Part 3 in the series by Kimberly Kenner

Selection Planning, or as I like to call it…narrowing down the candidate field!

Here are the steps for narrowing down the candidate pool. While at first glance it may seem simple this is a crucial step in the process to find the candidate that will fit your organization.

• Let someone who knows and has read the Success Profile in detail, and/or is in a decision seat review the resumes. The review process should narrow the candidate pool, which could be up to 50-100 candidates, to about 20-30 (if you started with 100, generally speaking).
  1. If your pool is larger than that, take another look. Perhaps, distance, type of company they have worked, years of experience, and narrow it down again.
  2. You can always set aside the ones you pulled out for later.
• Take the yes ones from the review, and call them.
• Talk briefly about your company, why you are calling, and find out some basic information.
  1. Why are they interested in the position?
  2. Why are they in the market to begin with?
  3. How does this position relate to what they have been doing?
• After calling on this short call, narrow down your pool again, eliminating ones that didn’t communicate well if that is needed, or if you determined they do not have enough actual experience, etc.
• The Ethos recruiting team not only screens candidates at this phase, but we add a more detailed written screening form as well. We can custom design one for you; unique to the position you are recruiting for. This helps narrow down the candidate pool again. Our recruiters compare their answers to see if they were/were not in line with the position, if they couldn’t communicate in writing, or if they just ignored the request to fill it out, to begin with. We then take that pool and schedule a lengthier phone interview.
• An additional option is to make this first screening call a bit more lengthy and detailed. The call length should be determined based on the skill level, position level, and rate of pay. The higher the skill and the higher the responsibility, the more scrutiny should be in place.
• In person interviews.
  1. There are many ways to make this happen. In an ideal world, the first round of interviews should be in a panel that includes the hiring manager, and any additional decision maker, and/or a fellow team member.
  2. A panel interview keeps you and the candidate from having to come back and interview on multiple occasions.
  3. This also helps make the decision process more collaborative when you ask the same questions, and you all hear the same answers at the same time to further compare notes on the candidates’ qualifications. Ethos can assist you with the review of the information to help you make a determination.
  4. After this round, narrow down the pool again and select your top 1-3 candidates to move to the next stage: final interviews.
  5. The second/third or final interviews should be one on one with the decision maker. It is important to determine at the onset of the interview process the who, what, where and when so that you can communicate this information to each candidate to ensure that all candidates receive the same information and treatment.

As you read through the steps we have reviewed in finding the ideal candidate for your position keep in mind that in our current economy speed is also a factor when recruiting. You still need to go through the recruitment processes in detail, but with a hot job market, you will need to move quickly in order not to lose out on a great candidate.

Our recruiting team understands the challenges you are facing when searching for the ideal candidate. We have the experience and skill set to help you build your team. Let me know how I can help make this a painless process for you.