1.

Resume screening
Let’s kick things off with an old school technique. Going through resumes is the
oldest method of determining if someone is the right fit for the job, and it starts
with the resume. Although resumes aren’t the best indicator of a candidate’s
skills, they’re one of the key elements hiring and they don’t seem to be going
away any time soon. Here’s some of the information you can get from a CV while
screening candidates.

Pros and Cons

Pros: Resume screening is the most thorough method of screening. You get to
take a look at individual factors and create an image of the candidate.

Cons: It’s very time-consuming, especially for jobs with lots of applicants. You
rely on candidates to tell the truth in their CVs and you don’t get to find out
anything about their actual skills. A possible element of bias, based on gender,
age, work experience etc.

2. Cover letters
CVs are a great way for candidates to present themselves, but they can be rather
limiting. If you want them to tell more about who they are early on, you can ask
for a cover letter along with the resume as part of the application process.
Besides showing off their writing skills, here are a few more things you can find
out about applicants from the cover letter.

Pros and Cons

Pros: You get to find out more about the candidate, without a test or an
interview. You can see how the candidate presents themselves.

Cons: Wading through hundreds of cover letters can take lots of time. The only
skill you test is how well somebody writes – nothing more. Because they take
more time to write, you may get fewer applicants, as they can’t bother to write a
cover letter to apply.

3. Applicant tracking systems

At some point in time, HR professionals realized that going through resumes
manually just takes too much time and work, and applicant tracking systems
came to be. These software solutions automatically run through CVs and find the
best candidate on your behalf. They’re an essential element of the hiring process
in enterprise businesses that get a large volume of applicants per position.
However, research states that only 40% of all employers use applicant tracking
systems.

Pros and Cons

Pros: They make screening candidates extremely fast. You can go through a pile
of CVs in a matter of minutes instead of weeks.

Cons: They rely on keywords too much and you can miss great applicants
because they simply used the wrong terms in their applications. Furthermore,
they don’t tell you anything about candidate skills. Finally, they can be rigged if
the candidate knows which keywords to use.

4. Reference checking
Another old-school candidate screening technique, reference checking is an
essential part of making an educated decision about your new hire. After all,
what better indicator is there of how a candidate performs than checking their
performance with previous employers?

If you think that reference checks are a relic of the past in the HR world, you’re
very much mistaken. In fact, 8 out of 10 HR professionals conduct reference
checks for new job applicants. Interestingly enough, the more senior the position,
the more likely they are to do a reference check.

There’s more to doing reference checks than just shooting an email or hopping
on a call with the candidate’s former supervisor. Here are a few tips.

 State who you are. Let the former employer know why you’re calling,

which company you represent and that you’re calling to get a reference.

 Have patience. The former employer is doing you a favor and taking time

off their schedule for a call. Be flexible about the time of the call and give

them ample time to respond to your questions.

  Tell something about the position you’re hiring for. If the former

employer knows what the candidate is applying for, they’ll be able to give

more relevant questions.

 Ask the right questions. Go in detail and ask about how the candidate

performed, why they left the company, how they handled feedback, what

their weakest points were and what they brought to the table. Finally, ask

the former employer if they would hire the candidate again.

Pros and Cons

Pros: Best way to get information about previous candidate performance.

Cons: Relies on the previous employer’s objectiveness. If there is a large time gap,
they might not remember the candidate well. It’s not always possible to reach
employers for reference checks, and some employers treat this data as
confidential and won’t reveal it. Finally, reference checks are pretty time-
consuming.

5. Checking online
When was the last time you googled yourself? You’d be surprised how much data
we leave about ourselves online, and this is one of the easiest candidate
screening methods that you can do.

According to a (rather dated) research, about 77% of all employers google their
candidates before making a decision on whom to hire. By doing a simple search,
you can find out if the candidate has a website, public portfolio, social media
profile or if there any relevant articles about them online.

Source: CareerBuilder
Speaking of social media, candidates can expect prospective employers to snoop
around on these platforms too. In fact, 70% of all employers do background
checks on social media. While going through someone’s Twitter won’t tell you
whether they can do a tax audit or not, it can tell you a thing or two about what
kind of person they are.

Unfortunately, plenty of HR managers use online checks as a way to get dirt on

their candidates. If the applicant ever made any odd statements or did anything
that may have damaged their reputation – their social media history will show it.

Pros and Cons

Pros: Very easy to do, tells you if there’s something wrong that wouldn’t make
you hire a candidate.

Cons: Not entirely objective. It can be fairly difficult to find data online on some
candidates. Does not speak about previous work experience or skills – unless you
find a portfolio of work.

6. Skills tests
The number one priority for most employers out there is simply – whether the
candidate can do the job or not. However, this is not something that you will be
able to tell from resumes, reference checks (not entirely, at least) and looking up
your candidates online.

Many employers use pre-employment tests in some shape or form to determine

if a candidate is a good fit. In fact, this is precisely the reason why Hundred5 was
created, to test applicants for real-world skills and their job, and not rely on
other screening methods to make hiring decisions.

At Hundred5, we use a skills test at the very beginning of the application process.
In this way, all candidates who do not know how to do the actual job are
discarded at the very start. This process has saved hundreds of hours and
thousands of dollars for companies such as Mooncascade and Listonic.

Pros and Cons

Pros: You get to see candidate performance. There is no bias of any kind. When
done right, they can eliminate lots of bad applicants in very little time.

Cons: It’s not easy to create objective tests for certain positions. E.g. Hundred5
tests are best suited towards more technical roles.
7. Paid trial projects
Once you have your best candidate(s) picked out, you can give them a paid trial
projects at your company before you turn them into a full-time employee. Even
after a thorough resume reading, reference check, a test and an interview, the
candidate can prove to be a bad fit for your team. After all, who can guarantee
that they will keep the performance from the test task all the way throughout
their time as an employee?

As a CEO of one company says, one out of every three new hires worked out
before they implemented trial periods. Once they started with trials, they hired 3
out of 7 people who started the 30-day contract period.

While bigger companies can allow themselves an occasional hiring mistake, small
teams and startups can feel the effects of every new hire, good or bad. Trial
periods allow you to take a glance at someone’s performance before making a full
commitment, lowering your risk of making a larger mistake.

Pros and Cons

Pros: Being able to see real-world performance as part of your team. Being able
to see work ethics and culture fit immediately. Low risk.

Cons: Training candidates for trial periods can be time-consuming and costly.

8. Phone interviews
Before video became big, phone screening was one of the major ways of
communicating with candidates before calling them in for a proper interview.
They’re still common to this day, and they’re a good method to learn more about
someone without hassling the candidate to come in and worry about commuting
and missing out from their ongoing job if they have one. To get the phone
interview right:

 Be consistent. Ask all candidates the same questions. Don’t get sidetracked

and lost in the conversation – you’re in the lead.

  Have a worksheet. Unless you’re recording the calls (if you are – do let the

candidate know about it), you have to write down the candidates’ replies

to your questions. You can type them out or simply have a worksheet

standing by, where you can tick the appropriate boxes for each question.

 Schedule the calls. Most candidates will be happy to know that they’re

going to the next round of the hiring process. However, they probably

won’t appreciate being called at any random point in time – you may catch

them at their current job or in their leisure time. Schedule the call ahead so

the candidate knows when to expect to hear from you.

Pros and Cons

Pros: Relatively easy to do. You learn about candidates’ communication skills and
availability.

Cons: Scheduling a phone call can be a logistics nightmare. Phone interviews take
a lot of time to do right with very little to show in return.

9. Video interviews
Next to a live interview, a video interview is the second-best thing for getting to
know more about the candidates. Thanks to a host of video tools available at the
moment (Zoom, Skype, Appear.in…), you can schedule a video interview fairly
easily. Here are some steps to do it right:

 Prepare the questions in advance. Have a list of questions you want to ask

each candidate and try not to stray too far from it. You can take notes or

tick off a checklist with relevant points.

  Pay attention to the presentation. How does the candidate behave? What is

their body language like? Do they smile a lot, are they confident? There’s a

lot you can tell from the way someone presents themselves during an

interview – and this is especially important for customer-facing roles.

 Mind the environment. Is the candidate having the interview in their living

room, with children playing in the background and Discovery TV on full

blast? Ideally, the candidate should pick a quiet place for the interview,

without clutter, trash or background noise. In this way, you can see how

seriously they take your company and the position. Likewise, you should

have a professional-looking background as the interviewer as well. There

are other video interview mistakes, but this seems to be the most

prevalent.

Pros and Cons

Pros: Easy to do. You can find out about body language, communication and
presentation skills. Candidates can have an interview without commuting to your
office.

Cons: Scheduling can be difficult. Great presenters aren’t necessarily great

performers.

10. One-way video interviews

If you don’t have the time or the manpower to do a large volume of video
interviews, you can simply ask the candidates to interview themselves for you.
Once you have a list of candidates to interview, send them a list of questions to
respond to and ask them to send in the video. This way, the weight of the
interview is on the candidate, while you can sit back and see what they have to
say.

Pros and Cons

Pros: Quick and effective. You can watch videos as they come in, without
worrying about scheduling, time-zones, HR team availability etc.

Cons: The more you require from your candidates, the higher the chances that
they will give up mid-way through the application. Your candidates may not be
willing (or able) to record a video interview and send it in.

Criminal background checks

Courts are increasingly challenging employers' use of criminal background checks. The
EEOC has stated that "an absolute bar to employment based on the mere fact that an
individual has a conviction record is unlawful under Title VII." 1 Yet the agency also
observed that Title VII does not wholly bar the use of criminal records in employment
decisions. Instead, the EEOC has provided a framework for assessing criminal records
when making an employment decision.
See:

 Conducting Background Investigations and Reference Checks

 What HR Needs to Know About Expunged Criminal Records and Background
Checks
 More Employers Letting Candidates Explain Conviction Records
 Background Checks: Can an employer conduct a background check before
extending an offer of employment?

An employer's consideration of criminal records may pass muster under Title VII if an
individualized assessment is made, taking into account the following:

 The nature and gravity of the offense or offenses.

 The time that has passed since the conviction or completion of the sentence.
 The nature of the job held or sought.
See EEOC Enforcement Guidance: Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in
Employment Decisions under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Several states prohibit private employers from asking job applicants about their criminal
records on initial written applications, requiring employers to wait until later in the hiring
process. To ensure compliance, organizations should check the laws in the states they
have employees working in.

Verification of credit history

Employers face a thicket of state and federal laws that govern pre-employment
background screening. New state laws restrict the use of credit histories in hiring
decisions, and more states are planning similar measures. Employers should check
their state laws for compliance. See Multi-state Law Comparison Tool.

Behind the debates lie two fundamental values that often conflict:

 Employers' rights to maintain safe workplaces and to conduct business without

interference.
 An individual's right to privacy and fair treatment in the job market.

See Can we run credit reports and use them as part of our employee selection process?

The EEOC may decide to enact guidance that prohibits credit reports for employment-
related purposes. As a result, employers that use credit reports in their screening
processes should consider the risk versus the benefit and identify positions for which a
credit report is necessary. If no clear and direct correlation exists between the position
and the potential for fraudulent activity, the organization is at risk for a possible
discrimination lawsuit.

Verification of education credentials

Not all applicants are honest on their resumes and employment applications, and some
may embellish or lie about education. Studies continue to show an increase in the
number of discrepancies between education records and information applicants provide.
In addition, recent news stories of fraud—from the CEO of a well-known electronic
retailer to a cable network television personality—illustrate the risks of false educational
records and credentials. Recruiters and employers should verify credentials directly
through the educational institution or a background screening service. Many colleges
and universities have a degree-verification program or refer employers to the National
Student Clearinghouse, which charges a nominal fee for the verification. Another option
is to ask the employee to have the school send a certified college transcript directly to
the employer. See Background Checks: Why Should an Employer Verify an Applicant's
Education? and Verify Degrees and Protect the Company from Resume Fraud.

 Application Forms (Blank)

 Weighted Application Blanks

 Biographical Data

 Biodata

 Résumés

 Reference Checks

 Background Checks