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11 Innovative Employment Screening Techniques

By Taylor Berman - Nov. 21, 2022
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The requirement process requires a lot of steps to find the best candidate for the position. Screening your candidates before the interview process will help you find the most qualified candidates.

While the recruitment process will be different for every company, adding an employment screening step will make your process easier. Here are 11 innovative employment screening techniques to help find the best candidate for your company.

Key Takeaways:

  • Having your candidates describe why they are the best person for the position and why they want to work for your company in 100 words or less can help eliminate lengthy cover letters.

  • Using a video introduction, video interview, or phone interview can help you assess the candidates communication and qualifications before meeting them in person.

  • Asking industry specific questions or give them a real company problem to solve can help you assess their knowledge of the industry and their problem-solving skills.

11 Innovative Employment Screening Techniques

11 Innovative Screening Techniques

  1. Describe in 100 words or less. Instead of having a candidate send a traditional cover letter, have them describe why they want to work for your company and why they are the best candidate in 100 words or less. Since they are limited with how much they can say, it will force them to show their creativity and ability to communicate succinctly. This method also helps save the employers time from having to read lengthy cover letters over and over.

  2. Video introduction. Asking for a video introduction along with a regular resume is a helpful screening process for candidates. A video allows you to understand your best candidates early on. This is a great way to screen critical skills at scale by interviewing multiple candidates at once. Candidates are often nervous, especially junior candidates, and allowing them to record their introduction and re-record if necessary will help them gain their confidence and show their skills without fear of mess ups.

    Video introductions are also short, anywhere from two to ten minutes long. It will also help you sort out your candidates and eliminate anyone who are not qualified before the initial interview stage.

  3. Video Interviews. Similar to the video introduction, a video interview allows for you to meet with candidates without having them commuting to your office. Video interviews are a great way to conduct first interviews. It will allow you to assess their soft skills and communication skills and see how they present themselves. Just be aware that not all poor interviewers will be poor employees, nerves can interfere with even the best candidates.

  4. Phone interview. Phone interviews are a great way to learn more about the candidate without having to re-schedule for a full interview. Phone interviews can make a candidate less nervous than a video interview which may help them perform better. Just like the video interview, phone interviews allow you to assess the candidates communication skills and how they are able to answer interview questions in real time.

  5. Real company problem interview question. Asking a candidate a question that relates to a real company problem allows for you to get insight into the candidates problem-solving abilities. This doesn’t have to be a current problem that the company has at the moment, but using a real situation will help the company determine if their problem solving ability will be beneficial to the company.

  6. Industry specific interview questions. Asking candidates industry specific interview questions will help you see how engaged they are with current conditions in your industry. Doing this will show the candidates interest and knowledge of the industry. It can also determine if the candidate lied about their experience or education in the industry.

  7. Group interview with teamwork challenges. Group interview techniques receive mixed reports. The words ‘team player’ don’t really mean anything until you’re in a high-pressure team problem-solving situation, then you’ll really get to see temperaments shine. Group interviews can be great if your role requires the ability to present well in front of a group, rather than an intimidating panel of current staff members, the candidates can present in a slightly less intimidating room of other potential candidates.

  8. Case study. Case studies are widely used in management consulting, as they are thought to reveal the way a candidate thinks and approaches problem solving. If the role for which you’re recruiting requires an analytical brain, provide the candidate with some hypothetical case studies. They should be able to ask questions and use a calculator if necessary.

  9. Job simulation. Giving candidates a task that they would typically have to do in the role that they are applying for is a great way to see how well they would perform in the position. An example would be giving the candidate a simulated sales call and see how well they perform. This will help you determine their skill level, and how much training would be required if they were hired.

  10. Work portfolio. Ask for the candidate to submit their work portfolio when they submit their resume and cover letter. This will be a great visual representation of the work the candidate is able to produce. Keep in mind that younger candidates that are starting out may not have as large of a work portfolio than candidates who have been in the industry longer, so don’t eliminate candidates based on size of portfolio work.

  11. Let them interact with current staff. If culture fit is of big importance, which usually applies to smaller businesses or tight-knit teams, you should to let candidates interact with your staff. This doesn’t have to be anything formal. In fact, you could offer to show them around the office after the interview and allow them to interact with staff members for 5 to 10 minutes.

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Why Use Innovative Screening Techniques?

Innovative screening techniques help eliminate the unqualified candidates before the main interview process. Doing this helps filter the candidates that just clicked apply and upload a generic cover letter and the candidates who will be the best fit for the company and actually want to work for your company.

Setting up a more creative interview process requires a candidate to take the time to make the application. Don’t forget to make sure you respond with an equally courteous reply, whether or not they made it through, that appreciates the effort they put in.

Author

Taylor Berman

Taylor is a freelance writer from Pennsylvania. Taylor got into writing because she enjoys writing articles that help people and loves creating stories that inspire. She earned a bachelor's degree in journalism and public relations with an interest in communications media from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

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