February 27, 2023

Candidate Selection Process: A Step-by-Step Guide

Are you on the lookout for your next superstar candidate? If yes, it’s time to dive right into the nitty gritty details of the candidate selection process!

What is Candidate Selection?

A candidate selection process is a journey undertaken by a company from posting a job opening to selecting a handful of applicants. A company’s hiring pipeline shapes the funnel that candidates pass through to become a part of the organization. A good candidate selection process helps you find the best candidates that fit into your company’s environment, have the right skills, and match the job criteria.

A company is only as good as its employees! Therefore, an effective selection process determines the future of a company by obtaining the right employees and reducing the turnover rate.

Key Stages of a Candidate Selection Process

Each organization has a unique candidate selection process. The selection process can also vary depending on the job. However, the key ingredients remain the same and most selection processes stem from the same traditional recipe.

The 7 main stages of a candidate selection process are:

Job Analysis
Application Form
Screening
Assessment
Background checks
Interview
Final Offer

Here’s a quick guide to what each stage holds. Let’s dive deeper!

1- Job Analysis

First things first, you need to understand what you’re looking for! Draft out a clear list of requirements and define the responsibilities needed for the job. Make sure the requirements are not rigid and you attract real talent rather than scaring them off ;)

2- Application Form

After you have posted your job opening on job boards and social platforms, the next step is designing an application form. Make sure your application form is not too long but still asks the right questions! If your application form contains too many questions that demand long answers, most applicants will not submit it.

Another important aspect is including screening questions in the application form such as asking them about their experience, education, and skills. If your company uses Application Tracking Software, it becomes easier to filter candidates based on skills and experience by simply parsing through their resumes.

Include questions in your form that are relevant to the position so you can filter candidates according to their responses. For example, if you’re hiring for a Senior Frontend Developer, you can ask “Do you have 4+ years of experience working as a Frontend Developer?”. This will make your candidate screening process faster and easier.

3- Screening

After the influx of applications, it is time to filter the candidates according to your selection criteria! This is the part where you screen candidates based on a careful analysis of their applications. If you included qualifying questions in your application forms, you can shortlist applicants based on their responses such as experience, a certain skill set or, their willingness to work on-site.

Consequently, candidates can be filtered based on their educational background and academic qualifications. However, it is best not to be too stringent since not all Ph.D. or diploma holders can have the right skill set and vice versa.

Once you have successfully screened candidates, it’s time to move on to the next phase!

4- Assessment

Giving out assessments is an important part of the candidate screening process since it tests the applicant’s technical abilities and helps you determine if they have the right skills. An assessment can vary depending on the position you’re hiring for. For example, for a Software Engineer job opening, you can assign the applicants a coding challenge with a time constraint but for a content writer, it would be more reasonable to test their spoken and written language skills.

Other than a technical assessment, you can also focus on general aptitude, intelligence, and personality tests. It’s important to choose assessments that are challenging but also fun and doable. This can help the applicant build interest in your company and also gauge your organization's general practices and environment.

5- Background and Reference Checks

At this point in your hiring process, you will be left with a handful of candidates that survived the screening and assessment. This is the perfect time to conduct background and reference checks on the candidate. Your company can choose to conduct these either before or after the interview.

Background checks can be extensive but help you ascertain whether the candidate is a viable fit for your company. Background checks can include:

Searching for a criminal record
Performing drug tests
Social media and online checks
Contacting educational institutes to verify the candidate graduated from there
Integrity checks
Credit checks

Moreover, if the candidate applied through a reference, you can verify the validity of the reference. In case, the applicant has prior work experience, it’s advisable to contact their former employer and inquire about the applicant’s performance and professionalism.

Make sure that any background checks you conduct are legal according to your regional laws.

6- Interview

If you have been communicating with the candidates throughout the candidate screening process, at this stage, you would have developed a good relationship with them. Communication and encouragement leading up to the interview eases the candidate and lays the groundwork for an organic and easy interview environment.

During the interview, ask questions related to the job opening but also get to know the candidate better. Make sure to ask the candidate about their availability, working hours, and salary expectations, since these can be deal-breakers.

7- Final Offer

Welcome to the end of the candidate selection process! You’ve finally found the right candidate! This phase is all about making an offer, drafting a contract, negotiating, and finalizing the agreement. If you have a job offer template ready, the rest is easy!

Once the candidate accepts your offer, you have successfully reached the end of your candidate selection process and found the perfect new addition to your workforce!

Conclusion

That’s all about the candidate selection process in a nutshell! This guide can make your journey to find the perfect candidate an easy and seamless one. Remember to build a good relationship with the applicants and create a pool of promising candidates that you can hire whenever a position opens up. This makes the selection process more effective and cuts down your hiring costs.

Make sure to take advantage of modern technology and invest in Application Tracking System! It will make your hiring process smoother and save valuable time and cost.