Mastering the recruitment process is a key skill for any successful manager who wants to succeed. After all, the cost of the wrong candidate can be very costly to the company, not only in terms of time and money spent on finding the right fit, but also by negatively affecting team morale.

Our recruitment company, “Pentabell”, is an expert in finding the best talents. We will accompany you and share with you our best advice on how to recruit employees to support the growth of your company.

Whether it’s knowing what you’re looking for in your next hire or recognizing those qualities when you see them in the candidates you meet, our resources help you feel competent and confident throughout the process of hiring your future employees.

We have listed for you some rules to follow in order to succeed in your first recruitment and to conduct a good job interview.

Where have all the good people gone?

Even in a tight job market where employers are struggling to find and keep employees, and in a Great Resignation where employees have more options than ever, there are proven methods for finding better candidates. They generally fall into the following categories:

–Job boards

There are hundreds of online job boards, but many of them generate a large number of unqualified candidates. A good place to start would be our Pentabell site, or quality job boards, for example: Beestalent, indeed, welcome to the jungle….etc.

-Specialized job boards

Companies in need of specialists would be well advised to post their job offers on job boards specialized in their sector.

–Co-option

Soliciting recommendations from your own team members is a great way to find new candidates.

-Your own networks

Calling on the contacts you have developed during your career can generate good leads, especially if you are recruiting for management positions.

–Recruitment and placement companies and agencies

A specialized recruitment agency can help you and your team by taking care of the recruitment.

Pentabell puts companies in touch with competent people, on a contract or permanent basis, in various fields, including: oil and gas, energy, telecommunications, transportation…. Let’s work together.

Define the recruitment need

Why a recruitment process?

Ask yourself this question: why does the company need to recruit? To run its business with the necessary human resources. A new recruitment may be necessary in the following cases:

• The permanent or temporary departure of an employee,
• The company has set new recruitment objectives,
• a rapid growth of the activity, etc.

The recruitment need must imperatively be budgeted, because whether we like it or not, it implies costs, such as the mobilization of recruiters, the process, the integration and training, the salary to be paid, etc.

For employers, the state offers recruitment assistance, such as:

• a reduction or exemption from employer social charges,
• lump-sum aid from the region,
• aid for training a young person in a work-study program,
• assistance from the Employment Office, etc.

Define the position to be filled

Before starting the recruitment process and in order to succeed in your recruitment, think carefully about the position to be filled and that you will create.

Define the contours of the position:

• What will the new employee’s missions be?
• What are the responsibilities that will be assigned to him/her?
• Do you want a senior or junior profile?

This can help you review the many applications you will receive and allow you to determine the typical profile of your potential future employee.

In addition, you will receive more qualified and motivated resumes as you define the details of the position.

Remember the key responsibilities of the position and review each one in detail when interviewing.

Filter CVs

You have received many applications; sort them out now to keep only the most relevant ones.

Receiving a large number of candidates for a job interview would be useless because you would waste your time and forget your search criteria.

Make a list of the selection criteria that you feel are crucial for the position and rank them to facilitate the analysis of the resumes. Then, scan the resumes using this grid.

Finally, group the profiles into the following three groups:

• Applications that are a perfect fit
• applications that are more or less suitable
• and candidates who are not at all suitable.

Of course, you should pay the greatest attention to the candidates in the first category.

Make a list of questions to ask during the job interview

Selecting the right questions to ask in an interview is an important part of your preparation effort for a successful job interview.

For effective recruiting, it is important to spend time developing the right questions and laying a solid foundation to get your recruiting campaign off to a good start and conduct the job interview well.

What are the best questions to ask in a job interview, Mr. Recruiter?

Focus on behavioral and contextual questions. Here are some sample questions:

• What made you leave your previous job?
• What is your knowledge of our company?
• Why should we hire you?
• What makes you want to work in this position?
• Do you consider yourself a successful person?
• What are your qualities/strengths?
• What do your colleagues think of you?
• What did your boss say about you?
• Are you able to function well under pressure?
• Are you willing to put the needs of the company ahead of your own?
• How would you motivate an employee who is experiencing a drop in morale?
• How would you react to an unhappy customer?
• In five years, where do you see yourself?
• What do you want from this position?
• Why do you think you will succeed in this position?

Develop your questions around the hiring criteria that require the most attention. Through these questions, you can:

-Get to know the candidate.

-Determine the candidate’s level of knowledge and understanding,

-Evaluate the candidate’s abilities,

-Analyze the candidate’s motivations.

To avoid pre-recorded questions, come up with creative alternatives to old questions.

Try to memorize your interview questions, or have a short list ready to put in front of you so that you can conduct your job interview well.

→Integrate the right questioning technique into the recruitment interview:

• Open-ended questions: candidate responds by elaborating ;
• Closed-ended questions: risk of getting a series of “yes” or “no” answers ;
• Closed-ended questions: the recruiter induces the answer;
• Reflective questions: when a para-verbal or non-verbal element calls out to you.

To assess the candidate’s aptitude through facts during the job interview, it is best to use open-ended questions and questions that reflect feelings.

Involve others in the recruitment process

Involving other people in the recruitment process is a successful technique, for example if you are the human resources manager, you can conduct the interview alone in the first stage. Next would be the candidate’s direct manager, then one of the key employees.

• Be sure to provide all interviewers with a copy of their resumes.
• Specify to each one the essential selection criteria that the profile to be recruited must have in order to fill the position.
• Allow time for the candidate to interact with each member.

Bringing together many recruiters allows you to get different points of view on the candidate.

Put the candidate in situation

A “situation scenario” during a job interview is a psycho-technical test, a scenario created for the candidate. The candidate is asked to find a solution to a specific case or to manage a given task.

The goal is to evaluate their skills in a real situation. It is a role-playing game where the candidate pretends to occupy the desired position under the recruiter’s supervision.

Through the “role play”, you analyze the candidate’s behavior, interpersonal skills and abilities.

This simulation allows you to:

• Analyze the candidate’s answers to determine if they meet your requirements.
• Ensure that the candidate’s values are consistent with those of the company.
• To evaluate the candidate’s reactions,

Allow the candidate to express themselves

At the beginning of the job interview, start by asking open-ended questions like:

• Describe your background.
• What do you hope to get from us?
• …

The candidate has the opportunity to speak openly and take a step back in answering these questions.

On your side, you evaluate their analytical skills, their oratory skills, their stress management techniques…

You can use the answers to your questions to sketch out their personality traits.

Summarize after the job interview

You can create a post-interview summary to summarize the main elements of the interview.

This summary covers the suitability of the candidate’s profile, his or her ability to answer your questions and any specific examples mentioned during the interview, as well as his or her personality, strengths and weaknesses.

The summary sheets are therefore a valuable aid in validating the profile that will be retained for the position, allowing you to quickly compare the differences, strengths and weaknesses of each candidate in a short time.

Provide appropriate feedback to candidates

Why do so many recruiters neglect this step?

It really is time to give feedback to all candidates after comparing interview summaries and conducting a final internal reflection with HR teams.

Your feedback can be more or less open or justified, as well as tailored to whether or not the candidate is successful.

Tailored feedback will ultimately speed up your HR recruitment process by ensuring that some unsuccessful candidates have a positive impression.

Giving you access to a pool of relevant resumes to draw from for future positions.

Ensure the integration and development of the employee in the company

The recruiter’s job isn’t over after finding a candidate, is it?

A crucial step in the successful hiring process is to ensure that the candidate is well integrated, to make sure that he or she feels comfortable with both the work tools and the people around him or her, and then to continue to pay attention to his or her desires and requests. a very important step for the viability of his or her recruitment.

To make the integration of your new employee as successful as possible, read our article on how to facilitate the integration of a new employee in your company.

If a candidate is not given more consideration, they may not find their career fulfilling and may not stay with your company very long.

The result would be an unfilled position, lost productivity, higher costs, and time to restart the hiring process or reconnect with previously rejected candidates.

Therefore, it is in your company’s best interest to ensure the integration and follow-up of the new hire’s initial performance, both for its own development and to confirm that he or she actually meets the requirements of the position.

Once you have found the perfect candidate, check all the hiring aids and formalities in order to comply with the law.

Also keep in mind the importance of having a solid legal foundation. Be sure to properly design an employment contract to define the basic elements of the employee-employer relationship.

Tired of wasting time with administrative tasks?

Think about it, your payroll company Pentabell, takes care of the legal and social management of your ported consultants

If you are a candidate and you are about to prepare for your job interview, we invite you to read this article:

→ 9 Tips to prepare for a successful job interview