With work-from-home becoming a mainstay and the pandemic lasting well into 2020, companies are rethinking how to hire for and grow their businesses once again, often with remote options. New challenges have presented themselves, however, in the form of deciding how best to restructure your hiring process and what platforms to use when searching for your next candidate in the midst of COVID-19. Below are some helpful resources for how your business can begin to think about the hiring process in this environment.

The Job Description:

Make sure the job description accurately reflects the specific skills and responsibilities of the role. Oftentimes, posts feature vague or general bullets that may cast too wide of a net in terms of the skill set needed, which can lead to a larger pool of applicants who may not be entirely suited for the position. An article by the analytics consulting firm Gallup mentions a clearly defined job opening not only clarifies to the applicant the skills needed to apply, but also reinforces the criteria to the entire hiring team to ensure you are recruiting the right candidate for the role. 

Where to Post:

Needless to say, you are going to want to stick to posting your job online; however, with so many job boards and sites, it can be difficult to pick which one is worthy of the time and money investment. Workable provides a great list to start combing over what options exist - social media platforms like LinkedIn, major job boards like Indeed and Glassdoor, boards for tech roles, and even sites specifically for sharing remote opportunities. Doing a bit of research before you post your role can help ensure your job board attracts the right candidates you need.

Staying Organized:

Consider linking your job post to a form through your website, or utilize external resources like cloud-based spreadsheets and online folder systems like Dropbox to collect candidate information. This makes it easier to collect applicant data and parse through candidates once you’re ready to move onto the next steps in your hiring process. Be considerate with how you use and protect that applicant data once it is in your company’s systems. 
It’s also important to stay organized with the process itself, tracking which candidates have heard from your firm, progressed to the next round, or been removed from the consideration set. Whenever possible (and it’s always possible), be respectful of candidates and their time by intentionally planning the quality of your communications with them. Every interaction an individual has with your firm, even during the job application process, is a reflection of your brand, your company, and you. Forbes offers tips for how to ensure your interview process keeps the candidate informed and engaged throughout. Interviewing is a two-way street and neglecting your applicant can cause your company to lose top talent, especially at a time when the job market is opening back up. 

The Interview Process:

Begin thinking before you post about how applicants will be assessed. Will there be a job simulation test or case study, and, if so, how many? What questions will you ask to judge your candidates’ skill set? How many rounds will you need before you can pick the right candidate? Which employees need to be involved in the interview process? Sorting these questions out ahead of time can better expedite the process. Creating structure at every stage of the process and systematizing the questions, skills test and metrics for success can also help guard against biases. 

In Summary:

The candidate pool is larger and filled with more talented applicants than ever before, which makes now a great time to start assessing your company’s hiring strategies given challenges with COVID-19. As you start putting a comprehensive plan together, remember not all hiring procedures will look the same and it is best to do your research beforehand to make sure your recruitment process attracts and hires the right candidate. 

Additional Readings and Resources for Hiring:

HR Tips for Virtual Recruitment

Forbes Article on Hiring Good Talent in a Pandemic

- by Thomas Boyer, Associate at More Canvas Consulting