Eight Important Steps in the Recruiting Process

As a recruiter you are not only responsible for the daily operations of your department but also for managing employees. You want to have good employees supporting you, so you want to make sure to find the right talent when recruiting for new positions in the company. The following eight steps can be used as a reference when searching for the right talent for your organization:

1. Job Opening — Who is running the recruiting process? In some companies, human resources takes care of matters. In smaller companies, the manager takes care of the whole process. Whatever the case may be, you should be involved during many of the stages.
   
   
2. Job Description — What is the job description? Is this position an asset to your company? Whether you are looking for a replacement or filling a brand new position, the job description needs to be clear. Review or create the job description before any outside recruiting efforts start.
   
   
   
   
3. Pay Rate — Know what your budget can handle, or if there are pay scales, verify the company’s pay range for this role. Also try to gauge the experience of the potential employee you are seeking, how much other employees are making performing the same or similar duties, and what your budget can afford. A human resources department can be helpful in these matters.
   
   
4. Advertising the position — Online job boards, specialty job boards and magazines, national newspapers, local papers, and other publications can all be great places to advertise for an open position. You can also hire an outside recruiter if your time is limited or if the position is becoming difficult to fill.

There’s also always the possibility of finding internal candidates for the position. A good resource for finding talent may be your current employees. They can also be a good source for referrals. Good employees who you trust often know of someone who would be a good candidate for the position. They can sometimes be your best ''talent scouts,'' and an employee referral plan — whereby employees who locate strong talent for you are compensated — might be a good idea. Some companies also have applicant tracking systems to aid with gathering and sorting resumes. It may be advisable to acquire such a system if your organization has many open positions.

5. Screening Process — The screening process will help you weed out applicants who do not have the qualifications you are seeking. You, human resources, or somebody in your department who has experience and knows the type of candidate you’re looking for should be responsible for the first level screening of resumes. If it’s human resources that’s doing the screening, they usually send their top resumes to you for your initial review. This can be a great help and time saver, and HR can also do the first level interviewing before you even see the resumes. Then they can present their best candidates to you.
   
   
6. Interview Questions — Really think about what’s important to you about each of these candidates. Make a list of 10 open-ended questions to ask each of them. Open-ended questions will assure that the candidate can’t just answer with a yes or no. For example, if it is a manager position you are seeking to fill, ask the candidate, ''What were your responsibilities as a manager, and did you ever have any difficulties with employees? If so, how did you handle the situation?''
   
   
7. Reference Check — It’s a good idea to always check references. Check references that will inform you about the candidate’s performance at his or her last job. Good references would include a manager or two who have worked with this person and supervised him or her. Also, a peer who has worked side by side with this person could be a good reference. Form a list of questions to ask the references, and listen to what the references are saying (or not saying).
   
   
8. Hiring Time — After all is said and done, it’s time to assemble everyone who has interviewed the candidates and make a final decision about who you will offer the position to and the rationale for this decision. The decision should be based on the candidates’ skills, experience, and ability to work in the environment at your organization. Always be mindful of discrimination concerns, such as issues relating to race, sex, age, or physical disability. Finally, ask yourself the following fundamental questions: ''Can the candidate do the job well?'' and ''Why was he or she chosen over the other candidates?''