Are you struggling to recruit employees who are the right fit for your company? 🤔 Are you sifting through piles of applications and potential candidates, wondering how to find the ideal person for the job? And are you looking for ways to guide candidates through the recruiting process and attract them to your company culture?
We understand your challenges, and we’re here to help. Read on for valuable insights and tips on how to recruit the right employees for your organization. 🤩
How To Recruit Candidates Properly?
The recruitment process consists of several steps that can be adapted to fit your organization’s specific needs. 📝
If you’re a recruitment agency, you may not experience all the steps of recruitment, such as onboarding and the trial period, but you’ll be interested in the initial steps of finding, contacting, and sorting candidates. We’ll also discuss effective tools and easy ways to accomplish these tasks.
Alternatively, if you go through a recruitment agency, you may not be responsible for sourcing candidates, but you’ll need to focus on building a strong employer brand and presenting a compelling hiring proposal to your ideal candidate.
Finally, if you’re responsible for recruiting in your company, you’ll need to follow all eight steps of the recruitment process that we outline in this article.
Are you ready to get started? 😁 Let’s dive in and explore the best practices for successful recruitment.
The 8 Essential Steps to learn how to recruit successfully
The recruitment phase involves 8️⃣ crucial steps, from creating an employer brand to the probationary period. Each of these steps plays a vital role in the overall recruitment process.
1. Work on your employer brand
An employer brand refers to the image that a company presents to job candidates, rather than to consumers. It’s a way to showcase the company’s professional and human advantages, such as strong values, a positive company culture, stress reduction, lunch vouchers, varied missions, and other factors that can contribute to a positive work environment and employee satisfaction. In short, an employer brand is a company’s way of demonstrating why it’s a great place to work.
Define the salary benefits
💡 LinkedIn reported that 73% of SMBs face competition from more reputable companies for top talent.
Although the study is from 2019, employer branding is even more crucial today than it was then. The first step in creating a strong employer brand is to define the benefits that the company offers to differentiate itself from competitors. As an employee well-being manager, it’s important to consider what else you could bring to the table to enhance the employer brand.
Here are some ideas to consider when developing your employer brand: 🧡
- Company-sponsored after-work events
- A dedicated rest area that’s tailored to employees’ needs
- Restaurant tickets or cards
- Flexible working hours and telecommuting options
- Welcome gifts and the purchase of high-performance equipment upon arrival
- Gift cards for holiday periods
By implementing these and other creative ideas, companies can build a strong employer brand and attract top talent.
Communicate about your employer’s brand
💡 (Glassdoor study): 75% of active job seekers are likely to apply if the employer promotes its brand online and has a positive image.
The second step in building a strong employer brand is to effectively communicate about it to potential candidates. While it’s essential to have a range of benefits to offer, candidates must be able to discover them before the recruitment period to attract the best talent. 😎
The best way to attract highly qualified candidates is to have them come to you. To achieve this, you need to communicate about your company’s culture and values. Here are some ways to do this:
- Use social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Instagram, and potentially TikTok to communicate about your employer brand.
- Create a “career” and “life at work” page on your website.
- Collaborate with well-known employment-promoting brands like “Welcome To The Jungle” to do interviews and feature your company.
- Create a company page on LinkedIn to showcase your brand and values.
- Encourage your employees to talk about workplace wellness on social media, review sites, and through word of mouth.
- Participate in webinars on workplace wellness and share your company values.
One example of HR media that you can set up is a page on a well-known site with different interviews and the development of your company’s values. You can also place several ads on the page to attract potential candidates. By using these tactics, you can effectively communicate your employer brand to attract top talent.
It’s crucial to add posts to promote your employer brand, and the best way to do this is by having your employees speak positively about their work environment and well-being. This kind of word-of-mouth advertising is much more effective than a boss bragging about their own benevolence. 😂
If you’re a recruiting firm or independent recruiter, you can encourage companies to adopt a publishing policy related to employer branding. This will make your job of finding the right candidates easier.
Here’s an example of the kind of content you want potential candidates to see on their news feeds: 👇
2. Understand and communicate all the issues of the position
The first step in the recruitment process is to fully understand the job offer.
It’s essential to have a clear understanding of all the job’s responsibilities and benefits and effectively convey them to potential candidates. Additionally, it’s crucial to be transparent about the salary, as candidates are increasingly expressing a desire for this information during job interviews.
To ensure that you don’t miss any critical details, create a comprehensive job description that outlines the profile you’re looking for and all the associated tasks. Gather information on the work environment and conditions to provide candidates with a complete picture of the position.
If you’re a recruitment agency or independent recruiter, make sure to work closely with your contact person at the company to ensure that the job description is accurate and complete. If necessary, gather additional information to find the right profiles.
You can copy/paste this job sheet to an Excel or Word document to reuse it for future job descriptions: 👇
The job description
| POSITION | |
|---|---|
| Job title | |
| Nature of the position | |
| Profile sought | |
| Salary |
| SERVICE | |
|---|---|
| Main mission | |
| Composition of the department | |
| Positioning (Head, Manager..) |
| MISSIONS | |
|---|---|
| Main mission, reason for being or purpose of the position | |
| Missions and activities of the position | |
| Constraints difficulties of the position | |
| Advantages of the position |
| REQUIRED SKILLS | |
|---|---|
| Profile of the position | The “knowledge” : The “know-how” : The cultural “fit” : The “savoir-être” : |
The second step in the recruitment process is to effectively communicate the job offer and make it appealing to the right candidates. Unfortunately, many job offers are still written from the perspective of the company rather than the potential recruit.
To attract the best candidates, it’s important to avoid using terms that may scare them away. Here are some examples of terms to avoid: ❌
❌ We are looking for an impeccable profile.
❌ You are very conscientious and can perform repetitive tasks.
❌ You are able to work under intense stress.
❌ You have a master’s degree and 15 years of experience, for a salary at the minimum wage.
If you’re looking for the perfect candidate with extensive work experience who can work in challenging conditions, you may struggle to find someone who meets all of your criteria. It’s essential to ensure that your job requirements are realistic and match the current job market.
Once you have a clear job description, you can post your job ad on job boards, your website, and social media platforms to attract potential candidates.
To avoid deterring potential candidates, here are some things not to do when creating a job ad: ❌
At Leadsourcing, we’ve developed job offers that are highly effective! Our job ads receive an impressive response rate from motivated candidates.
We are providing a sample job offer below that you can easily copy and paste: 👇
| Who are we? | Company, number of employees, business sector, turnover, website… |
| What is our ambition? | The major projects in progress, the evolutions, the development. |
| What do we offer? | The work environment, the values, the setting, the places. |
| What is the position? | Clear job title in relation to the sector of activity, hours, working conditions. |
| What are your missions and your typical day? | Detailed description of the position and a typical day’s work. |
| What profile are we looking for? | Both in terms of skills and interpersonal skills. |
| What are your benefits? | Salary, luncheon vouchers, benefits, bonuses, unlimited vacations. |
| What is the job interview procedure? | Explain to the candidate how to apply. Original resume? Cover letter? Give deadlines and explain the stages of recruitment. |
You can easily adapt the sample job offer to a more formal tone if your target audience is more serious. 🤓
3. Be active in your search for candidates
💡 68% of companies had difficulty recruiting (South China Morning Post, 2022)
According to the study, there are increasingly more requirements for candidates and fewer applications (as discussed earlier in the recruitment trend). The best candidates are often already employed and not actively seeking new opportunities. When we succeed in inviting a perfect candidate for an interview, we call it “poaching” an employee.
This practice has become more common, particularly in sectors requiring specific skills, such as IT profiles, and it’s now widespread in both B2B and B2C, such as personal assistance and medical fields.
To be a successful headhunter, you need to equip yourself with the best tools, including:
- Monitoring companies that hire the same types of profiles
- Searching for former students from schools that correspond to the profiles you’re looking for
- Conducting targeted surveys, by “type of position,” on networks such as LinkedIn.
To be active and find potential candidates, LinkedIn is the best professional social network for employment.
But how can you effectively use LinkedIn? 🤓
How to recruit on LinkedIn?
Begin your talent acquisition process by following these simple steps:
- Conduct a thorough search on LinkedIn using the appropriate segmentation method to identify profiles that fall under your desired candidate category.
- Add all potential candidates to your free LinkedIn Recruiting Software and include them in your message campaigns to help with recruitment efforts.
- Utilize automated messaging to quickly reach out to numerous potential candidates in a matter of seconds.
Here’s an example post that you can use to connect with new talent (also reusable on Leadsourcing): 👇
💡 Hello {{FisrtName}}, Congratulations on your success!
I watched your latest success story on [topic] and I must say that your method blew me away. 🤩 The [company] is looking for someone like you to fill a [position]. The pay is super nice and you could be a wonderful addition to the team. Plus, they’re working on a new product that might interest you in terms of assignments. Want me to send you the job description?
It’s as simple as that, 3 key steps: A method, a tool, and a message.
4. Sort candidates with proven methods
Sourcing candidates can be challenging work! Sorting through profiles can be time-consuming and overwhelming, especially when dealing with hundreds of resumes. To increase efficiency, we recommend two techniques:
- Identify the necessary skills and interpersonal traits required for the position.
- To sort through resumes, you have two options: automated or practical methods.
Automatic resume sorting
In today’s world, even the process of sorting resumes and recruiting candidates has become automated.
Resume sorting software utilizes predefined criteria to assign scores to candidates. As a recruiter, you must prepare a list of criteria that corresponds to the desired profile, such as years of experience, proficiency in certain tools, languages spoken, and more.
Below is an example of software that you can test to find talented candidates that match the desired profile:
The methodological CV sorting
First of all, you have to remove from the list all the resumes that do not match the open position.
Then there are 3 key steps to create a resume sorting table online or in Excel.
- Step 1: Define the skills and know-how required.
- Step 2: Define the expected soft skills related to the position.
- Step 3: Build the comparative table of selected candidates.
The candidate(s) with the most checkboxes can move on to the next step in the process.
| Required know-how : | Candidate 1 | Candidate 2 | Candidate 3 | Candidate 4 | Candidate 5 | Candidate 6 | Candidate 7 |
| skill 1 | X | X | |||||
| skill 2 | X | X | |||||
| skill 3 | |||||||
| skill 4 | X | X | |||||
| skill 5 | |||||||
| skill 6 | |||||||
| skill 7 | X | X | |||||
| skill 8 | X | ||||||
| soft skills 1 | X | X | |||||
| soft skills 2 | |||||||
| soft skills 3 | X |
5. Conduct pre-interview tests
Pre-interview tests have become an increasingly essential step in recruitment tactics to verify specific skills. This approach gained considerable traction during the 2021 health crisis and is particularly crucial in certain professions such as IT, design, architecture, consulting, and project management.
You can ask candidates to complete tasks related to the future position as a way to evaluate their skills. Here are some examples:
- “Community Manager”: write three publications.
- “Developer”: solve a coding problem.
- “Salesperson”: sell a solution.
These tests are often conducted online, via a platform, shared document, or phone call. In addition to assessing the candidate’s knowledge, these tests also provide insight into their motivation to fill the position.
In some cases, companies practice “E-recruitment,” meaning that all hiring processes are conducted digitally. This approach can work well, depending on the type of position and the industry.
Job interview tests
There are various types of tests that can be used depending on the position being targeted. Here are some examples:
- Written skills test (vocabulary, syntax, etc.)
- Digital skills test (software proficiency, comfort with digital tools, etc.)
- Situational tests (presenting a given situation and asking the candidate to provide a solution)
- Creativity tests (requesting a point of view or visual identity based on a brief)
- Personality tests (identifying the candidate’s profile type and skills)
It’s crucial to ensure that each test is feasible and analyzable afterward. To do this, create an analysis grid to avoid mixing your impressions and emotions with the test results. 🤓
6. Succeed in your job interviews
💡 Glassdoor: 86% of HR professionals say that quality recruitment promotes the company as an employer and attracts 50% more top talent.
During job interviews, you are introducing the candidate to the company’s world for the first time. This is an opportunity to impress them and leave a positive impression. 🤩
Even if you only end up hiring one of them, it’s essential to consider the candidate’s experience. They may convey the image of your employer’s brand through word of mouth.
Here is a recruiter’s checklist for conducting successful job interviews:
- Greet the candidate warmly with a cup of coffee, a tour of the premises, a quick introduction to the team, and a quiet place to talk.
- Review the job description in detail to avoid any confusion.
- Prepare relevant questions for the position.
- Highlight the advantages of the position and the company.
- Conclude the interview by explaining the next steps in the recruitment process.
Questions to ask the candidate
The questions to ask a candidate during an interview will vary depending on the company’s industry and the specific position being filled. However, some questions can be considered “universal.” Here are a few ideas to help you get started: 👇
💡
– Can you introduce yourself?
– What interests you about the job offer?
– What do you think is expected of you for this position?
– Can you tell me about a professional team’s success?
– Can you tell me about a particular challenge you faced?
– Tell me about a failure that taught you a lot!
– What are your professional values?
– Where do you see yourself in five years?
Again, adaptable to being on a first-name basis if needed!
7. Prepare a pre-boarding day
💡 A strong employer brand lowers the cost of recruitment by 43%. (Glassdoor)
Successful onboarding is the final phase of recruitment, and it’s the icing on the cake. 🍒
It ensures that everyone is aligned: the candidate understands the company’s values, the teams can interact with the new employee, and the manager can debrief with the teams. Once again, it’s an opportunity to strengthen your employer’s brand.
It’s essential to note the difference between two terms:
- Onboarding = the process of integrating an employee into the company after they have arrived.
- Pre-onboarding = the integration day that is part of the recruitment process.
But then, some of you may never have heard of pre-onboarding?
What is pre-onboarding?
💡 It is also known as “onboarding”, a more HR-related term meaning “integration”. It is generally a day dedicated to the integration of the employee within the structure and his discovery of the job.
The pre-onboarding day is the final stage of recruitment, and it comes after all previous stages have been validated and consolidated. It’s a crucial step in determining whether the employee and the teams are a good fit for each other. 🤩
Only the candidate(s) who have been selected to join the company are invited to participate in the pre-onboarding day.
How do you create a successful pre-onboarding day?
Here are some steps you can take to welcome candidates into the final stage of the hiring process: 👇
🌇 Morning:
- Greet the candidate with a coffee and provide a tour of the premises and different departments.
- Have team managers provide a briefing on the company’s strategies, team organization, and various roles within the company.
- Have lunch with team members.
🌆 Afternoon:
- Re-explain the company’s main objectives and two of the position.
- Provide an explanation about “human resources and common life,” including support and benefits offered to new hires.
- Send a summary email after the visit to the premises, along with a hiring proposal.
8. Set goals during the probationary period
The trial period is a critical component of the recruitment process. During this period, the new employee must prove themselves both professionally and personally. As a manager or leader, it’s essential to set quantifiable and measurable short-term objectives.
It’s best to assign short-term missions that allow you to evaluate specific areas, such as teamwork, autonomy, learning the company’s practices, and problem-solving. Each task should focus on a particular point. However, keep in mind that it may take some time for the candidate to become fully operational in the role.
💡 HR Tip:
It’s a good practice to double the probationary period to allow maximum time for reflection. Be sure to clearly communicate to the candidate that this is a standard practice at your company and not an indication of failure to meet their goals.
Provide constant feedback
Providing feedback is crucial for new employees. It’s an opportunity for managers to analyze the work done by the new employee and offer guidance and training as needed.
One effective feedback method is the feedback sandwich, which involves offering positive feedback, followed by constructive feedback, and then ending on a positive note. 🥪 This approach can help avoid offending the employee while still providing valuable feedback.
The feedback sandwich method is straightforward:
“Surround a criticism with compliments.”
In other words, this method is designed to avoid frustrating or demotivating the recipient of the feedback. Even when providing negative feedback, it’s essential to highlight the positive aspects as well. The brain tends to focus more on what is said at the beginning and end of a sentence, so this approach can help avoid leaving a bitter aftertaste following the feedback. Here’s an example scenario: 👇
💡 Thank you for your effort and involvement in this task. I appreciate the hard work you put into it. However, there are a few points that will need to be revised (provide an example and supporting argument).
In this example we highlight:
- Involvement (first slice of the sandwich).
- Lack of depth (center of the sandwich).
- Progress (last slice of the sandwich).
You can therefore continue to give positive and negative feedback while analyzing the candidate’s progress!
Conclusion & FAQ: How to recruit the right person?
How to show the company’s values?
💡 70% of employees want a meaningful career (Mckinsey)
A company’s values play a crucial role in the recruitment process, especially for generations X, Y, and Z, who are increasingly concerned with the values and purpose of their work. With the current health crisis and focus on global warming, ecological and social values have become even more important and can positively impact a company’s publicity. To successfully recruit these profiles, it’s essential to understand their motivations.
Here are some ways to promote your company’s values and attract top talent:
- Utilize social media to communicate your values and mission.
- Create a dedicated company presentation page on your website or blog.
- Host webinars and interviews to showcase your values and culture.
- Provide detailed descriptions of your company’s values and mission on job boards and job postings.
How to conduct a recruitment interview?
Go through the 5 steps:
- 1) Candidate welcome.
- 2) The job presentation clarifying any grey areas.
- 3) Prepare the relevant questions to ask according to the position.
- 4) Present the advantages of the position and the company.
- 5) Finalize by explaining to the candidate the next step in the recruitment process.
What are onboarding and offboarding?
Onboarding is the process of integrating a new employee into a company’s workforce, while offboarding refers to the last day of an employee’s tenure. Offboarding can occur for various reasons, such as retirement, end of contract, or resignation.
It’s essential to ensure that both the arrival and departure of an employee are managed effectively to maintain a positive image of their experience in the company. This can lead to positive word-of-mouth recommendations and referrals from the employee to colleagues and acquaintances. This is commonly known as an employee referral.
How to recruit?
There are several ways to recruit personnel:
- Post job ads on LinkedIn and job boards.
- Conduct a candidate search, which involves welcoming the candidate with a coffee, giving them a tour of the premises, introducing them to the team, and having a conversation with them in a quiet space.
- Launch recruitment campaigns on LinkedIn.
- Review the job description details to avoid confusion.
- Prepare relevant questions based on the position.
- Highlight the benefits of the position and the company.
- Launch email recruitment campaigns.
- Conclude by explaining the next steps in the recruitment process to the candidate.
- Reach out to interesting profiles through LinkedIn, email, and phone.
- Participate in job dating events.
How to recruit quickly ?
Sometimes, a person has to be recruited very quickly: resignation, the opening of a new department, strong growth…
When time is of the essence, LinkedIn can be a valuable resource for accessing a wide range of interesting and relevant profiles. To expedite the process even further, consider using Leadsourcing’s free option to prospect profiles in a fast and efficient manner. This tool allows you to automatically contact up to 100 high-potential profiles per week, helping you to quickly find the ideal candidate for your needs.
Remember, the goal is not only to recruit quickly but more importantly, to learn how to recruit well, with the 8 key steps. 😜