Beginners Guide to Candidate Screening

Welcome to our beginner's guide to candidate screening! The process of hiring new employees can be a daunting task, especially if you are new to the hiring process. One of the most important steps in this process is candidate screening, where you assess potential employees to determine if they are the right fit for your company.

This guide will walk you through the basics of candidate screening and provide you with the tools and resources you need to ensure a successful and efficient hiring process. Whether you're an HR professional or a business owner, this guide is designed to help you make informed decisions about your company's future. So let's get started!

What is Candidate Screening?

Screening candidates involves whittling down the vast number of applications received (hopefully) to a manageable number of qualified individuals. You must clear this hurdle before your ideal candidate can progress to the next step.

Why is Candidate Screening Important?

Screening candidates is crucial to the recruitment process and should be done regardless of the position being applied for. Candidate screening can help you gauge the suitability of your applicants as the attention shifts from hard to soft skills. By screening beforehand, it can give your a good idea of your candidates work mentality, inclinations, morals and personal values.

Besides evaluating whether your candidate is a good match or not, candidate screening can also provide additional question to ask when interviewing. You can question them about unexplained gaps in employment or even about exceptionally short stays at previous companies. These questions give greater insight into the kind of person your candidate is and sheds more light on their journey, motivations, strengths and weaknesses.

Another huge benefit of candidate screening is it can save large amounts of time or money. Sitting through unnecessary interview with unsuitable candidates can waste resources and so a screening process can streamline your recruitment process and save money. What’s more, having to interview only a select few that have proven, at face value, to be competent is also another good way to save time and money.

How to Screen Candidates?

Here are a few tips to help you get started with candidate screening:

Create a system for cross-checking your job requirements and skills as described on your job description with the facts on your candidates CV and cover letter. It shows you how well they can express themselves in a concise manner and provides insight about their communication and writing skills.
A short, 10-15 minute phone interview can also provide valuable insight about the candidates who pass the candidate screen. Develop four to six key questions that address your most important concerns. Ask the same questions of each applicant so you can better compare the results. The candidates that score well after this stage should all look like someone you’d consider hiring.
More and more companies are using LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to check up on job candidates. Screening social media helps you look for examples of behavior at odds with what you learned on their candidates and phone screen.
Emails are another way to analyse a candidate’s writing skills along with their ability to communicate clearly and concisely. It’s very easy for intentions to be misunderstood in an email, so look for candidates who can avoid messaging that may come across as overly emotional, angry or dismissive.

Candidate Screening Technology

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It’s time to hire faster and simplify processes through technology. Talk to our consultants today and let us demonstrate a new difference.