our mission is to help hiring managers, recruiters, and HR professionals hire more effectively and efficiently.

To see how our interview intelligence works and how we've helped our customers lower employee turnover by up to 50% while decreasing cost-to-hire and time-to-hire, book your demo today!