How long do you think your top candidate is willing to wait for your job offer?  How many hoops do you think that candidate will graciously jump through before walking away?  Today’s job market can’t support the lengthy obstacle course that the hiring process has become these last few years.  Four panel interviews, two essays, an oral presentation, a meeting with the CEO, and an extensive background check later… You risk intimidating, boring, or just plain disenchanting your top candidate.  Sure, you’re being cautious, taking extra measures to find the best candidate.  But how helpful are those measures if, by the time you’re ready to make an offer, your ideal candidate already accepted a position at a competitor with a more expeditious hiring process?  Stop letting your top candidates get away from you!  Put away your flaming hoops and learn how to balance speed and accuracy on the hiring obstacle course.

Just as you wouldn’t jump into a mud run without training first, don’t jump into the hiring process without preplanning.  Set up your course from start to finish:

Prescreening should be conducted quickly but carefully.  Set criteria to determine your first round of candidates, such as selecting the top five resumes out of your first 20 applicants.  (Finding the best candidate does not mean interviewing all 200 applicants, or letting resumes roll in for two months.)  Once you’ve got your first-round picks, start with a basic telephone interview.  Reach out to each candidate by phone and ask a few simple questions.  If you like what you hear in the quality and delivery of the candidate’s answers, extend an offer for a more formal interview in the office.

Panel interviews typically come out on top for speed and accuracy.  Be sure to involve the key players in your company, including the would-be supervisor and people who will work closely with the position.  Try to include all of these people in one panel, to minimize the number of interviews and the times the candidate has to come back.  (Remember, every candidate needs time to prepare for an interview, and employed candidates must take time away from their current jobs to meet with you.)  This way, each of your staff members sees and judges the same material.  If one or more staffers have reservations about a candidate, chances are that candidate might not be the best fit.  And be sure to discuss the candidate immediately after every interview, to compare notes and establish a ranking.  You should be able to pick the top contender at the end of the day’s interview process, or decide if you should go back for second-round picks.

A prepared list of questions for this panel interview sets out the important issues to address with each candidate.  No question is overlooked, and every candidate gets a fair shot to discuss what is relevant to the company and the position.  A prepared list of questions also keeps the interview on track, instead of sprawling into a candidate’s second life as a beekeeper.

Written assignments and prepared presentations should be kept to a minimum, as deemed absolutely necessary to assess the skills for a position.  For example, if you require a writing sample from a communications officer, ask candidates to bring a portfolio to the interview—don’t ask them to write a press release during the interview.  Few people want to sit through an hour-long interview, only to spend another hour in a vacant office, writing about a time they provided outstanding customer service.  As an alternative, you can include a set of supplemental questions with your job posting, so candidates can provide a brief written response during the prescreening process.

Checking references for your top candidate should be a mainstay during every hiring process, even the speedy and accurate ones.  A candid reference may reveal critical information that would not have come out during the hiring process.  At the very least, the references will reinforce your decision that this candidate is the best fit for the position.  This process shouldn’t take more than a day, and if all the pieces come together at the end of your reference-checking, you’ll be ready to make an offer—and in a “just right” time!

Does your hiring process still look like a clunky obstacle course?  If you can use a hand refining your hiring process, YES! Your Human Resources Solution is here to help.  We’ll work with your team every step of the way, from writing effective job descriptions, to finding creative ways to expand your applicant pool.  We can even assist with the onboarding process.  These are just a few of the services we offer as Orange County’s premier Human Resources consulting firm.  Put our 20 years of experience to work for you—visit our website or contact us for a free consultation to find out how we can help your unique business grow and thrive into the future.