Screenings and Interviews: Staffing Agency Tips and Tricks
Author: Paige.Fiore
Screenings and Interviews: Staffing Agency Tips and Tricks
Today’s job market presents an interesting duality. Unemployment is low, so the market for good candidates is tight. Yet, a 2024 survey by Indeed stated that 71-percent of workers are open to new opportunities and 60-percent are prepared to apply.
What does that mean for employers? Potentially an overwhelming volume of resumes for open positions, especially if the job is posted on platforms like Indeed, but the lack of a good screening and interviewing process can mean losing out on finding, much less hiring, the best candidate.
Here are a few staffing agency dos and don’ts that can help with screening and interviewing candidates so that a great person is matched with the job.
Staffing agency tip #1: It starts before you have a single resume submitted
Whether the position is new, or an employee has given notice, don’t jump into posting the job too quickly. Because, as soon as the job is posted the floodgates will open. Instead, make sure a lot of thinking has gone into what makes a candidate a good culture fit – who will be successful in the company. The job description should balance both hard and soft skills.
Naturally there will be hard and fast “must have skills” but many others can be taught to a candidate who is a great fit for the company culture. Don’t tie the job to a rigid skill set. Know which skills are mandatory and which can be taught helps filter candidates.
Putting time in up front to really craft a good job description allows candidates to self-eliminate, which saves on resume screening time. It also puts a stop to starting the process over from the beginning because the hiring team, or manager, thought they were looking for one set of skills and work experience but learn it’s another when faced with a slew of candidates that aren’t the right match.
Staffing agency tip #2: Be as clear and transparent about the job, benefits, compensation and company culture as possible
“Companies continue to be vague, even on their own website,” says TriStarr’s Lead Staffing Manager, Lauren Hunter-Parrish, who has been a staffing professional for nearly 20 years.
It’s important to put details about what the job looks like day-to-day in the description. What is the pay? What benefits are offered? Is remote or hybrid work an option?
Pay transparency can get sticky if it’s not yet a standard practice – especially when other employees see it. But transparency across the board, “is a game changer because it’s much more efficient; it’s telling the candidate this is what the company is and what they are offering,” Hunter-Parrish says.
Like attracts like so if there’s a flexible, hybrid or remote work culture then candidates who enjoy those options will apply. A candidate who wants a nine-to-five, in office, position won’t apply. Clarity about the company beyond required experience and skills is much more likely to draw in the right candidates.
Geography is vitally important. Always include if relocation is covered. Also, be candid if the job requires a credit or background check. While best practice is to hold off on checking until an offer is extended (see staffing agency tip #3, below) letting candidates know in the early stages of the application process allows them to explain any potential red flags.
Staffing agency tip #3: Respect the candidate’s time
It takes time to apply for a job. Respect the time a candidate puts in by communicating – even if it’s an automated message – at each step. If a candidate makes it to the interview stage, be sure to streamline the process. “If you don’t know by the second or third interview,” Hunter-Parrish says, “there’s an internal problem.”
Companies cannot waste time making the decision to extend an offer. This is not a job market where “you can get whatever you want whenever you want it,” Hunter-Parrish pointed out. In fact, there are currently more than 1.2 million available jobs than there are unemployed people in the U.S., according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Putting a solid candidate in a holding pattern is a great way to lose that candidate. It’s vital that hiring managers are timely about decisions and communicate those decisions, even if a candidate doesn’t get an offer.
Also, never “ghost” a candidate. It leaves a bad impression and creates the risk of bad feedback or reviews online. Always follow up.
Staffing agency tip #4: Remember the human element
According to Hunter-Parrish, the human element is the most important part of screening and hiring a great candidate. For instance, as much as human resources, hiring managers and, yes, even recruiters at a staffing agency don’t want surprise phone calls or to have people just “drop by,” giving a candidate who goes this extra mile a moment might reveal that they are a great potential employee.
Remember that hard skills can be taught but soft skills, and culture fit, can’t. Use systems and processes, but allow for the human element. Keeping this element let’s people reveal their personality, let’s them be who they are, which means it’s easier to see if the candidate can “run with this.”
“Candidates,” Hunter-Parrish says, “are more than just their resume.”
As one of the top recruiting agencies in Pennsylvania, TriStarr specializes in legal staff, accounting, IT, human resources and administrative staffing placements. Our services also include recruiting for administrative, professional and management roles. If you’d like to leverage our decades of staffing agency experience to screen candidates, reach out! Make a talent request on our website or call us at 717-560-2111 for more information.
Screenings and Interviews: Staffing Agency Tips and Tricks
Today’s job market presents an interesting duality. Unemployment is low, so the market for good candidates is tight. Yet, a 2024 survey by Indeed stated that 71-percent of workers are open to new opportunities and 60-percent are prepared to apply.
What does that mean for employers? Potentially an overwhelming volume of resumes for open positions, especially if the job is posted on platforms like Indeed, but the lack of a good screening and interviewing process can mean losing out on finding, much less hiring, the best candidate.
Here are a few staffing agency dos and don’ts that can help with screening and interviewing candidates so that a great person is matched with the job.
Staffing agency tip #1: It starts before you have a single resume submitted
Whether the position is new, or an employee has given notice, don’t jump into posting the job too quickly. Because, as soon as the job is posted the floodgates will open. Instead, make sure a lot of thinking has gone into what makes a candidate a good culture fit – who will be successful in the company. The job description should balance both hard and soft skills.
Naturally there will be hard and fast “must have skills” but many others can be taught to a candidate who is a great fit for the company culture. Don’t tie the job to a rigid skill set. Know which skills are mandatory and which can be taught helps filter candidates.
Putting time in up front to really craft a good job description allows candidates to self-eliminate, which saves on resume screening time. It also puts a stop to starting the process over from the beginning because the hiring team, or manager, thought they were looking for one set of skills and work experience but learn it’s another when faced with a slew of candidates that aren’t the right match.
Staffing agency tip #2: Be as clear and transparent about the job, benefits, compensation and company culture as possible
“Companies continue to be vague, even on their own website,” says TriStarr’s Lead Staffing Manager, Lauren Hunter-Parrish, who has been a staffing professional for nearly 20 years.
It’s important to put details about what the job looks like day-to-day in the description. What is the pay? What benefits are offered? Is remote or hybrid work an option?
Pay transparency can get sticky if it’s not yet a standard practice – especially when other employees see it. But transparency across the board, “is a game changer because it’s much more efficient; it’s telling the candidate this is what the company is and what they are offering,” Hunter-Parrish says.
Like attracts like so if there’s a flexible, hybrid or remote work culture then candidates who enjoy those options will apply. A candidate who wants a nine-to-five, in office, position won’t apply. Clarity about the company beyond required experience and skills is much more likely to draw in the right candidates.
Geography is vitally important. Always include if relocation is covered. Also, be candid if the job requires a credit or background check. While best practice is to hold off on checking until an offer is extended (see staffing agency tip #3, below) letting candidates know in the early stages of the application process allows them to explain any potential red flags.
Staffing agency tip #3: Respect the candidate’s time
It takes time to apply for a job. Respect the time a candidate puts in by communicating – even if it’s an automated message – at each step. If a candidate makes it to the interview stage, be sure to streamline the process. “If you don’t know by the second or third interview,” Hunter-Parrish says, “there’s an internal problem.”
Companies cannot waste time making the decision to extend an offer. This is not a job market where “you can get whatever you want whenever you want it,” Hunter-Parrish pointed out. In fact, there are currently more than 1.2 million available jobs than there are unemployed people in the U.S., according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Putting a solid candidate in a holding pattern is a great way to lose that candidate. It’s vital that hiring managers are timely about decisions and communicate those decisions, even if a candidate doesn’t get an offer.
Also, never “ghost” a candidate. It leaves a bad impression and creates the risk of bad feedback or reviews online. Always follow up.
Staffing agency tip #4: Remember the human element
According to Hunter-Parrish, the human element is the most important part of screening and hiring a great candidate. For instance, as much as human resources, hiring managers and, yes, even recruiters at a staffing agency don’t want surprise phone calls or to have people just “drop by,” giving a candidate who goes this extra mile a moment might reveal that they are a great potential employee.
Remember that hard skills can be taught but soft skills, and culture fit, can’t. Use systems and processes, but allow for the human element. Keeping this element let’s people reveal their personality, let’s them be who they are, which means it’s easier to see if the candidate can “run with this.”
“Candidates,” Hunter-Parrish says, “are more than just their resume.”
As one of the top recruiting agencies in Pennsylvania, TriStarr specializes in legal staff, accounting, IT, human resources and administrative staffing placements. Our services also include recruiting for administrative, professional and management roles. If you’d like to leverage our decades of staffing agency experience to screen candidates, reach out! Make a talent request on our website or call us at 717-560-2111 for more information.
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