When you’re hiring for a new position, you naturally want the best talent on the market. However, that can be hard when you’re sifting through hundreds of resumes, not knowing if the skills listed are reflective of the actual candidate. This is where the screening process in recruitment comes into play.
Screening involves reviewing key pieces of information, speaking with the candidate in a short interview, and/or assigning skill assessments to test if the candidate should pass the next recruiting round. Needless to say, it’s essential to finding the right candidate for a role.
And that’s exactly what we’re going to explore here today.
Let’s start by reviewing the steps in the hiring process.
When it comes to the screening process itself there are two primary options that bring us to video vs phone screening. Both have their merits. Only one can be the best when it comes to types of screening.
When it comes to virtual interviews, both phone and video interviews allow recruiters to maintain a human connection and consistency. This is only natural because they both have recording potential. However, this is really where the similarities end.
Video interviews, for example, consistently fail to mitigate bias. Of course, they give the candidate an opportunity to make a visual impression of how they dress and present themselves. However, this format also opens opportunities for unconscious recruiter bias based on candidate appearance.
What’s more, video interviews are simply less accessible. It requires candidates to possess a microphone, webcam, and a stable internet connection. These are luxuries many of us take for granted, but according to Pew Research, only 77% of US adults have access to high-speed broadband internet. Contrast this with the nearly 98% of adults that have access to some type of cell phone – all they would need for a phone interview.
Then there’s the matter of actually reviewing these formats. This is yet another space where we see video interviews fall short. When recruiters use automated phone interviews with Qualifi, they can review a screening in as little as 5 minutes. Contrast this with video interviews which require the full attention of the recruiter for the duration of the interview — stretching this review time to at least 15 to 30 minutes depending on the interview length.
And speed is essential for this next point. Phone interviews are ideal for high-volume hiring. They’re faster, reach more candidates, and help improve diversity in recruitment. All of which you’ll need for high-volume recruitment.
The answer to “What is screening in recruitment” is best surmised as the process of checking an applicant for the necessary skills and qualifications to fill a role. The process itself is rather simple with the right tools and know-how. However, it remains one of the most time-intensive tasks in the entire recruitment process. To explore why, let’s take a look at the application screening process from start to finish.
Once a candidate has passed these key steps in the pre-employment screening process, it’s finally time to move on to the interview with the hiring manager.
As we’ve established here, there’s much that goes into a strong screening process. It is little wonder that the interviews take up three-quarters of recruiters’ time. Thankfully, there are tools like Qualifi’s on-demand interviews that drastically reduce the time it takes to find that perfect hire.
Qualifi speeds up the hiring process and allows recruiters to interview hundreds of candidates in minutes, free from visual bias. Go from struggling to fill roles to building a talent engine.
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