For a process as finicky as hiring, organization can be the difference between a dream candidate and settling for someone based on need. Creating a hiring process checklist is a good way to prevent miscommunication between HR and upper management. 

A good hiring process checklist will have every step of recruitment in writing, as well as other pertinent details. Let’s go over a few of the more important pieces of information that should be included on your hiring process checklist, from beginning to end.

Obtain Authority To Fill A Position

Before starting your preparations, it’s necessary to first obtain permission from upper management if you want to fill any positions. For small businesses, this may not apply, but for larger organizations, everyone needs to be informed and on the same page before recruitment can begin.

Solidify The Job Description

Arguably the most important part of your hiring process checklist, creating a good job description is necessary to continue on to the next steps of recruitment. A good job description will include the following:

• Job Title
• Job Purpose
• Responsibilities and Duties
• Necessary Qualifications
• Preferred Qualifications
• Working Conditions
• Compensation Range

Many job advertisements forgo one or more of these details in order to draw in more applicants, but this is a mistake. Leaving out key information, especially compensation, can put more qualified candidates off, and promote a lower quality-of-hire. 

Find The Best Sites To Post Your Job Ad

Placing your job ad correctly is a key part of effective sourcing—but finding the right job aggregate is tough. When looking for more diverse or uniquely qualified applicants, posting to LinkedIn or Indeed are less likely to produce more concentrated results than a specialized job board. Companies that provide sourcing aids like custom job boards, or AI job ad placement can give you a leg up without having to spend countless hours researching the best aggregates.   

Screen And Select Optimal Candidates

Sifting through applicants to find those who are qualified enough to move forward is a key part of the hiring process. Screening candidate resumes is, however, a time and resource consuming task. Utilizing recruitment software, especially AI software, can slash the hours it takes to effectively screen applicants into fractions of what it would otherwise take. Once the screening phase has been checked off of your hiring process checklist, it’s time to select the candidates who will move on to the next phase. 

Prepare For And Conduct Interviews

Preparing for interviews is, of course, much more complicated than most folks would think. Writing and reviewing interview questions with a committee of colleagues, as well as securing a location for interviews, should happen before applicant screening and selection to prevent a rush.

Depending on your hiring volume or office status, the methods your organization uses for interviewing may differ. If your organization is encouraging hybrid or remote work, remote interviews will most likely be a part of your hiring process checklist. If this is the case, optimizing your remote interview process should also be top of mind.

Make Candidate Selections And Inform The Others

Now that each of the candidates has been interviewed, it’s time to choose the candidates that your organization feels are right for the job. At this point, there are a range of smaller tasks to put on your hiring process checklist, and letting candidates know their selection status is only one of many. The specific items needed in the final stage of hiring may vary by organization but generally will include things such as final reference checks, confirmation of salary, and making the formal offer.

This is by no means everything that should be on your checklist—every step of the process should be planned and recorded. Your hiring process checklist should be a dynamic resource and should be tailored to your individual organization, but these items will often form the framework of your list. 

If you’re searching for recruitment software to optimize your hiring process checklist, head on over to our website for a free demo of PandoLogic’s revolutionary AI software toolbox.