Candidate sourcing, word of mouth, publication of a job offer, whatever means you adopt to recruit talent, you will go through the "candidate selection" stage. It is more than a step, because it is repeated throughout the recruitment process, to sort out the applications, until the hiring of a single profile! Are you a recruiter? What recruitment strategies can be used to attract the best profiles? How can you make a successful selection? Here are 5 tools to help you recruit and choose the best profiles.
#1 The scorecard
For a successful recruitment, we REALLY recommend the scorecard: a support to dig in team the objectives of your positions to be filled and build coherent job offers. Created in the form of a table or grid, it will serve as a common thread throughout the recruitment process.
Before the interviews, it allows the recruiter to :
write down the criteria for selecting candidates:
- soft skills
- technical skills
- fit with the team's values
- candidate's plans for 6 months, 2 years and more
ask the right questions as a team
write a coherent job description
write the job offer and prepare the interview questions.
During the interviews it is used to :
- evaluate each profile and select those that best correspond to your expectations
- to be objective in the recruitment process: to rationalize the process and bypass the emotional aspect
To build it
→ Set your objectives for 6 or 12 months (or more)
→ Define the projects to achieve them
→ List the Skills and Abilities needed to achieve them
👉 For more info, here is a job_that_makesense scorecard for a COO position: HERE
#2 The job board
To find talent, you can opt for word of mouth, source profiles by headhunting on LinkedIn, or post a job offer. Among the existing recruitment methods, the latter option often allows you to attract a large pool of talent with diverse profiles. You can opt to multiply your offers on different channels or via a specialized recruitment source. For example, a specialized job platform allows you to narrow down the field of possibilities and attract candidates who are motivated by a specific position, sector or issue. For example, there are platforms for recruiting sales people, web developers, people attracted by the civil service or by social and environmental issues. If you are an actor committed to social and environmental impact, jobs_that_makesense allows you to get in touch with candidates for whom it matters!
Advertise to the largest impact community
Reach over 150,000 motivated candidates who want to give meaning to their professional lives. Post up to 3 ads simultaneously for free.
#3 Selection questions
Beyond the platform you choose to post your offers, one way to make a first selection of the applications received, are the questions addressed to the candidates, based on your selection criteria.
Questions to :
filter easily
When would you be available to start the adventure with us?
test the first motivations
Briefly, what in your professional/personal background makes you want to work with us?
filtering specific candidate profiles:
For example, for a sales profile:
Tell us about an experience that, in your opinion, shows that this position is made for you
OR
Tell us about the sales experience you are most proud of and why.
Conversely, tell us your most difficult sales experience?
What was the hardest part and how did it end?
We recommend 3 questions maximum so as not to discourage the candidate!
On jobs_that_makesense, by clicking on the "apply" button on the page of your job offer, in addition to sending his CV and cover letter (or even replacing the letter), the candidate can answer these few questions.
THE ATS
To assist you during the various phases of recruitment, the ATS (Applicant Tracking System) is a tool for managing applications with multiple functionalities allowing :
- access to a CV library containing the profiles of talents from sourcing, unsolicited applications or having applied for a job offer.
- the follow-up of each candidate in each step of the recruitment process
- tracking of applications and their synchronization. With the ATS jobs_that_makesense you can synchronize applications received on different platforms. For example, if you have a PRO profile with us and Welcome To the Jungle, you will be able to redirect candidates to gather applications on a single platform.
- Create and automate emails to respond to your entire candidate pool.
Here is an overview of our ATS:
Save time in your recruiting
We know that your time is precious. That's why we are constantly developing features that allow you to manage your recruitments efficiently.
The case study
During the first or second interview, getting the applicant to put themselves in the shoes of their future mission is an interesting exercise! For the recruiter, as well as for the applicant, the case study is the ideal tool for testing skills. Depending on the position, it can take different forms.
Here are 3 ideas for tests to carry out:
→ For a salesperson, partnership manager: "Write an email to answer...",
→ For a graphic designer, web developer, UX designer, copywriter: "3 points of improvement for our site?"
→ For a numbers-oriented profile: "What do you get out of these numbers and graphs?"
→ In communication, marketing: "Write the beginning of the NL for XXX with the elements provided" etc.
At makesense, we have a 2-hour case study for interns and a 3-hour case study for permanent employees. We schedule an automatic email to be sent at the time requested by the candidate and they send it back to us 3 hours later in pdf format. It is very practical!
💡 Our Tips & Tricks
- Ask "operationally oriented" questions that reflect everyday assignments
- Have at least 2 candidates to compare case studies with each other
- Get inspired by other startups and be creative! The candidate experience will be even stronger.
- Keep your case studies in a drive for future recruitments.
The culture fit interview
To find the ideal candidate, a recruitment tool that allows you to choose among the last ones is the culture fit interview! It will allow the candidate to project himself in your governance, your work environment, with his potential future colleagues.
What is the purpose of the interview for recruiters?
- To assess the fit of a talent with the company culture and its ability to project itself into it. If the culture or values do not match the candidate's expectations, despite all the skills required for the position, it is best to find out quickly!
- Test the candidate's ability to give and receive feedback
- Improve the recruitment process thanks to the feedback received
🕵️♂️ Taking references
The final interview is over, you have almost reached the end of the process! To affirm a favorable opinion or on the contrary confirm your potential doubts about a candidate, there is one last tool you might like to use: the reference interview with the candidate's former managers.
Here, in order, are some ideas for questions to ask:
- What were XX's assignments? What did he or she accomplish?
- What were his strengths and weaknesses? What were their areas of improvement?
- Why did the employee leave your organization?
- On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your collaboration?
- Would you be willing to work with XX again?
- In which position would you hire this person again?
- We are recruiting her for such and such a position. What do you think about it? What are your recommendations?
To go further
👉 Stages of candidate selection
👉 Employer brand, what is it? What is it for?
To take action
👉 Create a recruiter space and post free ads on jobs_that_makesense