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Choosing the right candidate for a vacancy from a large number of applicants is sometimes like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Every application has to be evaluated by the HR manager, unless you trust an algorithms based pre-selection. Most applications will be made up of the same components: a cover letter, CV, and potential referrals, transcripts and certificates which are relevant to the position. But these only answer a part of the questions you as an employer has, which is why once you see that the hard criteria have been fulfilled, you will need to start the arduous process of vetting the candidate.
Different interviewing methods allow you to get to know an applicant differently and can be more or less fitting to the situation you are in.
Telephone interview – It is usually similar in structure to a classic interview and can give a first impression. This can be handy when you want to get a better understanding of the CV or have some important questions to ask. However, keep in mind as both parties do not see, but only hear each other getting to know the personality may be more difficult this way.
However you can employ it well to get a first understanding of who you are talking to and incorporate tests to see how the candidate deals with difficult situations, stress and how spontaneously and eloquent he or she is.
Personal interview – This is probably the most common method to get to know an applicant. This gives you the chance to really get to know the candidate (both verbally and non-verbally) and to get an idea if the candidate fits the requirements of the position, the team and the company in addition to the professional skills. Also you may include other people in the interview, so that you can get many opinions and impressions of the candidate and perfect your selection.
Group interview – If you want to get to know several candidates who seem to be similar in profile, an interview in small groups is a good way to compare the applicants directly. However, you should be aware that applicants may behave and present themselves differently in this competitive situation than they would in a one-on-one interview. This can be meaningful for the situation to be filled, but it can also distort the picture of the applicants. Here each HR manager must choose what they prefer and which method suits the position.
Assessment Centre – This is by far the most complex form of applicant selection. Although usually a large number of applicants are tested by an Assessment Centre at the same time, a great deal of preparation is required (tasks, structural test interviews, presentations and usually also the organization of catering), and the evaluation is also much more extensive and therefore more time-consuming.
Trial work – The invitation to the trial work should only be issued when one is almost certain that one or a few candidates fit the profile. Having an applicant for half a day or a whole day to test work in the company means additional work for yourself and/or your colleagues. The advantage of a trial day is that it is easy to see how sociable the candidate is when interacting with potential new colleagues and how quickly he or she is able to grasp the new tasks.
As an HR manager, you should create a requirement profile in advance. This is not the job advertisement, but a guideline for you and the selection procedure, with which you can tick off the most important criteria for the position with the candidate. These are hard skills that the candidate must have, but also social skills that the team needs, difficulties that the new employee must overcome, and development opportunities that the candidate can be offered.
Notes are indispensable and actually a matter of course. These begin with the first reading of the documents, where questions about the curriculum vitae or certificates can arise, and continue in the interview with the applicant. In order to better compare the candidates from the interviews, you should build a guide for the interview. This does not mean that you discuss the same things one hundred percent with each candidate, but you should include the same list of questions about knowledge, experience and soft skills in your interview conduct so that you can compare more objectively.
In the end, you have to make a decision. The guidelines from your interviews, the notes that go with them, the results of the test work or test items - these are all your tools for comparing and evaluating the candidates. They can be your tools to make the final decision for one candidate and against the other.
Think about what your first impression was. Listen to your gut feeling to see if you liked the type of candidate. Imagine the candidate in the day-to-day work of the department concerned. HR work is not always just the evaluation of pure facts, but also has to do with knowledge of human nature. So listen to your intuition when making your decision.
With us you get a preselection of top candidates to cut down your decision-making process and you can be sure that no matter which of our candidates you choose we have vetted them thoroughly and they will be a good fit. This way you can save time on reading lots of CVs which do not meet the minimum requirements and you can be assured that we have already had a preliminary phone interview with the candidates as well as assessed their cognitive and personal skills.
Cut down the time you use for finding new employees and let us support you in this important task. Contact us now!
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