How Would You Grade Your Hiring Process?

As hiring experts, we know how important it is to make good hiring decisions. Without the right people in the right roles, your business can’t reach its full potential. But in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many employers are finding it more difficult than ever to fill their open roles

Since spring 2020, the job market has gone through dramatic shifts that have, at different times, left both job seekers and employers struggling. As of this writing, it’s a candidate’s market – meaning there are more open roles than there are candidates to fill them – so job seekers have the advantage of being selective about where to work.

With market conditions changing so rapidly, you may want to stop and ask yourself: Is there anything I need to change in my hiring process that would put me in a better position to recruit top talent? 

That’s why we’ve created CareerPlug’s free Hiring Process Grader tool. Answer a few simple questions about the processes and technologies you use to attract, communicate, and evaluate candidates, and our Hiring Process Grader tool will show you areas where you’re excelling – and where you need to improve in today’s competitive hiring market. Click the button below to get started.

Try Our Free Hiring Process Grader!

Got 5 minutes to evaluate your hiring process? See how your recruiting methods measure up and what you can do to improve your hiring.

GRADE MY HIRING PROCESS

The 4 Components of a Great Hiring Process

We measure a hiring process based on the four main components of our own proven process, which has helped more than 12,000 small businesses make the right hires. 

1. Attract

Your job postings should first be distributed to all of the popular job boards where candidates are looking. You should also go one step further and recruit from sources outside of the major job boards, like employee referrals and smaller job boards that are niche, industry-specific, or local. We’ve found that these sources produce the highest quality candidates overall. 

Finally, employers that perform well in this category do a great job of enticing candidates to apply by showcasing their workplace culture, benefits, and employer brand on their own unique company careers page

2. Communicate

Our data shows that candidates consider communication one of the most important aspects of a great candidate experience. They want employers to respond quickly after they apply and continue to be responsive throughout the hiring process. Remember that a great hiring process centers around the candidate experience

Create interview invitation templates you can quickly send to let candidates know you’re interested, as well as rejection letter templates in case you decide not to proceed with them. To reach candidates quicker and more reliably, consider using text recruiting in addition to email. The average response time for an email is 90 minutes compared to just 90 seconds for an SMS text message

When candidates are on the job hunt, they’re typically pursuing multiple opportunities at once – if you wait too long to communicate your interest, they could have moved on to another opportunity by then. 

3. Evaluate

The only way to make great hires consistently is to evaluate consistently. One of the biggest mistakes hiring managers make is failing to create an ideal candidate profile before they post a job. This can be a simple document to help employers identify the skills, behaviors, and traits necessary to be successful in the role so that they know what to look for when evaluating candidates. Download our free ideal candidate profile template by clicking the button below.

Free Ideal Candidate Profile Template

Use the free candidate profile template designed by the Hiring Experts at CareerPlug for your own hiring needs.

DOWNLOAD MY TEMPLATE

A strong evaluation process should also include: 

4. Automate

A great hiring process should work like a well-oiled machine while producing predictable results. By automating tedious and repetitive hiring tasks, employers save time and create a consistent and positive experience for candidates. Businesses that score well in this category use tools that automate the publishing of your jobs across multiple job boards at once, send them alerts via email or text anytime a qualified candidate applies, automatically remove unqualified applicants, and send new hire paperwork and onboarding materials

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5: AUTOMATE

Hiring is hard, but partnering with us makes it easier. From posting jobs to scheduling interviews, CareerPlug allows you to automate certain parts of the process to improve your results and save you time.

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3: EVALUATE

Once you think you have found the right person, use our reference and background check resources to verify them. Then, send an electronic offer letter from CareerPlug to close the deal!

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4: HIRE

Use our prescreen questions and assessments to identify the best applicants. Then use our interview questions and scorecards to evaluate for the right things consistently.

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2: COMMUNICATE

Use our notifications and automations to be the first to respond to qualified applicants. Send texts and emails from directly from CareerPlug to convert applicants to scheduled interviews.

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1: ATTRACT

Use our templates to create an attractive careers page and job posting. Then promote it through our job board partners, as well as directly with your employees, customers, and social network.

LEARN MORE

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Business Intelligence Manager

Eric Morales

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Kirsten Penaloza

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Zach Garcia

Senior Manager of Operations

Tulay Solak

HR Manager

Tyler Berndsen

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Ashley Johnson

Senior Manager of Partner Services

Originally from small town in central Texas, Ashley Johnson graduated from Texas State University in 2013 with a degree in Business Administration. She was hired by CareerPlug as a Talent Specialist in 2014, and moved up to ultimately lead the Recruitment Services team. From there, she pivoted to Implementation, and is now the Implementation Manager.

As the Implementation Manager, Ashley and 3 direct reports function as a transition between Sales and Partner Success in helping our clients get set up and established in our software. She spends her free time raising her 2 dogs, playing cornhole, and perfecting the art of charcuterie.

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Leslie Chamberlain

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Natalie Morgan

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Andrew Robinson III

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Chris Igou

VP of Business Development

Chris accidentally started a 20-year career in franchising when he was 18 years old and took a job painting houses for College Pro Painters. That job turned into the ownership of his first franchise (a house painting franchise). While at Monmouth College in IL, he operated his business, played on the varsity football team, and studied to become a teacher.

The taste of entrepreneurship and desire to coach others led Chris deeper into franchising, working with a few franchise brands helping them grow their businesses. He lived in the Chicagoland area his entire life until recently moving his family to Austin, TX.

In his free time Chris coaches youth sports, especially youth football, and spends as much time as he can with his wife and 2 children.

Jenny Leman

President

Native to Texas, Jenny graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2004 and joined CareerPlug in 2017. She retired her first career path as a Registered Dietitian after 10 years, and has found her true belonging in business operations.

As CareerPlug’s President, Jenny leads all teams to an aligned effort toward achieving our vision. She works to build healthy and scalable internal systems to equip and empower the CareerPlug teams to bring their best for our clients. She loves contributing new ideas and rethinking the status quo. Jenny really connects with the company’s core values, but especially with our intent to “Keep Growing.”

In her non-work life, Jenny enjoys time with her family, playing drums and performing with the Austin Samba School, and finding excuses to be on the lake.

Clint Smith

Founder & CEO

Clint founded CareerPlug in 2007 with the simple idea that there was a better way to help employers connect with quality applicants. Today Clint works every day to fulfill CareerPlug’s mission: Make Hiring Easier. Leading by example, Clint loves spending his time developing new ideas and teaching others.

After graduating from the University of Florida, Clint worked in investment banking and strategic marketing; both experiences influenced the development of CareerPlug. He also spent a year away from the business world teaching 5th grade in Boulder.

Clint is passionate about helping others succeed and is involved in numerous mentoring programs. He and his wife, Sarah, are also foster parents. Clint enjoys family time, beach volleyball, and outdoor adventures.