What are the stages of recruitment? Understanding the recruitment process

One of the biggest responsibilities in the Human Resources area is finding the perfect professional for a position. Every business wants to fill their vacant positions as fast as possible in fear of drop in the performance. However, if recruitment and selection don’t receive the proper time and attention, you risk hiring a candidate who doesn’t really meet the requirements of the position. 

Finding that professional who can meet all the criteria and fit in the company is not an easy task. There are several steps that must be made since the moment recruiters hear about the opening until they find the ideal candidate. Do you know which are the stages of recruitment? At T2W we can help you understand this process. Here you will take a look at the phases of the recruitment process. 

What are the stages of the recruitment process? 

1. Defining the position 

To start a good recruitment process is necessary to understand the company, its needs and the type of professional who will meet them. In general, once the news about the opening is received, some people urge recruiters to publish the job ad as fast as possible without a recruitment plan or strategy. That can give some poor results. 

Understanding what the organization needs allows recruiters to define correctly the profile of the professional required. This way, you identify the characteristics that are really important and the ones that are optional. This also makes possible to know if it’s really necessary to have a wide experience or if the position and the context allow continuous training within the organization. 

With this in mind, is time to move to the next step which is creating the job ad. By understanding the position and the organization, it’s possible to create an ad that show the job and the company in an attractive way. Additionally, recruiters can be more precise with the requirements of the job and clear about the responsibilities it entails. 

2. Selecting the recruitment method 

Now it’s time to look for people that fits the profile that has just been defined. When it comes to finding candidates, there are two main methods that can be used: external recruitment and internal recruitment. In external recruitment you look for candidates outside the organization. This is the most common method used by Human Resources professionals. 

However, internal recruitment is another valid option. With this, you look for recruiters inside the organization. Why choosing this method? For a start, this offers candidates that have already passed the tests of the organization. Therefore, the evacuation stage will be a lot less demanding and recruiters have a faster process. 

Also, this method gives you candidates already adapted to the company and its organizational culture. As a result, the time it takes for the selected candidate to fully integrate to the position is shorter. Additionally, employees gain the possibility to get to a new position, which boosts employee morale. 

3. Identifying the right channels 

Once the method has been selected, it’s necessary to identify the channels that will help recruiters find the best professional for the position. Nowadays, the digital channels are the most used in this stage of the recruitment process. The most common means are ads in job platforms and, of course, social media. 

Here we must highlight that the objective is not finding a channel that brings you many applicants, but good ones. More often than not, people confuse quantity with quality. It will be worthless for a recruiter to receive thousands of resumes if none of them gets to the final selection. 

In fact, data reveals that job sites usually provide about 88% of applicants for job openings. However, from these platforms recruiters only get 29% of hires. For that reason, it is important to choose carefully the channels you will use to find candidates. 

For that reason, you should prioritize variety in the channels you select. Don’t focus only in popular platforms such as Facebook or LinkedIn, but also in other specialty and niche options. Consider also social media groups related to certain careers and forums focused on specific fields. 

Lastly, we also must mention the recruitment through an employee referral program. With this, employees are the channel used and you trust them with finding among their professional contacts the person who can fit the position. This can save a lot of time that otherwise would be spent on evaluation and analysis of candidates. 

4. Analyzing resumes 

During the first evaluation stage recruiters have to check all the resumes received. While this phase must be very careful, it doesn’t usually require a detailed examination since what is being checked is experience, degrees and skills on paper. However, depending on the type of position, recruiters could receive many resumes and the checking all of them could take a lot of time. 

To speed up the process, one of the best tools for recruiters are ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems). These are software that allows recruiters to receive and process hundreds of resumes quickly. They can scan the files and unify the format so checking them gets easier. Also, these programs can identify the best applicants according to the criteria you set. That saves a lot of time. 

5. Interviewing candidates 

Resumes have been reviewed and recruiters have found the candidates who have the highest chances to fit the position. Now it’s time to get to know personally the applicants and compare what their resumes say with what the interviewer can learn from them in person. 

This is one of the most important phases of recruitment. Here, recruiters make an in-depth analysis of the candidates: their experience, knowledge and personality. This is why many recruiters include here an additional stage of psychometric, psychological and knowledge tests. 

It’s necessary to prepare the same structure for all the interviews. The questions and the analysis made for each person must be from the same perspective. This is good to have a fair process, avoid bias and find the best candidate based on skills and knowledge. 

Additionally, one of the main objectives of the interview is checking if the candidates would fit the company’s organizational culture. After all, applicants could meet the requirements of the position, but that would be worthless if they cannot adapt to the philosophy and way of working in the organization. 

6. Final selection  

Finally, recruiters compare the results obtained from each applicant during the interviews. The ideal candidate is the one who best meets the requirements of the position and also fits perfectly the company’s culture. After many stages and a thorough analysis, the recruitment process concludes when the best candidate is hired. 

Additionally, once each interview ends it’s necessary to keep applicants informed about their status in the process. When this finishes, all candidates must be informed the process is over and receive feedback if they didn’t get the position. This has a positive influence on candidate experience and company image. 

Now you know what are the steps of recruitment and all that must be done to find the best candidate. This is one of the most important processes for any company. Make sure your organization follows all these steps! 

At Talent2Win, we strive to align your company’s business objectives with the best Talent Acquisition strategies available. If you want to learn more about the services we offer, do not hesitate to contact us.