6 stages to recruitment

In business, there are usually two scenarios where a vacancy could become available. Either somebody leaves their current role unfilled, or additional roles become available to support the company’s growth or change.  

In the first instance, where an existing employee has left their role, the vacancy is a lot easier to identify, as it already exists. However, it’s important to take some time to analyse the role and establish how the needs of the business might have changed.  

Rather than filling the vacancy straight away, assess the existing position and how it aligns with the team and the wider business. This will allow you to identify the level at which you need to recruit or whether the role has become redundant.  

If your company has grown or changed and a new role is required, things can be a little trickier. Carry out a thorough analysis to establish what the role looks like and what sort of tasks and responsibilities it will entail. Once you have done this, it’s time to create a job description… 

A job description is one of the most important features of the recruitment process. As well as setting out the expectations of a role, a well-written job description is a fundamental part of attracting the best talent for your business. 

A job description should include: 

• A description of the role 
• Key duties and responsibilities 
• Realistic requirements 
• Pay 
• Location and hours of work 
• Benefits 

Before you begin putting together the job description you’ll use to advertise, it’s a good idea to make a persona of the ideal candidate you’re looking for. Check out our article on How to build a great job description. 

It’s also important to talk about your company values.

It’s also essential you don’t discriminate in any part of the recruitment process. Check out our article on Top tips for avoiding discrimination in recruitment.  

Now that you’ve created the job description, it’s time to start advertising.  

You’ll need to decide whether the job will be advertised internally (to employees already working within your company), externally (to people outside your organisation), or both. 

If you’re advertising the role internally, you’ll likely share it via internal comms or company intranet. 

If you’re looking to employ somebody from outside your organisation, you can post the job online via sites like Indeed and Reed, advertise in local or national press, work with a recruitment agency, advertise through job centres or post vacancies via social media. 

The job ad you post should inform prospective applicants on how they can apply. This might be by submitting a CV, cover letter or completing an application form. 

After you’ve received an adequate number of applications, you need to create a shortlist. You probably won’t have the time or resources to interview every applicant, so compare each to the job description and candidate persona you’ve created and select the best candidates. 

Contact those you’ve shortlisted and invite them to the next stage of the recruitment process. 

If there are any applications that stood out but didn’t quite fit the role you’re currently recruiting for, you can drop the candidate an email asking if you can keep their record on file, should a more suitable role become available in the future. 

Interviews give you the opportunity to better understand each candidate, their personality, aptitude and suitability for the job you’re looking to fill. 

Interviews can be carried out on a one-to-one basis or with a panel of interviewees. 

You might hold the interviews face-to-face, over the telephone or via a video call - depending on the location of the candidate. 

Interviews are a great way to find out more about each candidate but can create a stressful situation that some applicants might struggle with. 

As well as (or sometimes instead of) interviewing, some recruiters will ask candidates to complete a test related to the job they are hiring for. 

There are a variety of testing methods you could use to assess a potential candidate, such as: 

• Aptitude tests – which test a candidate’s ability to perform job-specific tasks and react to certain situations. 
• Personality tests – these allow recruiters to gauge the personality traits of an applicant to help better understand if they fit the role. 
• Intelligence tests – can test skills such as literacy, numeracy and problem solving. 
• Physical evaluation – for jobs that require a degree of physical capability. 

Testing is an effective way of observing a candidate’s ability to perform under pressure and get an understanding of how their abilities align with their CV or application.   

It’s a good idea to keep the interview and testing results of each candidate readily available to everyone involved in the recruitment process. 

Once you have evaluated each candidate and selected the person you’re going to employ – it’s time to let them know they’ve been successful. 

You can inform a successful candidate with a phone call or email. 

Once the successful candidate has accepted your offer of employment (including start date, salary, schedule and other terms), you can inform the other candidates that they haven’t been selected.