What should my hiring process look like?

Do you have a recruitment process in place that works? Or are you spending alot of time and money on recruitment with very little in return?

A strong recruitment process is critical to every company. Your staff are your business, so if you don;t have the right steps in place to obtain quality professionals, you could be wasting alot of money for your business – particularly if you hire the wrong person.

Below, we take a look at what processes you should have in place to ensure a successful hiring process:

Have a job advert that converts

So you need someone new for your team – the recruitment process begins with creating a strong job advert that catches the attention of relevant candidates. Gone are the days of short and to the point job ads with little description of the role. Jobseekers want the full picture of the role they are applying for, so if your job advert lacks detail, you should expect a low number of applications.

If you want a job advert that sells however, we have a few tips below on the types if information jobseekers pay attention to when they’re searching:

• Displaying a salary range: The first piece of information to grab a potential candidate’s attention is the salary you’re offering. In a survey we completed with over 300 automotive professionals in 2019, 70% told us they wouldn’t apply for a job that didn’t display a salary.
• Length: Too long, candidates could lose interest or even be intimidated by the overwhelming amount of information. Too short, it doesn’t give them a fully realised idea of the job they’re applying for. Keep it concise. 
• Make it appeal to them: Professionals today want the best contract they can get. They want company perks, benefits, a positive working environment, an attractive salary, a good work:life balance etc. You might not be able to offer much, but if you can show that you have something your job advert automatically looks better than the company who chose not to display any company benefits. Not showing jobseekers why your company is great can really affect the volume of applications you get.

Find the right platforms to advertise your job

If you’re searching for professionals with niche skills, it makes sense to advertise your jobs on a niche automotive site to attract the right crowd. Put it on a generic job board and you’ll see an increase in quantity, but not necessarily in quality. By using a niche job board like InAutomotive, you’re more likely to come across individuals with relevant skills and experience to suit your role. And you can use our advanced CV Discovery tool to search for those candidates too. 

Don’t sit back

If you want to get an increased amount of applications to your job, there are multiple ways you can market it once you’ve published it on a reliable job board.

Use social media to promote your role. Send the link to your job to candidates you’ve found on LinkedIn, or you can promote the role internally in the event that your staff might know someone too. Every move you make to promote your job advert could bring you one step closer to finding your ideal candidate. We also work with a network of partners to ensure your jobs reach the widest audience possible. And as we invest heavily into aggregators, PPC, partnerships, content, social media and events, we’re engaging with aviation professionals before they’re even looking for their next job.

Make the most of the technology available to you

The internet has expanded the talent pool, which means you have more potential candidates to recruit. But it does make identifying the right candidate tougher when you’re ready to whittle down your list of applicants. Our CV Discovery tool helps you to filter your search so that you only see the applications most relevant to your search. This way you can avoid having to sift through the long list of applications that don’t quite fit the bill. 

Set a quick deadline to reply once the application period has closed

Don’t waste time contacting your shortlist – remember, they may well have other interviews or job offers lined up. Too many recruiters miss out on top talent because they don’t get in touch fast enough – by the time they do, this quality candidate has been snatched up by a competitor. Don’t let this be the downfall of your recruitment process, because going back to square one is not a great move for your business. Time and money goes into recruitment, so get in touch at your earliest convenience if you don’t want to throw your money down the drain. 

Create a screening process

Once you have your shortlist of candidates, the next stage we would suggest is to have a brief phone interview with them. This can help you iron out any ambiguity from their application to ensure they are a suitable fit for your company and the role, and it means you won’t end up with an irrelevant candidate attending an interview. You can check things like:

• Relevant qualifications
• Experience required for the role
• Certifications
• That the candidate is within a suitable location for the job

It also provides you an opportunity to tell the candidate more about the company and answer any initial questions they may have about the job advert or company.

Create an interview form

Interviews can last anywhere up to an hour, and based on candidate responses they could take much longer. By creating an interview form, you can develop a structure for your interview to get the information you need in a timely and effective manner. You also have the opportunity to use a simple grading system to rate candidates according to their answers. 

And if you’re still keen to interview candidates now (during the pandemic), here are some tips on conducting a successful video interview too.

Improve on skill testing – don’t leave it to chance

Skill testing is essential for many jobs – you need to make sure you’re hiring the right person with the correct skills, otherwise it could prove detrimental to your business. Instead of asking candidates to complete the test on site  – which can be stressful for them, send applicants a test to complete online by a specified date and time. This way you can review it in your own time. You could also rank each section, giving them a mark at the end, and filter candidates out that don’t meet your expectations.

You might also opt to use augmented reality software to test their experience, or you can survey them to assess their basic knowledge level on various topics.

Share your polished recruitment process

Once you’ve taken the above steps and put them into place, you’re ready to share your streamlined recruitment process with others at the company. Train managers in the basic principles and best practice, so you don’t have to rely on just yourself to recruit. 

Another bonus of training others is having a team of people who can interview and recommend people for open roles. For large companies, it’s a good idea to have representatives from each department who can recruit with best practice. This gives you a better chance of finding someone that has the right skills, while also proving to be a great fit for your team.