Creating a More Effective Vetting Strategy

Vetting potential employees is an integral part of ensuring you make the right hiring decisions. A great hire can contribute to your organization’s growth, profitability, and competitiveness in the marketplace. The wrong hire can be a waste of time and energy and harm overall morale. Create a vetting strategy thorough enough to uncover any red flags while quick enough to keep top prospects engaged every step along the way.  

The Importance Of Screening Candidates 

When you are having trouble filling vacancies, it can be tempting to shortcut the screening process. Most employers have learned the hard way how expensive a bad hire can be. Thorough candidate screening is essential in preventing bad hires. It’s just as crucial that your vetting process is quick and efficient to avoid losing top candidates in the hiring process. While you don’t want to hire a candidate without the skills, experience, or fit to succeed in your organization, the best people have multiple job opportunities. You don’t want to lose your top choice to the competition.

How Should I Vet? 

Candidate vetting is not a single task to check off your to-do list. It’s an integral part of the hiring process. There are steps you can take throughout the hiring process to ensure you get the right match. Begin by examining how you present the opportunity to prospective employees in advertising. Review the application and interviewing process and how you approach background checks and reference checks. Vetting can even continue beyond the hire date. Check on new employees within the first few weeks or months to see if they are adjusting and capable of doing the job. It’s better to lose an employee early in their tenure than before you invest a lot of time and energy into their development.  

Accurate Job Description 

An accurate job description is an essential part of the process. It will attract qualified candidates and weed out unqualified candidates who will self-select out of the process. Distinguish between the internal job description you use to classify and create metrics for positions within the company and job advertisements intended to attract top prospects. The job description that goes into your ad should be appealing to the audience you’re hoping to reach. It should have a strong What’s-In-It-For-Me message. It should not be a list of must-haves only. Of course, it’s essential the post present the requirements and responsibilities of the position, but it’s also important to appeal to candidates who will be the right fit. Make your opportunity stand out from the competition because top candidates will always have many opportunities to choose from. 

Create An Assessment To Preview Candidates’ Skills  

An initial assessment for candidates can keep you and the candidate from wasting time moving any further into the process. You can offer a skills test or have them interview with someone who understands the position thoroughly, even if that’s not the hiring manager. If the person who previously held the position is leaving the role because of promotion or other positive reasons, ask them to interview the new candidate to assess whether they are likely to be successful in the role. 

Add A Phone Interview

A phone interview can be an efficient way to quickly assess mutual fit for you and the candidate. An in-person interview requires a candidate to take time off work, dress professionally and drive to your building. It’s a significant investment of time and energy on their part that can be avoided by starting with a phone screen. You can process several candidates in an afternoon rather than setting aside at least an hour per candidate for an in-person interview. Draft five to ten questions a screener can ask each candidate in a fifteen-minute call. The questions should be relevant to the position, flow logically and elicit the information you need to move forward. Consistency is important. Ask the questions in the same order so you can make an apples-to-apples comparison.  

Interview for Fit

One of the most critical aspects of the vetting process is the interview. You’re interviewing for fit and suitability for the role, of course, but also take this opportunity to ensure their answers match their resume. Check that they understand the role and clarify the job responsibilities and company culture if they don’t. Ask them to explain any resume gaps or other areas of concern. 

Contact References 

Even if you are in a hurry to fill the position, don’t skip contacting references. Remember that the candidate will give you references they anticipate will project them in the best possible light. If you can’t get positive responses from a reference, you should hesitate to add the individual to the staff. Keep in mind references may use careful, neutral language. You may need to read between the lines before consider hiring the candidate for hire. 

Background Checks 

Background checks can be an essential part of the hiring process. They can reveal information hard to come by otherwise. You won’t find negative information in their resume and may not hear bad feedback from references either. Depending on the position you’re hiring for, you might need to run credit reports and request driving records and criminal background checks. Remember, you don’t have to conduct all these checks on every position. Don’t hesitate to be especially vigilant in jobs where the person hired could pose a significant risk to the company or its employees. Verify their professional experience and any degrees or certifications required or that they claim. 

Use An Applicant Tracking System

Applicant tracking systems can streamline the vetting process. It makes it easier to filter and screen resumes and applications based on skills and experience. It can speed the process, lessening the chance of losing top candidates in a protracted process. Making the application quick and user-friendly can help keep the best prospects in the loop. 

Check Social Media

An important step in vetting candidates is reviewing their online process. Try not to be excessively critical of posts that just show the candidate living their life, even if it’s not something you agree with. Look for red flags like threats of violence, not a few too many vacation cocktails. If you are concerned about potential client interactions, you can always ask that they take relevant accounts private or change the name to make it less identifiable. 

What Is Candidate Ghosting? 

Most employers have had the misfortune of dealing with candidate ghosting, whether you know what it’s called or not. Candidate Ghosting is when a candidate seems to disappear at some point during the hiring process. Candidates can be ghosted by recruiters who fail to call back when they say they will or follow up to let a candidate know they didn’t get the job. Candidates can ghost employers as well. They don’t show up for interviews, complete assessments, or submit documentation as requested. They can even fail to show up on the first day of work. It’s expensive and inconvenient and should be avoided if possible.  

How To Prevent Candidate Ghosting? 

Most employers have had the misfortune of dealing with candidate ghosting, whether you know what it’s called or not. Candidate Ghosting is when a candidate seems to disappear at some point during the hiring process. Candidates can be ghosted by recruiters who fail to call back when they say they will or follow up to let a candidate know they didn’t get the job. Candidates can ghost employers as well. They don’t show up for interviews, complete assessments, or submit documentation as requested. They can even fail to show up on the first day of work. It’s expensive and inconvenient and should be avoided if possible. 

•  Improving Benefits/Starting Pay

One reason candidates ghost is because the opportunity wasn’t that great in the first place, and they found a better one. Review competitive compensation in your area or industry to ensure you are in line with other employers or even a little better. Add benefits that will attract candidates. Don’t overthink it. It can often be as simple as good health insurance and paid time off. 

• Tell Them What To Expect 

Keep them in the loop throughout the vetting process. On your end, you know you’re scrambling to gather all the necessary documentation to make the offer. On the candidate end, all they know is they haven’t heard from you in two weeks. They don’t know you’ve been waiting two weeks for your college to confirm their degree college or that the person responsible for creating offer packages is on vacation. Regular communication can prevent you from losing a top candidate. 

  • Speed Up Onboarding Process 

It’s easy to get lost in the onboarding process if it takes too long. Candidates can get frustrated, especially if there are gaps between steps in the onboarding process. Make the process as quick as possible to ensure that you don’t lose the candidate to a competitor. They can also think that you have lost interest in them if they don’t hear from you. Be sure to present any employment offers in writing so they feel confident giving notice to their current employer and don’t need to worry about leaving an employment gap. 

  • Follow Up Frequently

Stay in touch with the candidate throughout the hiring process and even beyond so they feel that they are already part of the team. Be friendly but professional. Don’t treat hiring as an adversarial process. You both have the same goal in mind. Tell them what to expect at every step and follow through on a regular schedule. Continue communication after the new employee begins work. Call them the day before their new job starts to make sure they’re still excited about their first day and answer any last-minute questions. Check-in at the end of their first day to see how it went. Continue at regular intervals as appropriate such as the end of the week, end of the month, and after ninety days. You can lose good people if you don’t pay attention to what they need. 

Partner With A Recruiting Firm And Start Filling Roles Today!

A recruiting firm can be your candidate vetting secret. They work with hundreds of candidates or more per year and have their vetting process down to a science. Tell your recruiting partner what you’re looking for in your next hire and let them do the rest. You can focus on other priorities while they do the legwork. You will choose from only candidates who are screened, vetted, and interested in working for your company.   

PrideStaff Is A Candidate Vetting Expert 

Our proven On-Target Process can streamline your hiring process and connect you with candidates who are a great fit. Get in touch with your local PrideStaff office today to start your search.