How to gather insight to potential entry-level employees

Across virtually all industries, human resource professionals are always looking for new ways to ensure they are actively recruiting the right applicants. And although HR professionals are usually the ones tasked with improving the recruitment process, executives and other members of management are beginning to turn their attention to hiring the right entry level employees as well. In a survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2014, about 63 percent of CEOs indicated that they were concerned about not finding the right kinds of individuals who possessed the skill sets needed for various positions.

That said, gathering the right kinds of information about various candidates will give your organization an opportunity to properly screen and weed out candidates who may not be what your company needs. Here are a few tips to gathering insight about potential entry level employees:

Focus on the right kinds of information
Experienced hiring managers and HR professionals will be the first to tell you that some of the key information about a candidate isn’t found anywhere on his or her resume. It’s important for individuals in charge of making hiring decisions to get creative with how they gather information on potential employees. A lot of recruiters use social media resources to obtain a more complete picture of an individual. Whether you check a candidate’s Facebook or LinkedIn, there is plenty of information you can gain about an individual that has little to do with his or her employment history or education. Pete Kazanjy, founder of recruiter search engine, TalentBin, discussed what social media sites can do in the recruitment process:

“Candidates’ social media profiles [can highlight] personal experiences and interests that tie into professional lives and skills, and may show the person is a perfect fit,” he explained to Business News Daily.

Supplementary information found on such platforms can also shed plenty of light on information that could rule out viable candidates. Responsible employers should be thorough when conducting background checks on job applicants – including education and employment verification. If an applicant lists a prior position on his or her resume, it is the job of hiring managers and HR professionals to check its validity.

Use technology to your advantage
Perfecting recruiting and hiring processes may seem overwhelming to hiring managers who have piles of resumes and rapidly approaching deadlines. Selecting the perfect candidate out of a dozen similarly qualified applicants is certainly a time-consuming task, but there are a number of technologies that can aid hiring managers. Talent selection software can save time and resources for employers by helping match ideal candidates with open positions. In the same vein, talent assessments can often help to identify key personality traits and skill sets in candidates.

Technology can be extremely helpful in hiring entry level employees.

Don’t be afraid to administer pre-employment tests
Most of the candidates you will see applying for entry-level positions are recent college graduates, but that doesn’t mean they are done taking tests just yet. If you want to make sure everyone in your pool of candidates is qualified for the position, administer a pre-employment test. Even if you are thorough in vetting resumes and conducting rigorous interviews, it is still possible to misjudge an individual and make the wrong hiring decision. That is where pre-employment tests can help.

From a clerical skills test to Microsoft office tests, there are assessments you can use in your hiring process to make sure that the candidates you interview are actually qualified. Regardless of whether your organization has had problems in the past or you are just looking for the smoothest hiring process possible, the professionals at EmployTest are here to help.