Want to do your best job when recruiting top talent to your company? Then you’ll want to think like the top recruiters. 

If you’re a company that isn’t well versed in selecting job candidates from a large amount of applications, you may feel overwhelmed and under-prepared to make the best decision possible. But you don’t have to be afraid to run the entire hiring process all on your own. 

It’s your job to select a group of candidates that you feel will best represent your company, its brand, the culture you already have set up around you, and the overall goals that you want to achieve by filling a specific job opening. 

So, how can you set yourself up for success when hiring a new employee? We’re here to show what could work for you. 

Keep reading on for 5 easy ways you can completely transform the way you recruit top talent to your organization. With these tips, you’ll have no trouble narrowing down the best candidates and selecting the right fit for your already talented team. 

 

1. Set requirements

What does your dream candidate look like? If you aren’t sure how to answer this, it’s time to start visualizing. 

Setting requirements for the candidates you interview and consider is important. It saves you a ton of time and energy when sifting through tens, sometimes hundreds of resumes and can help you better screen candidates early in the process.

It also allows you to set a standard for those candidates you interview- if they don’t align with the goals you have set for the position, you may not want to consider hiring them at the end of the process.

Set up your goals for the job position you’re screening for in order to walk into the hiring process with the right mindset. 

 

2. Ask the right questions

If you want the interview process to go as smoothly as possible, you’ll want to prepare all of your questions beforehand. 

The questions you ask should align with the requirements you’ve set up. They should encompass what the job position requires from the candidate and what skills they’ll need to have in order to excel in this position. 

However, you should also include questions that allow you to get to know the characteristics of the candidate you’re hiring. Learning more about job applicants can help them set an impression in your mind and make them more memorable when it comes time to selecting one candidate to fill the role. 

Prepare your questions to get only the most essential information from candidates. 

 

3. Don’t be afraid to dig deep

Want a little bit more information from candidates? In cases like these, it’s okay to ask more questions in order to get a deeper understanding of who you’re hiring. 

Ask candidates a bit more about who they really are. What do they like to do in their spare time? What are their personal goals and passions? Do they work well in a collaborative setting, or are they more of an individual worker? 

Finding out about personalities and passions can tell you if they’re a good fit for the company culture. If you’re looking for more of an extroverted employee that works well with others, you’ll want to find out if candidates can deliver that. The same goes for those looking for workers that do best on their own with minimal management. 

 

4. Employee referrals are important

If you have an open job position, you may want to ask around at your company to see if employees know the perfect fit for the job. 

Trusting employee referrals can help you fill a job position quickly. In a study conducted by CareerBuilder, 82% of employers ranked employee referrals as the top way to source talent amongst other methods in terms of ROI. So, you should never count out what word of mouth can do for you. 

Sourcing top talent from the employees you already trust and have a connection with can help you find a new candidate you’ll love. 

 

5. Consider a collaborative hiring process

And finally, if you’re really having trouble narrowing down a candidate for the position, you may want to call in others to help. 

Having a collaborative hiring process can bring in other perspectives and minds to measure candidates and select the best person for the position. Putting together a hiring team of your most trusted employees and colleagues will allow you to have a much better screening process. 

This is also a great way to see if candidates fit in with employees. Chances are, the position you’re hiring for isn’t one where the employee will be in complete isolation. They’ll have to work together with your staff to complete tasks and projects, so a team for hiring can show you early on whether they mesh well with the already existing company climate.

Hire smarter by bringing more masterminds into the mix. 

 

With these 5 tips, you’ll be on your way to completely transforming your company’s current hiring process. Try adding something new to the way you onboard new talent and see how you can improve the quality of talent acquisition!