The recruitment process is normally thought of as a challenge for those seeking to fill the position, but having to choose between two outstanding candidates can be just as stressful for employers. Interesting job positions attract the attention of all sorts of people, and finding the right person for the job can sometimes be like digging for diamonds in a coal pile. On the other hand, having to decide between two skilled candidates can also feel like a nightmare.
How do you narrow down a candidate for a job?
The best way to narrow down an extensive list of job candidates to only the most distinguished individuals is to devise solid selection criteria and be as consistent as possible with them.
Strong candidates will show their competencies through their resumes, employment applications, and any other communication they share with their potential employer. To guarantee you are bringing in the right people, you must make clear to them what kind of professional the perfect candidate would be. The hiring process should consist of choosing the people who best fit that job description.
How to improve your hiring process
9 tips to choose between two awesome job candidates
1. Use assessment tools
If you find yourself wondering how to decide between two good candidates, then you could use some assistance. In the world of today, many workplace tasks can be improved with the implementation of software, and the hiring process is not different.
Pre-employment assessment tools offer a fast, accurate, and cost-effective way to understand the competence of potential job candidates. The best recruitment tools can be used to select the top candidates from a large pool of potential hires. By basing your decisions on quantifiable data related to the skills and expertise of candidates, you can enjoy a more precise selection process.
How companies test leadership qualities
2. Proactively review resumes
A resume provides an employer with the information a job candidate is willing to share. However, taking the time to check and double-check resumes can also provide some additional information regarding a job candidate. For instance, you might assess how they have organized their information to determine how they might organize their documents at work.
Always keep an eye out for previous employment history. Be mindful of what jobs a person has had in the past, even if they are irrelevant to the current job. Soft skills such as critical thinking and being a problem solver transcend all careers and job positions. A person may have had the chance to develop them while working in another field.
3. Develop a standardized hiring process
You will not be able to discern between qualified candidates and inexperienced opportunists, let alone choose between two ideal candidates, if you lack a standardized hiring process. An organized recruitment process will be easier to handle and will give you more accurate insights into the capabilities of future employees.
An ideal job recruitment process should include:
- An attractive job description: While writing a well-worded job description is necessary, it is not enough to attract top talent. When you’re offering a job position, you must also be selling the job.
- Pre-employment examinations: Every applicant should be subject to the same pre-screening procedures to guarantee luck was not a factor in their success. You can use professional assessment tests to have an insight into the capabilities of potential https://hrid.com/en/our-tests/detail/?id=20hires.
- An involved interview process: Job interviews are the moment where job candidates test their mettle. Great candidates will be eager to let you learn more about them, so feel confident to be thorough with your questions. You may also wish to devise assessments to measure their technical skills.
4. Consider the culture fit
A drive for teamwork, agreeability, and social skills are all desirable qualities in a successful candidate. A person may have all the technical prowess in the world, but that holds no water if they don’t want to collaborate with their team.
If you must choose between two candidates with almost identical resumes and experience, then you might wish to choose the one with whom you believe work will be more enjoyable. Likewise, you should consider the person who seems comfortable around the work environment and has expressed their desire to have a workflow similar to yours.
This is a point in favour of inside hires. While people coming from outside the company may bring in different perspectives with them, those looking for employment from the inside are already familiar with their fellow employees and the company culture. You can learn more about a potential employee’s attitude via a personality test.
5. Don’t feel compelled to choose right away
If you have the time to think about your choice, then it is better to think before making a choice you may regret later. It may be wise to gather as much information as possible about the candidates, as something may come up that considerably favours one over the other. You should also contact the references they have written into their resumes, as they are key to understanding their previous work experience.
For instance, you may find out that one of the prospective hires has unreasonable salary expectations or a series of altercations with other employees at previous jobs. If this were to happen, then choosing the other will be simpler and more cost-effective. Additionally, it also means being able to avoid a person who will not be a suitable team member.
Professional assessment tools can be used to gauge the agreeableness of a potential employee. For instance, an ID-Personality (Tac) test can be used to evaluate how a person involves themselves in everyday work situations. Through this test, one can have an insightful assessment of a professional’s behaviour and other personal characteristics.
6. Consider each candidate’s enthusiasm
Some people go looking for a new job because they have the drive to improve and gain satisfaction as a professional. Others, however, are only looking for a job. When handling a job interview process, you should consider how genuinely passionate every candidate seems to be.
You should look for the following signs:
- Was the candidate engaged during the interview process?
- Did they show their interest in the job by asking questions?
- Was there any follow-up communication after the interview?
- Did they say something that made them stand out?
7. Don’t be fooled by first impressions
Sometimes good first impressions say more of a person’s capabilities as an actor than as a professional at a company. Unless you’re looking to hire a thespian, then you shouldn’t let your subjective opinion about a person be a predictor of their actual skills, experience, and professional attitude.
A major advantage of pre-employment assessments is that they can’t be fooled by neatly worded lies. An ID-Cognitive test (Cog) is able to measure a person’s verbal, numerical, and spatial reasoning skills, as well as their ability to think critically and pay attention to details. These tests can help assess the capabilities of both new hires and people in senior management roles alike.
8. Think about future expectations
When choosing the right candidate, you must consider if their short- and long-term goals align with your own. You might select a very qualified candidate without thinking about it twice due to their competencies, only for them to leave the company the moment they find a job with slightly better benefits or a shorter commute.
9. Hire both candidates
If you’re having problems deciding between two highly qualified individuals, then the right choice might be not to decide at all. If your budgeting capabilities allow for it, then hiring both candidates may be the most beneficial choice eventually. After all, if they’re working for you then they’re not working for the competition.
Top-tier professionals are hard to come by, and surrounding yourself with the best talent is an effective business strategy in and of itself. Even if there is no immediate need for two new positions, assignments can be reorganized to be managed with an extra pair of hands in mind.
HRID can help you select the right candidates
Discover the true potential of your current and future employees with HRID’s revolutionary employee assessment solutions. HRID improves the efficiency of the hiring process by providing companies with accurate information about a candidate’s cognitive ability, problem-solving skills, personality, and much more.