The recruitment process: a cheat sheet
Our recruitment process is more involved than many other processes, and involves some steps that might be different to what you're used to. Below is a snapshot of the process, from beginning to end. To see the process from the candidate’s perspective, go here.
Let’s break down each stage of the process in a bit more detail:
Stage 1: Design
1. Check that you need to hire someone
A good reason to hire someone is if you need to add more skills to the team; a not-so-good reason to hire someone is simply because another person is too busy. If this is the case, check to see if they really need to be doing all their current tasks, and/or if anything in their role can be automated, before hiring someone new.
2. Assemble your hiring team
Your hiring team should consist of the hiring manager (with skills in the same domain; ideally the person the new role will report to); someone whose role is to test the culture fit of this person; and someone who is responsible for managing the administrative process.
3. Make a list of skills
Remember: you’re not hiring someone simply to execute tasks - you need them to have specific skills. Break out each task you need done into the skills that someone needs to achieve them. This makes it easier to tell from a candidate’s responses whether they're likely to be able to do the job.
Stage 2: Attract
4. Writing a job description
Once you've figured out the skills that are needed, you can write a job description. This needs to actively describe the role as accurately as you can, including the ‘fun parts’ and the ‘not-so-fun parts,’ so that people can accurately and actively tell whether or not the job sounds interesting to them. It also needs to be appealing to people and show off the personality of your company’s culture.
5. Advertising the role
We’re going to use recruitment software Greenhouse to advertise, which means you all you need to do is organise everything you need to upload, then push it live and advertise the role.
6. Reviewing applications: the longlist
The first round of application review is a quick test and you’re looking for two things: skills, and causes for concern. Look for evidence of skills that match those you've already identified as ones you need in the team, rather than candidates who have done the exact same tasks before (or had the same job description). Also keep an eye out for red flags - this generally means evidence that a candidate might have trouble integrating into a work environment ( such as a lot of jobs in a short space of time without explanation). At this stage of the process, it’s good to err on the side of allowing people in, rather than kicking them out.
7. Psychometric testing
At this stage, candidates will move onto psychometric testing, which is designed to test for specific characteristics and competencies that will help you identify people who are more likely to excel at the skills you need in the team. Please note: you require a qualified assessor to be able to legally assess these tests. For more info on psychometric testing, go here.
8. Reviewing candidates: the shortlist
As you receive psychometric testing results from your candidates, you should assess them against your preferred standards for each test. Mark each candidate as pass or fail on each test (or part of the test). Candidates who have passed each section of the test should be passed to the next round automatically.
Stage 3: Select
9. Interviewing, Part One: the short interview
Once you have a shortlist of five or six candidates, the next step is to do a short interview with each person. This has two purposes: to perform a culture-fit test, and answer any questions the candidate has. To ensure that you gather the most useful information at this stage, there is a script to follow which will be available in Greenhouse.
10. Work simulation
A few days after the interview, ask candidates to come into the workplace (one at a time) for a work simulation. This is typically 4-6 hours in which they do a selection of tasks that are closely related to the work required in the new role. The work simulation gives candidates a really comprehensive understanding of the role itself, the tasks required, and the company culture. It also gives the hiring team a better chance to see what candidates can do, how they approach things, and how they fit with existing team members and managers. For info on how to design a work simulation, go here.
11. Interviewing, Part Two: the long interview
By this stage, you should have whittled down your list to two or three candidates, and it’s time to go into a long interview. This happens on a separate day to the work simulation, and is your major chance to answer any questions that you still have about the candidate. There is a script for this in Greenhouse as well, which includes some standard questions.
Stage 4: Agreement
12. Reference checks
Once you have decided on your preferred candidate, give their references a call. What you’re looking for is whether the referee describes the person in a similar way to how you have seen them. There should be no surprises at a reference check.
13. Making an offer
This stage of the process is all about building goodwill and making them feel welcome, comfortable and excited to work for you. Give them a call, be warm and congratulatory. Get a verbal agreement, and send a written contract immediately afterwards. Then you can move onto onboarding!