During the hiring process, it is your responsibility as an employer to gather as much information as possible about your prospects. Resumes and job interviews, two of the most common ways to screen applicants, often fail to give accurate information. Research shows that resumes are very untrustworthy, with nearly three-quarters of them including false or misleading claims and nearly half of those stating outright lies. Like QA tests, interviews, especially unannounced ones, are subjective and, in the end, don’t provide the whole story when it comes to measuring performance on the job. Using well-prepared and validated examinations is an unbiased and fair way to learn about job candidates. By providing accurate data that can be applied consistently to all applicants, the best pre-employment evaluations bring objectivity to your hiring process.
After that, you’ll be able to make better, more educated recruiting decisions using the QA assessment test.
What is the applicant screening process?
Corporations engage in what is known as “applicant screening,” in which HR professionals and recruiters use a variety of tools to assess potential employees. Reviewing resumes and cover letters is the first of what could be several screening steps in this process. If they make it this far, the applicants may get a call or an email inviting them to a short initial interview. This is a great opportunity for recruiters to talk to candidates, QA tests their interpersonal skills, and ask them questions about their resumes. Typically, there is more than one layer to the applicant screening process, with each layer removing less acceptable prospects and advancing the best ones. Candidates may be invited to a formal interview if they have passed the first round of telephone interviews. Even if you are just conducting a single round of formal interviews, this is still a crucial step in the process. At this point, the recruiter has an opportunity to ask the candidate detailed questions regarding their background, skills, and expectations for the position, as well as the firm.
Things to keep in mind in the screening process
A systematic, fast, and painless screening procedure is ideal. So, recruiters must base their decisions on facts. During the hiring process, candidate experience is crucial. Therefore, to guarantee a good candidate experience, recruiters need to communicate with the applicant frequently.
Candidates may embellish their qualifications or lie on their applications, so recruiters need to know that giving them a real assignment to work on is the best method to evaluate them.
Last but not least, they need to automate repetitive operations using online talent acquisition solutions because an efficient process is crucial. The applicant may decide not to accept the offer or even quit if they feel the hiring process is taking too long.
Guidelines for developing a system to evaluate job candidates
The following are some measures that can be taken to establish a business’s application review process:
1. Check resumes for required skills and experience
Candidates must fulfill the minimal requirements for a position, but it is preferable if they go above and above. For example: if a candidate does not possess legal permission to work in the country, they will not be able to pass the initial screening. When reviewing applications, some businesses opt to use software, especially when dealing with a large number of candidates. Keywords, such as relevant work experience and education, can be found in resumes by using this type of software.
2. Verify using sources
You can tell if a candidate is credible and a good fit by checking the details they give. Inquire about the candidate’s punctuality and attendance from their prior employers to get a sense of how they performed while employed there. The applicant’s abilities and work ethic might be better assessed if references give good comments.
3. Do your homework on the website
Social networking is just one of several resources available to employers nowadays for application evaluation. You can learn more about an applicant’s interests and personality by searching for their name online. This will bring up any social media profiles that individuals may have. On the other hand, you could come across some encouraging content online, including published works, news pieces, or achievements. These factors can also play a role in guiding your choice.
4. Seek for the most desirable credentials
The next step in the screening process is to compare the candidates to the required standards after they have met the fundamental requirements. This encompasses any desired but non-essential qualifications and experience, such as fluency in a certain language or years of expertise in a specific field. When you have a clear idea of the ideal qualifications for a position, you can more easily find them in the application process and work with a standardized checklist.
5. Arrange a pre-screening interview
Pre-screening interviews allow you to learn more about potential candidates without spending time and money on a large number of formal interviews. Plus, it’s a great method to save money while still thoroughly screening applicants who just fulfilled the basic requirements. To determine if they have the necessary skills and expertise, you can conduct pre-screening interviews and ask them detailed questions regarding their background. It is safe to invite candidates for a formal interview if they pass this stage. Keep an eye out for discrepancies between the material on applicants’ resumes and the responses they give.
6. Think about handing out a test of talents
One efficient and fair way to weed out unqualified candidates is to use standardized assessments. You can acquire a list of qualified candidates, see how they did on the QA test, and disseminate them on a large scale because most of this procedure is automated. The ability to adhere to deadlines is another trait that testing uncovers. If you have a good idea of a candidate’s qualifications and are seriously contemplating hiring them, you can pay them to take an advanced QA test. If you want to know if an applicant would fit in with your company’s culture, you can take a personality QA test.
7. Check the person’s background
Positions of authority and those dealing with vulnerable individuals are two examples of the types of employment that are normally subject to background checks. One way to find out whether a candidate has a criminal record is to look them up in the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) database. There are many degrees of DBS checks, with more thorough checks for positions that are considered more sensitive. Drug testing, credit reports, and driving records are among the other types of checks that can influence your choice in various ways.
What role does the application review play?
Discovering the most qualified candidate to contribute to your company’s objectives and goals is the purpose of the application evaluation process. Some advantages of conducting background checks on candidates before scheduling an interview are as follows:
Time is saved
You can save a lot of time by using the application review process to evaluate candidates instead of doing thorough interviews with each one. If you evaluate potential employees, you can avoid wasting time and energy on those who aren’t qualified. As a result, finding qualified candidates is a lot easier, faster, and less expensive.
Employee turnover is reduced.
The chances of a candidate staying in their position and doing a good job are increased when you verify their suitability for the job carefully. During pre-screening conversations, you can also inquire about people’s future intentions to help you make a selection. Another way to gauge their potential loyalty to your organization is to inquire as to their reason for leaving their former position.
Employers are safeguarded.
Through the use of screening, you may narrow down your candidate pool to those who would mesh well with your existing team and business culture. This is critical since bringing in an unsuitable candidate could wreak havoc in the office. The CV alone might not tell you everything about a person’s character, therefore it’s important to screen them thoroughly to find out things that aren’t immediately apparent.
Reduces interruptions
Schedule conflicts may arise as a result of formal interviewing processes since they usually include important staff members. You may save a ton of time and energy by screening applications before you even think about doing formal interviews. While you’re busy hiring new staff, this will help keep things running smoothly in your company.
What happens after candidate screening?
To determine whether candidates advance to the interview rounds, many firms utilize a combination of these screening processes. Depending on the results of the first round of screenings, some candidates may be asked to meet for an in-person, group, or panel interview; sometimes, all three may be extended.
After verifying a candidate’s abilities, traditional interviews are a great method to get to know them and should only make up a tiny portion of the hiring process. Going beyond simply verifying a candidate’s abilities, the first (and occasionally only) face-to-face interview does more. Any remaining queries about the employment process are best addressed during in-person interviews.
This is when “interviewers can discover what motivates them at work and if the candidate’s values mesh with your company values.”
Many applicants might not be able to handle the time and effort required by a rigorous screening procedure that culminates in numerous interviews. It’s taxing for your recruiting staff as well.
It may be simpler to locate that undiscovered gem that is a great match for your vacant position if you build your hiring process with the candidate’s experience in mind.
Conclusion
You can improve the quality of your hires by narrowing your search to the most qualified candidates early on with the help of a QA test. This is because, when reviewing a candidate’s resume or conducting an interview, it is easy to miss areas of expertise that are directly related to the position being filled. However, QA tests are specifically designed to assess these areas.
Companies can save thousands of dollars when recruitment teams prioritize quality hires. Companies risk losing thousands of dollars a year due to bad hires, so they must find the right candidate the first time around.