Applicant Screening

Reporters:
Cailing, Daniela
Escario, Kezia
Applicant screening
• is the process of initially reviewing job applications and
resumes, conducting pre-interviews, and performing
reference and background checks. This is done to
determine which individuals are qualified to move to
the next phase of the recruitment process. It involves
finding candidates that most closely match the
qualifications, experience, and skill sets outlined in the
job description and eliminating applicants that are
poorly suited to the position.
Steps For Applicant Screening
• Step 1: Review Resumes & Applications 
One of the best applicant screening methods is
reviewing each resume or application manually. 
• Take into consideration the ff: 
- Resume length. How much work experience
does your applicant have, and how skilled are they
at conveying large concepts succinctly? 
- Grammar, vocabulary, and spelling. How
detailed is the applicant, and are they willing to go
the extra step to conduct a spelling or grammar
scan of their resume and cover letter? 
-Personality. What does the resume tell you
about the personality of the applicant? Especially
in creative or design roles, the cover letter and
resume could be an accurate reflection of the
applicant’s work product.
• Step 2: Conduct Pre-interviews 
Pre-interviewing allows insight into the
candidate’s personality, working style, and
experience with very little pressure if there is no
desire to move the candidate along to the next
steps in the process. 
These can be conducted either by a video interview
or phone screen interview.
- Video Interview. One-way video interviews, different
from traditional video interviews, are sometimes called
asynchronous interviews because only one person, the
job candidate, is present and talking. These types of
interviews are typically conducted after an initial
application review to get a bit more familiar with the job
seeker.  
- Phone screen interview.  Used to narrow down the
candidate pool by learning more about an applicant and
assessing how suitable the candidate is for a role. This
step in the process usually occurs after a hiring manager
has manually looked at a resume and cover letter and
before an in-person interview is scheduled.
• Step 3: Implement Pre-employment Testing 
It is not uncommon to encounter resumes and applicants
that are full of impressive skills and experience. It is also,
unfortunately, common for some applicants to
exaggerate their level of expertise and skill. 
To avoid unpleasant surprises, many organizations have
made it standard practice to assess candidates’ skills
through tools like pre-employment Excel skill tests and
personality assessments before hiring a candidate. Skill
tests can range from typing (typical for administrative
positions) to copywriting (common for positions that
require writing) and code writing (mostly for software
developers).
• Step 4: Perform Reference Checks 
A reference check is when an employer contacts a candidate’s
previous employers, peers, and other sources to learn more about
their on-the-job performance, employment history, and
qualifications for a job. The contacted parties are generally
provided by the prospective employee, and reference checks can
be conducted via email or telephone through a series of relevant
questions about the experience had with the candidate. 
Reference checking can provide insight into a candidate’s work
ethic, scope of past work, and ability to build and maintain
relationships. Because references are reflections of experiences
had with the candidate by individuals in various roles, they
should be considered. However, hiring decisions should not be
made solely on a candidate’s reference check.
•Step 5: Conduct a Background Check 
A background check is a great tool to help confirm you
made the right decision about a candidate. It can include
details about a candidate’s criminal history, driving
violations, credit review, and so forth. These checks can also
include a verification of employment listed on a resume,
and employers typically hire a third party to perform them. 

Keep in mind that if you look into a candidate’s social

media when doing a background check, there are laws in
place that prohibit what you can and can’t use.
• Why Applicant Screening Is Important? 
Applicant screening should be the first step in the hiring
process because it is vital to review candidates for their
education and experience before bringing them in to
work for your company. Additionally, this is where you
will thoroughly read through and assess their
qualifications before deciding if they should move on in
the hiring pipeline to a more formal interview.
• Conducting efficient candidate screening is a
critical step in the process of finding a great hire.
Whether your organization decides to review each
resume with a scrutinizing eye, utilize skill tests
to make sure that only highly skilled candidates
are considered, check references to verify your
prospective new hire’s reputation, or use some
combination of the above methods, thoroughly
screening and eliminating unqualified applicants
is the first step in curating a powerhouse team.